Syntax:
fix ID group-ID viscous gamma keyword values ...
keyword = scale scale values = type ratio type = atom type (1-N) ratio = factor to scale the damping coefficient by
Examples:
fix 1 flow viscous 0.1 fix 1 damp viscous 0.5 scale 3 2.5
Description:
Add a viscous damping force to atoms in the group that is proportional to the velocity of the atom. The added force can be thought of as a frictional interaction with implicit solvent. In granular simulations this can be useful for draining the kinetic energy from the system in a controlled fashion. If used without additional thermostatting (to add kinetic energy to the system), it has the effect of slowly (or rapidly) freezing the system; hence it is a simple energy minimization technique.
The damping force F is given by F = - gamma * velocity. The larger the coefficient, the faster the kinetic energy is reduced. If the optional keyword scale is used, gamma can scaled up or down by the specified factor for atoms of that type. It can be used multiple times to adjust gamma for several atom types.
In a Brownian dynamics context, gamma = kT / mD, where k = Bolztmann's constant, T = temperature, m = particle mass, and D = particle diffusion coefficient. D can be written as kT / (6 pi eta d), where eta = viscosity of the frictional fluid and d = diameter of particle. This means gamma = 6 pi eta d, and thus is proportional to the viscosity of the fluid and the particle diameter.
In the current implementation, rather than have the user specify a viscosity (in centiPoise or some other units), gamma is specified directly in force/velocity units. If needed, gamma can be adjusted for atoms of different sizes (i.e. sigma) by using the scale keyword.
Note that Brownian dynamics models also typically include a randomized force term to thermostat the system at a chosen temperature. The fix langevin command adds both a viscous damping term and this random force to each atom; hence if using fix langevin you do not typically need to use fix viscous.
Restrictions: none
Related commands:
Default: none