The mechanics and thermodynamics of separation flow through porous, molecularly disperse, solid media - the Poiseuille Lecture 1981.

Steady flow of a multicomponent, incompressible fluid through a connected, solid-like network is considered. The network acquires a finite deformation, bears the extra stresses required for mechanical balance, but does not flow. It constitutes at least one thermodynamic component and, in terms of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes, the simplest case of the flow of a binary solution through the network creates a three-component system with three independent cross-coefficients to be determined. The number of coefficients to be determined in the case of more than three components tends to become prohibitive. Hence, the formalism, developed for three components, is often applied, justifiably and unjustifiably, to practical problems in biology, where the system is much more complex. The conditions under which this is permissible are given and discussed. For such a case, the questions of volume and separation flows is also considered. Relationships are given in terms of the friction coefficients between the components. The important biorheological and thermodynamic role of the matrix is stressed throughout.