Molecular Simulation on Explosive Boiling of Water on a Hot Copper Plate

In this paper, molecular dynamics simulation is carried out to study the explosive boiling of liquid water film heated by a hot copper plate in a confined space. A more physically-sound thermostat is applied to control the temperature of the metal plate and then to heat water molecules that are placed in the elastic wall confined simulation domain. The results show that liquid water molecules close to the plate are instantly overheated and undergo an explosive phase transition. A huge pressure in the region between liquid film and hot copper plate formed at the beginning and leads to a low density vapor region by partially vaporizing water film. A non-vaporization molecular layer, with a constant density of 0.2 g/cm³, tightly attached to the surface of the plate is observed. The z-component of COM (center of mass) trajectory of the liquid film in the confined space is tracked and analyzed. The one-dimensional density profile indicates the water film have a piston-like motion after short period of explosive boiling. Temperatures at three corresponding regions, which are vapor, liquid, and vapor from the top plate surface, are also computed and analyzed along with the piston-like motion of the bulk liquid film.