A comparison of molecular dynamics and diffuse interface model predictions of Lennard-Jones fluid evaporation

The unsteady evaporation of a thin planar liquid film is studied by molecular dynamics simulations of Lennard-Jones fluid. The obtained results are compared with the predictions of a diffuse interface model in which capillary Korteweg contributions are added to hydrodynamic equations, in order to obtain a unified description of the liquid bulk, liquid-vapor interface and vapor region. Particular care has been taken in constructing a diffuse interface model matching the thermodynamic and transport properties of the Lennard-Jones fluid. The comparison of diffuse interface model and molecular dynamics results shows that, although good agreement is obtained in equilibrium conditions, remarkable deviations of diffuse interface model predictions from the reference molecular dynamics results are observed in the simulation of liquid film evaporation. It is also observed that molecular dynamics results are in good agreement with preliminary results obtained from a composite model which describes the liquid film by a standard hydrodynamic model and the vapor by the Boltzmann equation. The two mathematical model models are connected by kinetic boundary conditions assuming unit evaporation coefficient.