Mesoscale modeling of amphiphilic fluid dynamics

So-called "vector models," in which surfactant molecules retain only transl ational and orientational degrees of freedom, have been used to study the e quilibrium properties of amphiphilic fluids for nearly a decade now. We dem onstrate that hydrodynamic lattice-gas automata provide an effective means of coupling the Hamiltonian of such vector models to hydrodynamic flow with conserved momentum, thereby providing a self-consistent treatment of the h ydrodynamics of amphiphilic fluids. In this "talk", we describe these hydro dynamic lattice- gas models in two and three dimensions, and present their application to problems of amphiphilic-fluid hydrodynamics, including the d ynamics of phase separation and the shear-induced sponge-to-lamellar phase transition.