Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 8, 2026

Adapting Taylor Dispersion to Measure the Dispersion Coefficient of Electrolyte Solutions via an Accessible Microfluidic Setup
Published on: October 7, 2025
Aris-Taylor dispersion with drift and diffusion of particles on the tube wall
Alexander M Berezhkovskii1, Alexei T Skvortsov
1Mathematical and Statistical Computing Laboratory, Division of Computational Bioscience, Center for Information Technology, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Abstract:
A laminar stationary flow of viscous fluid in a cylindrical tube enhances the rate of diffusion of Brownian particles along the tube axis. This so-called Aris-Taylor dispersion is due to the fact that cumulative times, spent by a diffusing particle in layers of the fluid moving with different velocities, are random variables which depend on the realization of the particle stochastic trajectory in the radial direction. Conceptually similar increase of the diffusivity occurs when the particle randomly jumps between two states with different drift velocities. Here we develop a theory that contains both phenomena as special limiting cases. It is assumed (i) that the particle in the flow can reversibly bind to the tube wall, where it moves with a given drift velocity and diffusivity, and (ii) that the radial and longitudinal diffusivities of the particle in the flow may be different. We derive analytical expressions for the effective drift velocity and diffusivity of the particle, which show how these quantities depend on the geometric and kinetic parameters of the model.
Related Concept Videos
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Behavior of Gas Molecules: Molecular Diffusion, Mean Free Path, and Effusion
Diffusion on Chromatography Columns
Longitudinal diffusion occurs when the solute molecules in the mobile phase diffuse from the more concentrated center of the chromatographic band to the more dilute regions on either side, both towards and against the flow direction. This...
Diffusion
Diffusion
Turbulent Flow

