Nanodroplet condensation on solid surfaces
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The onset of the condensation process, nucleation, remains poorly understood and nearly all numerical simulation techniques, with the exception of Molecular Dynamics (MD), skip this stage and take the number and distribution of nuclei as an input parameter. This leads to physically incomplete models since droplets are artificially inserted into vapor systems. Our mesoscale approach coupling Landau-Lifshitz-Navier-Stokes equations with diffuse interface thermodynamics enables spontaneous liquid nuclei formation at scales greater than MD with reduced computational cost. Multiple nucleation events occur within single simulations at nearly constant thermodynamic states, eliminating the need for repeated simulations. Hydrodynamic effects are still captured. Applications to metastable vapors in the vicinity of hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces demonstrate the well-known filmwise and dropwise condensation regimes.
