Thermophoresis in dense gases: A study by Born-Green-Yvon equation

Thermophoresis in dense gases is studied by using a multi-scale approach and Born-Yvon-Green (BYG) equation. The problem of a particle movement in an ambient dense gas under temperature gradient is divided into inter and outer ones. The pressure gradient in the inner region is obtained from the solutions of BYG equation. The velocity profile is derived from the conservation equations and calculated using the pressure gradient, which provides the particle velocity in the outer problem. It is shown that the temperature gradient applied to the quiescent ambient gas induces some pressure gradient and thus flow tangential to the particle surface in the interfacial region. The mechanism that induces the flow may be the dominant source of the thermophretic particle movement in dense gases. It is also shown that the particle velocity has a nonlinear relationship with the applied temperature gradient and decreases with increasing temperature.