Molecular kinetic theory of boundary slip on textured surfaces by molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract

A theoretical model extended from the Frenkel-Eyring molecular kinetic theory (MKT) was applied to describe the boundary slip on textured surfaces. The concept of the equivalent depth of potential well was adopted to characterize the solid-liquid interactions on the textured surfaces. The slip behaviors on both chemically and topographically textured surfaces were investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The extended MKT slip model is validated by our MD simulations under various situations, by constructing different complex surfaces and varying the surface wettability as well as the shear stress exerted on the liquid. This slip model can provide more comprehensive understanding of the liquid flow on atomic scale by considering the influence of the solid-liquid interactions and the applied shear stress on the nano-flow. Moreover, the slip velocity shear-rate dependence can be predicted using this slip model, since the nonlinear increase of the slip velocity under high shear stress can be approximated by a hyperbolic sine function.