NUCLEATION OF BUBBLES IN BINARY FLUIDS

We have applied density functional methods to predict the nucleation rates of bubbles in superheated, stretched, or supersaturated binary fluid mixtures. Our model uses Lennard-Jones mixtures, with mixing rules chosen to allow either ideal or nonideal solution behavior. Deviations from the predictions of classical nucleation theory are in general quite large, with the locus of observable bubble nucleation (the kinetic stability limit) following the spinodal (the thermodynamic stability limit) reasonably closely. Comparisons are made with a variety of experiments, and puzzling earlier results are explained, such as the increase in solubility of some gases with temperature at the kinetic stability limit. Further experiments are needed to explore the variety of behavior predicted by the present calculations. © 1995 American Institute of Physics.