Nanoscale Spiral Flow in a Cylindrical Channel

Abstract

We study the behavior of pressure-driven flow in a cylindrical nanochannel patterned with different wettability using molecular dynamics simulations. We consider the flow perpendicular or parallel to the periodic stripes of wetting and nonwetting materials. For both geometries, we observe a sharp increase in the longitudinal velocity of the flow as wetting stripe width decreases, which is clearly distinguishable from the case of shear-driven flow. When the channel wall is spirally patterned with distinct wetting stripes, the transverse velocity of the flow is generated in the channel and its generation depends strongly on the degree of molecular ordering above the wetting stripes, which can be controlled by helical angle, wetting stripe width, the relative area of the wetting region, and the strength of the fluid-wall interaction.