CURRENT DISTRIBUTION WITHIN TUBULAR ELECTRODES UNDER LAMINAR FLOW.

A computational method has been developed for calculating the current density distribution within tubular electrodes under laminar flow. Calculations have been carried out for operating conditions which are intermediate between the secondary current distribution and the limiting current distribution. The potential distribution within the tube was determined from Laplace's equation while the reactant concentration along the electode surface was found from the convective diffusion equation. The two equations were strongly coupled so that they needed to be solved simultaneously. Although central emphasis has been placed on details of the computational method, several salient features of behavior are discussed. The results illustrate how the current distribution within tubular electrodes depends on counterelectrode placement as well as the geometric, charge transfer, mass transfer, and ohmic parameters of the system.