ABSTRACT
The diffusion and convective transport of particles have much in common with the diffusive and convective transport of heat and mass. This chapter focuses on industrial applications where microscopic particles are intentionally suspended in fluids in order to modify and improve the thermophysical properties of the fluid. The properties of a fluid that contains suspended particles depend strongly on the material, concentration, and size of the suspended particles. Monodisperse particles are rare, and in practice particles that are suspended in a fluid, whether natural or synthetic and whether solid or liquid, cover a size range. Microparticles suspended in fluids tend to diffuse down their own concentration gradient, much like heat that diffuses down the temperature gradient and a species in a fluid mixture that diffuses down the gradient of its own concentration. Electrophoresis is applied for the differentiation of charged particles from one another, electrophoretic coating and painting, and many other industrial processes.
