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Molecular kinetic modelling of non-equilibrium evaporative flows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2024

Shaokang Li Open the ORCID record for Shaokang Li [Opens in a new window] ,
Wei Su Open the ORCID record for Wei Su [Opens in a new window] ,
Baochao Shan Open the ORCID record for Baochao Shan [Opens in a new window] ,
Zuoxu Li Open the ORCID record for Zuoxu Li [Opens in a new window] ,
Livio Gibelli Open the ORCID record for Livio Gibelli [Opens in a new window]  and
Yonghao Zhang Open the ORCID record for Yonghao Zhang [Opens in a new window]
Shaokang Li
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, UK
Wei Su
Affiliation:
Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, PR China Department of Mathematics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, PR China
Baochao Shan
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, UK
Zuoxu Li
Affiliation:
Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Fluids, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China
Livio Gibelli*
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, UK
Yonghao Zhang*
Affiliation:
Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Fluids, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, PR China
*
†Email addresses for correspondence: livio.gibelli@ed.ac.uk, yonghao.zhang@imech.ac.cn
†Email addresses for correspondence: livio.gibelli@ed.ac.uk, yonghao.zhang@imech.ac.cn
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Abstract

Recent years have seen the emergence of new technologies that exploit nanoscale evaporation, ranging from nanoporous membranes for distillation to evaporative cooling in electronics. Despite the increasing depth of fundamental knowledge, there is still a lack of simulation tools capable of capturing the underlying non-equilibrium liquid–vapour phase changes that are critical to these and other such technologies. This work presents a molecular kinetic theory model capable of describing the entire flow field, i.e. the liquid and vapour phases and their interface, while striking a balance between accuracy and computational efficiency. In particular, unlike previous kinetic models based on the isothermal assumption, the proposed model can capture the temperature variations that occur during the evaporation process, yet does not require the computational resources of more complicated mean-field kinetic approaches. We assess the present kinetic model in three test cases: liquid–vapour equilibrium, evaporation into near-vacuum condition, and evaporation into vapour. The results agree well with benchmark solutions, while reducing the simulation time by almost two orders of magnitude on average in the cases studied. The results therefore suggest that this work is a stepping stone towards the development of an accurate and efficient computational approach to optimising the next generation of nanotechnologies based on nanoscale evaporation.

JFM classification

Micro-/Nano-fluid dynamics: Non-continuum effects Phase change: Condensation/evaporation Rarefied Gas Flow: Kinetic theory
Type
JFM Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 994 , 10 September 2024 , A16
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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