Diffusion, thermal diffusion, and Soret coefficients and optical contrast factors of the binary mixtures of dodecane, isobutylbenzene, and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene J. Chem. Phys. 138, 114503 (2013) We present a comprehensive analysis of experimental results obtained for Fickian diffusion in the benchmark ternary liquid mixture of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene, isobutylbenzene, and dodecane (nC 12 ) with equal mass fractions. Isothermal diffusion coefficients have been measured by two independent experimental methods: by Taylor dispersion technique, and by a counter flow cell fitted with an optical interferometry device. The experimental diffusion matrices have been critically analyzed regarding the Onsager reciprocal relations, for which we introduce a matrix asymmetry index s 2 that is independent of the frame of reference and the component order. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

We have determined the Soret (ST), diffusion (D, and thermodiffusion (DT) coefficients in a ternary mixture of tetralin-isobutylbenzene-n-dodecane with a composition of 0.80/0.10/0.10 by mass fraction at a temperature of 298K. The Soret coefficients were measured in the microgravity experiment DCMIX1 and on the ground by optical digital interferometry (ODI) using two lasers with different wavelengths. The values of the Soret coefficients were determined from the stationary separation of the components using two- and six-parameter fits. The diffusion coefficients were independently measured using the Taylor Dispersion Technique in the ground laboratory, and the thermodiffusion coefficients were derived from known ST and matrix D. The processing of the data from the DCMIX experiment conducted on the International Space Station is discussed in detail. The multi-user design of the on-board instrument causes perturbations in the component separation. Several recommendations are suggested for improving the quality of the microgravity results. For example, we demonstrated that the tomography reconstruction of the 3-D concentration field allows to restore the underestimated component separation resulting from the spatial non-linearity of the temperature field. Furthermore, to avoid errors in component separation due to mass exchange between the working liquid volume and the expansion volume at the top of the cell, we suggest considering the evolution of the separation only in the lower half of the cell. The results of this study displayed reasonable quantitative agreement between the microgravity and ground experiments.

We report the Fickian diffusion coefficients in 20 ternary mixtures formed by 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (THN), isobutylbenzene (IBB) and n-dodecane (nC12) measured by the Taylor dispersion technique at 298.1 K and atmospheric pressure. Four diffusion coefficients of the ternary mixtures were measured along six concentration paths starting on one binary subsystem and moving toward the other one. We found expressions for the diffusion matrix of a ternary mixture approaching to the binary limits. The measured diffusion coefficients were thoroughly verified by comparison with the theoretical asymptotic behavior. The main diffusion coefficients vary smoothly over the entire concentration space and D11 is always larger than D22. One of the two cross-diffusion coefficients is of the same order of magnitude as the main ones and, hence, not negligible, whereas the other one is close to zero. The investigated mixtures also comprise compositions that were examined in microgravity experiments in the ESA DCMIX1 project.

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We examine the dynamics of a binary mixture in a cubic cell subjected to a temperature differential and oscillatory forcing. The Soret effect, which is negative in the present study, provides a coupling mechanism by which a temperature gradient establishes a concentration gradient in a mixture. We present the results of experiments that were performed on the International Space Station (ISS) and compare the observations with the results of direct numerical simulations. The evolution of temperature and concentration fields is investigated by optical digital interferometry. One advantage of the experimental technique is the observation of the fields along two perpendicular directions of the cell, allowing us to restore the three-dimensional field. Experimental evidence disproves speculations that the ISS microgravity environment always affects diffusion-controlled processes. Furthermore, we demonstrate that imposed vibrations with constant frequency and amplitude create slow mean flows and that they do influence the diffusion kinetics. The perturbation of the diffusive fields scales as the square of the vibrational velocity. In addition to calculations of the full three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations, a two-time-scale computational methodology is used for situations in which the forcing period is very small compared to the natural time scales of the problem. The simulations show excellent agreement with experimental observations.

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