Describing inter-particle surface force

The DLVO model (named after its principal creators, Deqaguin, Landau, Verwey and Overbeek) is the most widely used to describe inter-particle surface force potential (1,2). It assumes that the total inter-particle potential is the sum of an attractive van der Waals force and a repulsive double-layer force. The repulsive force due to the double-layer coulombic interaction between equal spheres separated by a distance D generates a positive potential energy Vr. If the radius r of the spheres is large compared to the double-layer thickness 1/k (Kr l, with K the Debye-Hiickel parameter), Fr is described approximately by ... 

Abstract. The physical nature of nonadditivity in many-particle systems and the methods of calculations of many-body forces are discussed. The special attention is devoted to the electron correlation contributions to many-body forces and their role in the Be r and Li r cluster formation. The procedure is described for founding a model potential for metal clusters with parameters fitted to ab initio energetic surfaces. The proposed potential comprises two-body, three-body, and four body interation energies each one consisting of exchange and dispersion terms. Such kind of ab initio model potentials can be used in the molecular dynamics simulation studies and in the cinalysis of binding in small metal clusters. 

There are several methods available for measuring forees between two solid surfaces, two particles, or liquid inter-faees (26). In this section we briefly mention some of the features of the techniques that have been used in order to produee the results described in the later part of this eontri-bution. The forces acting between two solid surfaees were... 

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