International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.107, 489-499, 2017
Dissolution of a colloidal particle in an oscillatory flow
Understanding dissolution kinetics of a colloidal particle in an aqueous solution is of great importance in many pharmaceutical and biochemical applications. We present theoretical analysis of low Reynolds number flow dynamics and mass transfer of a dissolving spherical particle in a unidirectional oscillatory flow field. The coupling of fluid flow and passive motion of the particle are solved analytically, and the transient mass transfer associated with the oscillation of the particle is computed numerically. The flow patterns, basic characteristics of mass transport, and the simplified long-time dissolution process under various saturation concentrations and relative flow conditions are discussed in details. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.