Lattice-Boltzmann method for the simulation of transport phenomena in charged colloids

We present a simulation scheme based on the lattice-Boltzmann method to simulate the dynamics of charged colloids in an electrolyte. In our model we describe the electrostatics on the level of a Poisson-Boltzmann equation and the hydrodynamics of the fluid by the linearized Navier-Stokes equations. We verify our simulation scheme by means of a Chapman-Enskog expansion. Our method is applied to the calculation of the reduced sedimentation velocity U/U₀ for a cubic array of charged spheres in an electrolyte. We show that we recover the analytical solution first derived by Booth [F. Booth, J. Chem. Phys. 22, 1956 (1954)] for a weakly charged, isolated sphere in an unbounded electrolyte. The present method makes it possible to go beyond the Booth theory, and we discuss the dependence of the sedimentation velocity on the charge of the spheres. Finally we compare our results to experimental data.