A multiscale thermodynamic generalization of Maxwell--Stefan diffusion equations and of the dusty gas model

Abstract

Despite the fact that the theory of mixtures has been part of non-equilibrium thermodynamics and engineering for a long time, it is far from complete. While it is well formulated and tested in the case of mechanical equilibrium (where only diffusion-like processes take place), the question how to properly describe homogeneous mixtures that flow with multiple independent velocities that still possess some inertia (before mechanical equilibrium is reached) is still open. Moreover, the mixtures can have several temperatures before they relax to a common value. In this paper, we derive a theory of mixtures from Hamiltonian mechanics in interaction with electromagnetic fields. The resulting evolution equations are then reduced to the case with only one momentum (classical irreversible thermodynamics), providing a generalization of the Maxwell-Stefan diffusion equations. In a next step, we reduce that description to the mechanical equilibrium (no momentum) and derive a non-isothermal variant of the dusty gas model. These reduced equations are solved numerically, and we illustrate the results on effciency analysis, showing where in a concentration cell effciency is lost. Finally, the theory of mixtures identifies the temperature difference between constituents as a possible new source of the Soret coeffcient. For the sake of clarity, we restrict the presentation to the case of binary mixtures; the generalization is straightforward.