Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2026

An Analog Macroscopic Technique for Studying Molecular Hydrodynamic Processes in Dense Gases and Liquids
Published on: December 4, 2017
Thermodynamic consistency of liquid-gas lattice Boltzmann methods: interfacial property issues
E S Kikkinides1, A G Yiotis, M E Kainourgiakis
1Department of Engineering and Management of Energy Resources, University of Western Macedonia, Bakola and Sialvera Street, 50100 Kozani, Greece.
Abstract:
In the present study we examine the thermodynamic consistency of lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) models that are based on the forcing method by comparing different numerical treatments of the LBE for van der Waals fluids. The different models are applied for the calculation of bulk and interfacial thermodynamic properties at various temperatures. The effect of the interface density gradient parameter, kappa , that controls surface tension, is related explicitly with the fluid characteristics, including temperature, molecular diameter, and lattice spacing, through the employment of a proper intermolecular interaction potential. A comprehensive analysis of the interfacial properties reveals some important shortcomings of the LBE methods when central finite difference schemes are employed in the directional derivative calculations and proposes a proper treatment that ensures thermodynamically consistent interfacial properties in accord with the van der Waals theory. The results are found to be in excellent quantitative agreement with exact results of the van der Waals theory preserving all the major features of the interfacial characteristics of vapor-liquid systems of different shapes and sizes.
Related Concept Videos
Molecular Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids
Distribution of Molecular Speeds
Van der Waals Equation
First, the attractive forces between molecules, which are stronger at higher densities and reduce the pressure, are considered by adding to the pressure a term equal to the square of the molar density multiplied by a positive coefficient a. Second, the volume...
Real Gases: Effects of Intermolecular Forces and Molecular Volume Deriving Van der Waals Equation
Thermodynamic Properties of Ideal Solutions
Lattice Energies of Ionic Crystals

