Molecular dynamics study on the binary collision of nanometer-sized droplets of liquid argon

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulation is used to study the binary collisions of nanometer-sized droplets of argon in the presence of a surrounding gas. By systematically varying the droplet size, the impact parameter and the velocity of collision, the outcome of such collisions were examined and they can be classified into coalescence, separation and shattering. If one of the colliding droplets is half or less than the other in diameter, a shattering is not possible to occur. The threshold of impact parameter for a given separation was studied by adjusting the Weber number. Overall nanoscale droplets were more likely to coalesce than the macroscopic sized ones due to their high surface-to-volume ratio.