Tunable-slip boundaries for coarse-grained simulations of fluid flow

On the micro- and nanoscale, classical hydrodynamic boundary conditions such as the no-slip condition no longer apply. Instead, the flow profiles exhibit "slip" at the surface, which is characterized by a finite slip length (partial slip). We present a new, systematic way of implementing partial-slip boundary conditions with arbitrary slip length in coarse-grained computer simulations. The main idea is to represent the complex microscopic interface structure by a spatially varying effective viscous force. An analytical equation for the resulting slip length can be derived for planar and for curved surfaces. The comparison with computer simulations of a DPD (dissipative particle dynamics) fluid shows that this expression is valid from full slip to no slip.