Dynamic mobility of particles with thick double layers in a nondilute suspension

The dynamic mobility of a nondilute suspension of spherical particles is investigated in the case where the thickness of the electrical double layer around each particle is comparable to the particle radius. A formula is obtained for the O(phi) correction in a random suspension of particles with volume fraction phi, involving an integral over the dynamic mobility of a pair of spheres, This formula is then evaluated using both analytical approximations and numerical results previously obtained for the pair mobilities and valid for low surface potentials. The effect of double-layer thickness on the O(phi) coefficient is most pronounced at low frequencies, and lessens once the hydrodynamic penetration depth is smaller than the particle radius. Various approximations are considered that use the O(phi) result to predict the dynamic mobility in concentrated suspensions, and at high frequencies these approximations are shown to give results qualitatively different from those of recent cell models. (C) 2000 Academic Press.