A Molecular Dynamics Study on Energy Accommodation Coefficients in Microchannels

Energy accommodation coefficient (EAC), used in thermal boundary condition in micro gas flow and heat transfer, is reported to be always less than unity and greatly influenced by the wall characters. According to EAC’s definition, the statistical algorithm was described and EAC for argon gas was studied by two dimensional NEMD simulations with heat conduction between two smooth platinum plates at different temperatures. With one wall’s temperature fixed, the non-equilibrium EACs were calculated by changing the other wall’s temperature. Meanwhile, the equilibrium EAC at one temperature can be extrapolated from a series of non-equilibrium EACs as the temperature difference approaches to zero. The effects of wall temperature, wall temperature difference, and Kn on EAC were investigated. Non-equilibrium EAC increases with wall temperature difference decreased, and becomes larger with increased Kn. And equilibrium EAC is larger for lower temperature and larger Kn.