Average hydrodynamic correction for the Brownian dynamics calculation of flocculation rates in concentrated dispersions

In order to account for the hydrodynamic interaction (HI) between suspended particles in an average way, Honig et al. [J. Colloid Interface Sci. 36, 97 (1971)] and more recently Heyes [Mol. Phys. 87, 287 (1996)] proposed different analytical forms for the diffusion constant. While the formalism of Honig et al. strictly applies to a binary collision, the one from Heyes accounts for the dependence of the diffusion constant on the local concentration of particles. However, the analytical expression of the latter approach is more complex and depends on the particular characteristics of each system. Here we report a combined methodology, which incorporates the formula of Honig et al. at very short distances and a simple local volume-fraction correction at longer separations. As will be shown, the flocculation behavior calculated from Brownian dynamics simulations employing the present technique, is found to be similar to that of Batchelor’s tensor [J. Fluid. Mech. 74, 1 (1976); 119, 379 (1982)]. However, it corrects the anomalous coalescence found in concentrated systems as a result of the overestimation of many-body HI.