ISSN Online: 2377-424X
ISBN CD: 1-56700-226-9
ISBN Online: 1-56700-225-0
International Heat Transfer Conference 13
A MOLECULAR DYNAMICS SIMULATION OF BUBBLE NUCLEATION
Resumo
Molecular dynamics method is employed to simulate the liquid-vapor nucleation processes. The results show that a liquid-vapor nucleation process undergoes at least three stages, namely, cavity growth, cavity coalescence, and bubble formation. If the size of the simulation domain is limited, the liquid-vapor nucleation process will be confined to cavity stage, and no bubble could be formed. The critical size for a cavity to develop into a bubble is estimated to be 3.4 nanometers for Argon. In addition, with a modified potential identification method, the cavities and bubbles can be successfully identified from the molecular configurations of the simulation.