KINETICS OF PARTICLE COARSENING PROCESSES .1. NONEQUILIBRIUM STATISTICAL-MECHANICAL FORMULATION

A nonequilibrium statistical mechanical theory for particle coarsening processes is presented. In this theory, the rate of change of a given particle is determined by both a deterministic and a fluctuation term s, and the particle size distribution (PSD) satisfies Fokker-Planck-ty pe equation. We use a time scaling technique and find the PSD scaled b y average particle size as well as the power laws of time dependence o f some quantities. The asymptotic scaled PSD is independent of initial condition but does depend on the equilibrium volume fraction. We show that the average radius grows as t1/3 and the density of particles de cays as t-1.