胶体体系的固化及分离过程的计算机模拟

胶体体系是自然界很重要的组成部分，广泛应用于工业生产和日常生活中。胶体体系在固化的过程中，会形成有序的晶体结构或无序的玻璃态结构。对胶体的结晶和玻璃化的认识对研究相变理论，纳米材料以及自组装有着重要的意义。事实上，在这一领域存在着许多悬而未决的问题。另一方面，胶体的分离也是胶体科学研究中不可或缺的步骤。特别是近年来微流器件技术的进步为流体动力学色谱分离方法带来了进一步发展的机会，这为胶体的分离提供了非常有效的实验手段。然而，由于实际应用过程的复杂性，理论方法还不足以深入探讨胶体粒子体系固化和分离的本质。作为一种可以直接反映物理过程的研究方法，计算机模拟成为一种有效的研究胶体粒子固化和分离的手段。 硬球模型是一种最简单的胶体粒子体系，能够很好地描述具有体积排斥作用的胶体粒子的行为，因此，对于胶体粒子体系固化问题，我们采用分子动力学方法研究了硬球粒子体系的固化过程。此外，对于胶体和高分子体系的分离过程，我们主要采用耗散分子动力学（dissipative particle dynamics DPD）进行研究。论文的主要内容包括： 1)采用硬球分子动力学模型，研究了胶体颗粒在不同的压缩速率下得到的堆积态的结构异质性。我们应用Lubachevsky-Stillinger方法，在不同的压缩速率下得到了一系列的结构受限的硬球堆积状态。这些体系的有序度随着压缩速率的减小而增加，而体系的密度则是先增加后减小又增加，在中间压缩速率时出现最小值。通过测量体系中的局域序参量分布，粒子位置的均方根涨落分布和直接观察受限粒子的位置，发现这些状态中包含有无规区域和结晶区域，存在显著的结构异质性。特别的是低密度状态中许多小的有序区域互相连接成贯穿体系的逾渗网络，说明晶区之间的结构不匹配是生成这些状态的重要机理。 2)用DPD方法模拟了线性高分子链和星形高分子链在穿越纳米孔道的输运过程。对复合管道中小管的半径分别为2.5 和2.0 的两种情况进行了研究。在各种情况下我们都发现了存在一个临界流量Jc，只有当流量大于Jc的时候高分子才能进入纳米孔洞。对于线性高分子，长链的高分子进入同样粗细的小管所需要的临界流量比短链大。线性链和星形链在半径是2.0小管子中的临界流量比通过半径2.5的管子的临界流量大，或者近似相同。在半径2.5的小管中，星形高分子的临界流量要大于同等尺寸的线性高分子。此外，我们没有观察到不同接枝数的星形高分子的临界流量之间的差异。出现这种情况的原因可能是DPD模型中粒子间的相互作用势能很软，所以不能很好地体现出不同接枝数的星形高分子在位阻上的差异。 3）我们利用DPD方法模拟了圆柱形管道中线性高分子链的输运过程。比较了模拟得到的高分子保留时间和DG理论预测值之间的差异。发现分子量越大的高分子对DG理论的偏离越显著。计算了高分子链在流动过程中伸长的情况，发现了链的伸长率S与Weissenberg number 有着明确的标度关系。与狭缝中的情况类似，对于圆柱型管道中流动的线性高分子，如果采用修饰过的Peclet number，则能够更好地满足Aris-Taylor分散的标度关系。 4)我们建立了纳米粒子在DPD模拟的动力学模型，研究了在本体溶液中纳米粒子的自扩散系数和速度关联函数对与胶体粒子的半径定性关系。发现纳米粒子的扩散系数随粒子半径的增加而减小。纳米粒子的半径越大，其速度关联函数的衰减越慢，同样大小纳米粒子的质量越大，其速度关联函数衰减得越慢。我们进一步模拟了在狭缝中纳米粒子的输运过程。通过观察流体受限方向的流速曲线，我们发现由于与器壁之间的体积排斥作用，使得纳米粒子远离流体的边界。对Aris-Taylor分散的研究结果表明，在λ不大的时候，应用不同的Peclet numbers 对分散方程结果的影响不大。

Computer simulation of miscibility and self-assembly structure for polymer-containing systems with special interactions

The miscibility and structure of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends with special interactions were studied by a Monte Carlo simulation in two dimensions. The interaction between segment A and segment C was repulsive, whereas it was attractive between segment B and segment C. In order to study the effect of copolymer chain structure on the morphology and structure of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends, the alternating, random and block A-B copolymers were introduced into the blends, respectively. The simulation results indicated that the miscibility of A-B block copolymer/C homopolymer blends depended on the chain structure of the A-B copolymer. Compared with alternating or random copolymer, the block copolymer, especially the diblock copolymer, could lead to a poor miscibility of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends. Moreover, for diblock A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends, obvious self-organized core-shell structure was observed in the segment B composition region from 20% to 60%. However, if diblock copolymer composition in the blends is less than 40%, obvious self-organized core-shell structure could be formed in the B-segment component region from 10 to 90%. Furthermore, computer statistical analysis for the simulation results showed that the core sizes tended to increase continuously and their distribution became wider with decreasing B-segment component.

Energy conversion in shape memory alloy heat engine - Part II: Simulation

In this paper, a theoretical model proposed in Part I (Zhu et al., 2001a) is used to simulate the behavior of a twin crank NiTi SMA spring based heat engine, which has been experimentally studied by Iwanaga et al. (1988). The simulation results are compared favorably with the measurements. It is found that (1) output torque and heat efficiency decrease as rotation speed increase; (2) both output torque and output power increase with the increase of hot water temperature; (3) at high rotation speed, higher water temperature improves the heat efficiency. On the contrary, at low rotation speed, lower water temperature is more efficient; (4) the effects of initial spring length may not be monotonic as reported. According to the simulation, output torque, output power and heat efficiency increase with the decrease of spring length only in the low rotation speed case. At high rotation speed, the result might be on the contrary.

An extension of the Quasicontinuum Treatment of Multiscale Solid Systems to Nonzero Temperature

Covering the solid lattice with a finite-element mesh produces a coarse-grained system of mesh nodes as pseudoatoms interacting through an effective potential energy that depends implicitly on the thermodynamic state. Use of the pseudoatomic Hamiltonian in a Monte Carlo simulation of the two-dimensional Lennard-Jones crystal yields equilibrium thermomechanical properties (e.g., isotropic stress) in excellent agreement with ``exact'' fully atomistic results.

Simulation of the Load-Unload Response Ratio and Critical Sensitivity in the Lattice Solid Model

The Load-Unload Response Ratio (LURR) method is an intermediate-term earthquake prediction approach that has shown considerable promise. It involves calculating the ratio of a specified energy release measure during loading and unloading where loading and unloading periods are determined from the earth tide induced perturbations in the Coulomb Failure Stress on optimally oriented faults. In the lead-up to large earthquakes, high LURR values are frequently observed a few months or years prior to the event. These signals may have a similar origin to the observed accelerating seismic moment release (AMR) prior to many large earthquakes or may be due to critical sensitivity of the crust when a large earthquake is imminent. As a first step towards studying the underlying physical mechanism for the LURR observations, numerical studies are conducted using the particle based lattice solid model (LSM) to determine whether LURR observations can be reproduced. The model is initialized as a heterogeneous 2-D block made up of random-sized particles bonded by elastic-brittle links. The system is subjected to uniaxial compression from rigid driving plates on the upper and lower edges of the model. Experiments are conducted using both strain and stress control to load the plates. A sinusoidal stress perturbation is added to the gradual compressional loading to simulate loading and unloading cycles and LURR is calculated. The results reproduce signals similar to those observed in earthquake prediction practice with a high LURR value followed by a sudden drop prior to macroscopic failure of the sample. The results suggest that LURR provides a good predictor for catastrophic failure in elastic-brittle systems and motivate further research to study the underlying physical mechanisms and statistical properties of high LURR values. The results provide encouragement for earthquake prediction research and the use of advanced simulation models to probe the physics of earthquakes.

Oscillatory instability of Rayleigh-Marangoni-Bénard convection in two-layer liquid systems

The oscillatory behaviour of the Rayleigh-Marangoni-Bénard convective instability (R-M-B instability) regarding two combinations of two-layer fluid systems has been investigated theoretically and numerically. For the two-layer system of Silicone oil (10cSt) over Fluorinert (FC70), both linear instability analysis and 2D numerical simulation show that the instability of the system depends strongly on the depth ratio Hr = H1/H2 of the two-layer liquid. The oscillatory regime at the onset of R-M-B convection enlarges with reducing Γ = Ra/Ma values. In the two-layer system of Silicone oil (2cSt) over water, it loses its stability and onsets to steady convection at first, then the steady convection bifurcates to oscillatory convection with increasing Rayleigh number Ra. This behaviour was found through numerical simulation above the onset of steady convection in the case of r = 2.9, ε=(Ra-Ruc)/Rac = 1.0, and Hr = 0.5. Our findings are different from the previous study of the Rayleigh-Benard instability and show the strong effects of the thermocapillary force at the interface on the time-dependent oscillations at or after the onset of convection. We propose a secondary oscillatory instability mechanism to explain the experimental observation of Degen et al. [Phys. Rev. E, 57 (1998), 6647-6659].

Numerical Simulation of Particle Separation in An Oil-Sand Separator

The gathering systems of crude oil are greatly endangered by the fine sand and soil in oil. Up to now , how to separate sand from the viscid oil is still a technical problem for oil production home or abroad. Recently , Institute of Mechanics in Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a new type of oil-sand separator , which has been applied successfully in oil field in situ. In this paper, the numerical method of vortex-stream function is used to predict the liquid-solid separating course and the efficiency for this oil-sand separator. Results show that the viscosity and particle diameter have much influence on the particle motion. The calculating separating efficiency is compared with that of experiment and indicates that this method can be used to model the complex two-phase flow in the separator.

Forced Dissociation of Selectin-ligand Complexes Using Steered Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Selectin-ligand interactions are crucial to such biological processes as inflammatory cascade or tumor metastasis. How transient formation and dissociation of selectin-ligand bonds in blood flow are coupled to molecular conformation at atomic level, however, has not been well understood. In this study, steered molecular dynamics (SMD) simulations were used to elucidate the intramolecular and intermolecular conformational evolutions involved in forced dissociation of three selectin-ligand systems: the construct consisting of P-selectin lectin (Lec) and epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like domains (P-LE) interacting with synthesized sulfoglycopeptide or SGP-3, P-LE with sialyl Lewis X (sLeX), and E-LE with sLeX. SMD simulations were based on newly built-up force field parameters including carbohydrate units and sulfated tyrosine(s) using an analogy approach. The simulations demonstrated that the complex dissociation was coupled to the molecular extension. While the intramolecular unraveling in P-LESGP-3 system mainly resulted from the destroy of the two anti-parallel sheets of EGF domain and the breakage of hydrogen-bond cluster at the Lec-EGF interface, the intermolecular dissociation was mainly determined by separation of fucose (FUC) from Ca2+ ion in all three systems. Conformational changes during forced dissociations depended on pulling velocities and forces, as well as on how the force was applied. This work provides an insight into better understanding of conformational changes and adhesive functionality of selectin-ligand interactions under external forces.

Multiscale Coupling in Complex Mechanical Systems

Multiscale coupling attracts broad interests from mechanics, physics and chemistry to biology. The diversity and coupling of physics at different scales are two essential features of multiscale problems in far-from-equilibrium systems. The two features present fundamental difficulties and are great challenges to multiscale modeling and simulation. The theory of dynamical system and statistical mechanics provide fundamental tools for the multiscale coupling problems. The paper presents some closed multiscale formulations, e.g., the mapping closure approximation, multiscale large-eddy simulation and statistical mesoscopic damage mechanics, for two typical multiscale coupling problems in mechanics, that is, turbulence in fluids and failure in solids. It is pointed that developing a tractable, closed nonequilibrium statistical theory may be an effective approach to deal with the multiscale coupling problems. Some common characteristics of the statistical theory are discussed.

Micro-systems for Optical Protein-Chip

Protein-Chip as micro-assays for the determination of protein interaction, the analysis, the identification and the purification of proteins has large potential applications. The Optical Protein-Chip is able to detect the multi-interaction of proteins and multi-bio-activities of molecules directly and simultaneously with no labeling. The chip is a small matrix on solid substrate containing multi-micro-area prepared by microfabrication with photolithography or soft lithography for surface patterning, and processed with surface modification which includes the physical, chemical, and bio-chemical modifications, etc. The ligand immobilization, such as protein immobilization, especially the oriented immobilization with low steric hindrance and high bio-specific binding activity between ligand and receptor is used to form a sensing surface. Each area of the pattern is corresponding to only one bioactivity. The interval between the areas is non-bioactive and optically extinctive. The affinity between proteins is used to realize non-labeling microassays for the determination of protein identification and protein interaction. The sampling of the chip is non-disturbing, performed with imaging ellipsometry and image processing on a database of proteins.

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Investigation about Internal and External Flows

In this paper, TASCflow3D is used to solve inner and outer 3D viscous incompressible turbulent flow (R-e = 5.6 X 10(6)) around axisymmetric body with duct. The governing equation is a RANS equation with standard k-epsilon turbulence model. The discrete method used is a finite volume method based on the finite element approach. In this method, the description of geometry is very flexible and at the same time important conservative properties are retained. The multi-block and algebraic multi-grid techniques are used for the convergence acceleration. Agreement between experimental results and calculation is good. It indicates that this novel approach can be used to simulate complex flow such as the interaction between rotor and stator or propulsion systems containing tip clearance and cavitation.

First-passage failure of quasi-integrable Hamiltonian systems

The first-passage failure of quasi-integrable Hamiltonian si-stems (multidegree-of-freedom integrable Hamiltonian systems subject to light dampings and weakly random excitations) is investigated. The motion equations of such a system are first reduced to a set of averaged Ito stochastic differential equations by using the stochastic averaging method for quasi-integrable Hamiltonian systems. Then, a backward Kolmogorov equation governing the conditional reliability function and a set of generalized Pontryagin equations governing the conditional moments of first-passage time are established. Finally, the conditional reliability function, and the conditional probability density and moments of first-passage time are obtained by solving these equations with suitable initial and boundary conditions. Two examples are given to illustrate the proposed procedure and the results from digital simulation are obtained to verify the effectiveness of the procedure.

Examination of the LBM in simulation of microchannel flow in transitional regime

The gas flows in micro-electro-mechanical systems possess relatively large Knudsen number and usually belong to the slip flow and transitional flow regimes. Recently the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) was proposed by Nie et al. in Journal of Statistical Physics, vol. 107, pp. 279-289, in 2002 to simulate the microchannel and microcavity flows in the transitional flow regime. The present article intends to test the feasibility of doing so. The results of using the lattice Boltzmann method and the direct simulation Monte Carlo method show good agreement between them for small Kn (Kn = 0.0194), poor agreement for Kn = 0.194, and large deviation for Kn = 0.388 in simulating microchannel flows. This suggests that the present version of the lattice Boltzmann method is not feasible to simulate the transitional channel flow.

Molecular dynamics simulation of plastic deformation of nanotwinned copper

The plastic deformation of polycrystalline Cu with ultrathin lamella twins has been studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The results of uniaxial tensile deformation simulation show that the abundance of twin boundaries provides obstacles to dislocation motion, which in consequence leads to a high strain hardening rate in the nanotwinned Cu. We also show that the twin lamellar spacing plays a vital role in controlling the strengthening effects, i.e., the thinner the thickness of the twin lamella, the harder the material. Additionally, twin boundaries can act as dislocation nucleation sites as they gradually lose coherency at large strain. These results indicate that controlled introduction of nanosized twins into metals can be an effective way of improving strength without suppression tensile ductility. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Investigation about Internal and External Flows

In this paper, TASCflow3D is used to solve inner and outer 3D viscous incompressible turbulent flow (R-e = 5.6 X 10(6)) around axisymmetric body with duct. The governing equation is a RANS equation with standard k-epsilon turbulence model. The discrete method used is a finite volume method based on the finite element approach. In this method, the description of geometry is very flexible and at the same time important conservative properties are retained. The multi-block and algebraic multi-grid techniques are used for the convergence acceleration. Agreement between experimental results and calculation is good. It indicates that this novel approach can be used to simulate complex flow such as the interaction between rotor and stator or propulsion systems containing tip clearance and cavitation.