Chapter 7: Mesoscale simulations of complex fluids

Complex fluids, such as suspensions with solid particles or polymer solutions, display a rich non-equilibrium behaviour. Under the influence of external forces or externally imposed flow conditions, the particles or polymers self-organise into highly structured arrangements or exhibit surprisingly strong correlated motions. Computer simulations have become an indispensable tool to study, understand and predict this collective behaviour in complex fluids. Because the particles or polymer chains are usually much larger than the solvent molecules, molecular dynamics simulations are computationally too expensive. This chapter provides an introduction to mesoscale simulations, which treat molecular systems on a more coarse-grained level.