Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol.110, No.5, 2612-2620, 1999
Wall slip in the molecular dynamics simulation of thin films of hexadecane
A molecular dynamics simulation of a thin liquid film as it is sheared between two planar walls is reported. The model liquid is composed of linear chain molecules of hexadecane (C16H34) with intramolecular architecture such as bond stretching, angle bending and dihedral potentials included in the model. Designing a model that can mimic the planar shear flow enables us to study important questions on the effects of the wall properties on the slip between the liquid film and the wall. Different properties of the wall such as wall density, wall stiffness and wall-fluid interaction strength have been studied to determine the slip between the wall and fluid. The slip has been investigated for strong and weak adsorbing surfaces at various shear rates. The results emphasize the importance of adsorption on the degree of slip. The dependence of slip on the film thickness is also demonstrated.