Fluid flow through packings of elastic shells

Theory and simulation of open systems out of equilibrium

We consider the theoretical model of Bergmann and Lebowitz for open systems out of equilibrium and translate its principles in the adaptive resolution simulation molecular dynamics technique. We simulate Lennard-Jones fluids with open boundaries in a thermal gradient and find excellent agreement of the stationary responses with the results obtained from the simulation of a larger locally forced closed system. The encouraging results pave the way for a computational treatment of open systems far from equilibrium framed in a well-established theoretical model that avoids possible numerical artifacts and physical misinterpretations.