Molecular dynamics simulation of a nanoscale feedback-free fluidic oscillator

Abstract

We present a molecular dynamics simulation study of a feedback-free fluidic oscillator model. Using the molecular dynamics simulations, it is demonstrated that the oscillation can be self-induced and sustained in a large range of flow rate and two very different jet directions. The oscillation mechanism of the nanoscale fluidic oscillator is physically similar to that in macroscale in which the dome vortex plays a crucial role. The thermal fluctuation is not significant enough to submerged the effect of hydrodynamics in the nanoscale feedback-free fluidic oscillator. The linear relationship between the oscillation frequency and the flow rate revealed by macroscopic experiments was also found in our simulations. Two of the three oscillation regimes found in macroscopic studies are shown to be able to be reproduced in our simulation. Our results show that molecular dynamics simulation is fully capable of studying the complicated flow in a feedback-free fluidic oscillator.