Abstract
We show that by including thermodynamic functions derived from a chosen free energy in a lattice-Boltzmann simulation of fluid flow it is possible to ensure that the fluid relaxes to a well-defined equlilibrium corresponding to the minimum of the input free energy. Two examples are given of phase separation in a binary fluid: bulk two-phase coexistence and a lamellar phase stabilised by a competition between negative surface tension and positive curvature energy. The lattice-Boltzmann framework simulates the Navier–Stokes equations of fluid flow and hence allows investigation of the effects of hydrodynamics on the kinetics of phase separation and on the rheology of the ordered structures.
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