A Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Bubble Nucleation on Solid Surface in Explosive Boiling

A bubble nucleation on solid surface in explosive boiling is simulated by molecular dynamics method. Liquid water on a solid surface is heated until a bubble is nucleated. Liquid water is represented by 10368 simple point charge molecules, and the solid surface is represented by three layers of harmonic molecules which are arranged in an fcc style. The increasing rate of temperature is realized by the temperature control technology of the solid surface molecules. Temperature and pressure of water system is calculated in the process of bubble nucleation. A “ghost atom” is used to estimate the volume of the bubble void, and the diameters of the cavitation are calculated. The bubble growth rate is determined by statistics on the bubble diameters. It indicates that expanding and shrinking alternate all the time, which has a same trend as in an underwater blast. The nucleation rate of the simulation is estimated at 30 orders of magnitude by calculating the nucleation time and the volume of the bubble void. Radial distribution function in the process of nucleation indicates a measure of the structure of the water system in the process of bubble nucleation.