Can a difference in molecular weights cause an eruption in a driven flow of self-organizing immiscible system?

Driven flow of a non-equilibrium non-conservative (NENC) system with a mixture of immiscible particles (A,B of molecular weight M<Subscript>A</Subscript>, M<Subscript>B</Subscript>) exhibits self-organizing patterns (segregation, phase-separation, etc.) in steady-state. The flow response (v) of mass flux density (j) to bias (H), <InlineEquation ID="Equ1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$v=\partial j/\partial H$</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> in steady-state is found to be sensitive to molecular weight ratio (α=M<Subscript>B</Subscript>/M<Subscript>A</Subscript>). While the flux density (j) responds linearly to bias for both components (A, B) at α=1, onset of eruptive response occurs at extreme bias (H ↦ 1) at α > 1 where v ↦∞ for heavier (B) and v ↦- ∞ for lighter (A) constituents. Difference in molecular weights (M<Subscript>A</Subscript>, M<Subscript>B</Subscript>) is not only critical to eruptive flow but also in controlling the flow response prior to this crossover. Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2008