MOLECULAR SIMULATION OF VISCOUS-FLOW

Occasionally the continuum equations of fluid. mechanics must be suppl emented by information about processes occurring at microscopic scales . Examples include the formulation of boundary conditions, the resolut ion of singular solutions of the governing equations, and the determin ation of constitutive relations. In such situations, molecular dynamic s calculations in which an entire how is simulated at the atomic scale can provide the missing information. We review the numerical procedur e and then discuss several recent applications of this technique. We c onsider the validity of lubrication theory at very short distances, th e smoothing of corner singularities for both Newtonian and non-Newtoni an fluids, and some molecular aspects of wetting phenomena, particular ly contact angle hysteresis.