Reactive Continuum Mixtures under the Influence of Electromagnetic Fields

Abstract

In this work, we present the equations of balance of mass, linear and angular momenta, energy, and entropy for reactive continuum mixtures under the influence of electromagnetic fields. We assume that the mixture is a polar continuum whose constituents are electric charge and/or electric dipole moment carriers immersed in a Newtonian fluid. From the mass balance equation, properties of real and potential electrolytes were related to the terms of mass production. In addition, from the linear and angular momenta balances, it was shown that the stress tensor is not symmetric due to the polar nature of both the constituents and the mixture. Moreover, the energy balance equation for the mixture reveals that the energy flux vector should not be interpreted as the heat flux vector from the classical continuum mechanics. The balance laws presented in this work may offer a theoretical tool to investigate mass transport and thermoelectric phenomena in electrolyte solutions as well as in bio and geological fluids.