Mass and heat transfer from fluid spheres at low Reynolds numbers

The transfer of heat and mass from a viscous sphere in a fluid of different viscosity is examined in this paper. A Stokesian velocity field is assumed to have been developed inside and around the sphere. The corresponding transport equations are solved by a numerical method. Results are obtained for the case of mass transport from the sphere, which may also be applied to heat transfer processes. It was observed that the mass transfer from a fluid sphere is in general higher than that from a solid sphere as a result of the internal circulation. A working correlation for the Sherwood number in terms of the Peclet number and the viscosity ratio has also been derived from the numerical results.