Nitrox - Trimix

[Vtach]

Doug, you rock even more than the Pope. ;D  Thanks for the info, helps explain these topics.  This diving physiology stuff is pretty interesting.




You got the basics Todd.  In this case, there is very little driving force difference between nitrogen and oxygen.  So, it is not much of a concern for suit inflation, you are not going to unbalance your blood gases any more than you are with breathing nitrox.

Diffusivity is the inverse of the resistance to the movement of these gases and represents the physical conditions that try to keep the gases from moving.  Your skin tends to have lower diffusivity than cell walls near your bloodstream that have been designed for transfering gases.

Solubility is the limit of how much gas can be held in the liquid, Henry's Law.  This sets the concentration limits and the concentration differences is the concentration gradient that is the driving force.

Therefore, both are important for determining the rate of gas transfer (flux).

For more information, look at Bird, Stewart, and Lightfoot, "Transport Phenomena"

For those that knew him, Stewart just recently past away.  He will be remembered.

Doug
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