This award supports the travel to Australia by two U.S. investigators as part of a cooperative research program between Cornell University and the Australian National University to study the transport behavior of fluids in narrow pores, using the methods of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics and molecular simulation. The senior collaborators will be Professor K. E. Gubbins and Dr. L. A. Pozhar from Cornell and Professor D. J. Evans at the Australian National University. The objectives of the research, to be conducted over a two year period, are to develop and test a kinetic theory of inhomogenius fluids, and to apply it to the prediction of diffusion, viscous flow and heat transport in model micropores. In addition, molecular dynamics simulations will be used to test the kinetic theory and nonequilibrium simulations of transport processes in micropores of simple geometries (slits and cylinders) will be made to obtain an understanding of the effects of pore size and shape, type of pore wall, and state conditions on transport processes in such confined fluids. Microporous materials are widely used in industry to carry out chemical reactions and to effect purification and separations. The proposed work is needed to design better and more efficient processes for such industries. This project, supported jointly by NSF and the Australian Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce (DITAC), brings together the expertise of the researchers in computational and theoretical statistical mechanics.
