Molecular simulation of fluid dynamics on the nanoscale

TL;DR

This paper uses molecular dynamics simulations to study nanoscale fluid flow, revealing a transition between wall-induced ordering and boundary slip effects, while confirming Darcy's law applicability at these scales.

Contribution

It provides new insights into nanoscale fluid dynamics, identifying a transition in flow regimes and validating classical flow laws at the molecular level.

Findings

Transition between wall-dominated and slip-influenced flow regimes

Darcy's law remains valid across the studied scale range

Flow behavior depends on channel diameter and wall effects

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulation is applied to Poiseuille flow of liquid methane in planar graphite channels, covering channel diameters between 3 and 135 nm. On this length scale, a transition is found between the regime where local ordering induced by the wall dominates the entire system and larger channel diameters where the influence of boundary slip is still present, but of a more limited extent. The validity of Darcy's law for pressure-driven flow through porous media is not affected by the transition between these regimes.