Fluid flow in nanopores: An examination of hydrodynamic boundary conditions

Abstract

Steady-state Poiseuille flow of a simple fluid in carbon slit pores under a gravity-like force is simulated using a realistic empirical many-body potential model for carbon. In this work we focus on the small Knudsen number regime, where the macroscopic equations are applicable, and simulate different wetting conditions by varying the strength of fluid–wall interactions. We show that fluid flow in a carbon pore is characterized by a large slip length even in the strongly wetting case, contrary to the predictions of Tolstoi’s theory. When the surface density of wall atoms is reduced to values typical of a van der Waals solid, the streaming velocity profile vanishes at the wall, in accordance with earlier findings. From the velocity profiles we have calculated the slip length and by analyzing temporal profiles of the velocity components of particles colliding with the wall we obtained values of the Maxwell coefficient defining the fraction of molecules thermalized by the wall.