Nanoscopic spontaneous motion of liquid trains: non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulation

Abstract

Macroscale experiments show that a train of two immiscible liquid drops, a bislug, can spontaneously move in a capillary tube because of surface tension asymmetries. We use molecular dynamics simulation of Lennard-Jones fluids to demonstrate this phenomenon for NVT ensembles in sub-micron tubes. We deliberately tune the strength of intermolecular forces and control the velocity of bislug in different wetting and viscosity conditions. We compute the velocity profile of particles across the tube, and explain the origin of deviations from the classical parabolae. We show that the self-generated molecular flow resembles the Poiseuille law when the ratio of the tube radius to its length is less than a critical value.