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Published on: February 5, 2017
Flow enhancement in nanotubes of different materials and lengths
Konstantinos Ritos1, Davide Mattia2, Francesco Calabrò3
1James Weir Fluids Lab, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XJ, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
The high water flow rates observed in carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have previously been attributed to the unfavorable energetic interaction between the liquid and the graphitic walls of the CNTs. This paper reports molecular dynamics simulations of water flow in carbon, boron nitride, and silicon carbide nanotubes that show the effect of the solid-liquid interactions on the fluid flow. Alongside an analytical model, these results show that the flow enhancement depends on the tube's geometric characteristics and the solid-liquid interactions.

