Study of the circular Couette nanoflow by molecular dynamics

• Grant number: 18/02592-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2018
• End date: July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Luís Fernando Mercier Franco
• Grantee: Júlia Viana Haeitmann
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The classical problem of the Couette flow, generally modeled with a macroscopic description of the mechanics of continuum media, will be studied through molecular dynamics simulations. With this technique, the continuum hypothesis is no longer needed and an investigation of the flow in a molecular level is possible. This approach allows us to study the problems of nanofluidics that emerge nowadays in chemical engineering. The velocity and the pressure profiles will be calculated for different rotation speeds of the inner cylinder, for different distances between the two cylinders, and for different fluid densities. The cylinders will be made of atoms that interact with the fluid particles. And the influence of the solid-fluid interaction on the calculated profiles will be analysed. With that, we intend to enlarge the existent understading on the effects of the solid-fluid interface in nanofluidics. (AU)