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244 lines
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244 lines
11 KiB
ReStructuredText
Finite-size spherical and aspherical particles
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==============================================
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Typical MD models treat atoms or particles as point masses. Sometimes
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it is desirable to have a model with finite-size particles such as
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spheroids or ellipsoids or generalized aspherical bodies. The
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difference is that such particles have a moment of inertia, rotational
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energy, and angular momentum. Rotation is induced by torque coming
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from interactions with other particles.
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LAMMPS has several options for running simulations with these kinds of
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particles. The following aspects are discussed in turn:
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* atom styles
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* pair potentials
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* time integration
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* computes, thermodynamics, and dump output
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* rigid bodies composed of finite-size particles
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Example input scripts for these kinds of models are in the body,
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colloid, dipole, ellipse, line, peri, pour, and tri directories of the
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:doc:`examples directory <Examples>` in the LAMMPS distribution.
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Atom styles
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-----------
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There are several :doc:`atom styles <atom_style>` that allow for
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definition of finite-size particles: sphere, dipole, ellipsoid, line,
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tri, peri, and body.
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The sphere style defines particles that are spheroids and each
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particle can have a unique diameter and mass (or density). These
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particles store an angular velocity (omega) and can be acted upon by
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torque. The "set" command can be used to modify the diameter and mass
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of individual particles, after then are created.
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The dipole style does not actually define finite-size particles, but
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is often used in conjunction with spherical particles, via a command
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like
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.. parsed-literal::
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atom_style hybrid sphere dipole
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This is because when dipoles interact with each other, they induce
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torques, and a particle must be finite-size (i.e. have a moment of
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inertia) in order to respond and rotate. See the :doc:`atom\_style dipole <atom_style>` command for details. The "set" command can be
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used to modify the orientation and length of the dipole moment of
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individual particles, after then are created.
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The ellipsoid style defines particles that are ellipsoids and thus can
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be aspherical. Each particle has a shape, specified by 3 diameters,
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and mass (or density). These particles store an angular momentum and
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their orientation (quaternion), and can be acted upon by torque. They
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do not store an angular velocity (omega), which can be in a different
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direction than angular momentum, rather they compute it as needed.
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The "set" command can be used to modify the diameter, orientation, and
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mass of individual particles, after then are created. It also has a
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brief explanation of what quaternions are.
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The line style defines line segment particles with two end points and
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a mass (or density). They can be used in 2d simulations, and they can
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be joined together to form rigid bodies which represent arbitrary
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polygons.
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The tri style defines triangular particles with three corner points
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and a mass (or density). They can be used in 3d simulations, and they
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can be joined together to form rigid bodies which represent arbitrary
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particles with a triangulated surface.
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The peri style is used with :doc:`Peridynamic models <pair_peri>` and
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defines particles as having a volume, that is used internally in the
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:doc:`pair\_style peri <pair_peri>` potentials.
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The body style allows for definition of particles which can represent
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complex entities, such as surface meshes of discrete points,
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collections of sub-particles, deformable objects, etc. The body style
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is discussed in more detail on the :doc:`Howto body <Howto_body>` doc
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page.
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Note that if one of these atom styles is used (or multiple styles via
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the :doc:`atom\_style hybrid <atom_style>` command), not all particles in
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the system are required to be finite-size or aspherical.
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For example, in the ellipsoid style, if the 3 shape parameters are set
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to the same value, the particle will be a sphere rather than an
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ellipsoid. If the 3 shape parameters are all set to 0.0 or if the
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diameter is set to 0.0, it will be a point particle. In the line or
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tri style, if the lineflag or triflag is specified as 0, then it
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will be a point particle.
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Some of the pair styles used to compute pairwise interactions between
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finite-size particles also compute the correct interaction with point
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particles as well, e.g. the interaction between a point particle and a
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finite-size particle or between two point particles. If necessary,
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:doc:`pair\_style hybrid <pair_hybrid>` can be used to insure the correct
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interactions are computed for the appropriate style of interactions.
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Likewise, using groups to partition particles (ellipsoids versus
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spheres versus point particles) will allow you to use the appropriate
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time integrators and temperature computations for each class of
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particles. See the doc pages for various commands for details.
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Also note that for :doc:`2d simulations <dimension>`, atom styles sphere
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and ellipsoid still use 3d particles, rather than as circular disks or
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ellipses. This means they have the same moment of inertia as the 3d
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object. When temperature is computed, the correct degrees of freedom
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are used for rotation in a 2d versus 3d system.
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Pair potentials
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---------------
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When a system with finite-size particles is defined, the particles
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will only rotate and experience torque if the force field computes
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such interactions. These are the various :doc:`pair styles <pair_style>` that generate torque:
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* :doc:`pair\_style gran/history <pair_gran>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style gran/hertzian <pair_gran>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style gran/no\_history <pair_gran>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style dipole/cut <pair_dipole>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style gayberne <pair_gayberne>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style resquared <pair_resquared>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style brownian <pair_brownian>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style lubricate <pair_lubricate>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style line/lj <pair_line_lj>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style tri/lj <pair_tri_lj>`
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* :doc:`pair\_style body/nparticle <pair_body_nparticle>`
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The granular pair styles are used with spherical particles. The
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dipole pair style is used with the dipole atom style, which could be
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applied to spherical or ellipsoidal particles. The GayBerne and
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REsquared potentials require ellipsoidal particles, though they will
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also work if the 3 shape parameters are the same (a sphere). The
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Brownian and lubrication potentials are used with spherical particles.
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The line, tri, and body potentials are used with line segment,
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triangular, and body particles respectively.
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Time integration
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----------------
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There are several fixes that perform time integration on finite-size
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spherical particles, meaning the integrators update the rotational
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orientation and angular velocity or angular momentum of the particles:
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* :doc:`fix nve/sphere <fix_nve_sphere>`
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* :doc:`fix nvt/sphere <fix_nvt_sphere>`
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* :doc:`fix npt/sphere <fix_npt_sphere>`
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Likewise, there are 3 fixes that perform time integration on
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ellipsoidal particles:
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* :doc:`fix nve/asphere <fix_nve_asphere>`
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* :doc:`fix nvt/asphere <fix_nvt_asphere>`
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* :doc:`fix npt/asphere <fix_npt_asphere>`
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The advantage of these fixes is that those which thermostat the
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particles include the rotational degrees of freedom in the temperature
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calculation and thermostatting. The :doc:`fix langevin <fix_langevin>`
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command can also be used with its *omgea* or *angmom* options to
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thermostat the rotational degrees of freedom for spherical or
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ellipsoidal particles. Other thermostatting fixes only operate on the
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translational kinetic energy of finite-size particles.
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These fixes perform constant NVE time integration on line segment,
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triangular, and body particles:
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* :doc:`fix nve/line <fix_nve_line>`
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* :doc:`fix nve/tri <fix_nve_tri>`
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* :doc:`fix nve/body <fix_nve_body>`
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Note that for mixtures of point and finite-size particles, these
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integration fixes can only be used with :doc:`groups <group>` which
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contain finite-size particles.
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Computes, thermodynamics, and dump output
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-----------------------------------------
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There are several computes that calculate the temperature or
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rotational energy of spherical or ellipsoidal particles:
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* :doc:`compute temp/sphere <compute_temp_sphere>`
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* :doc:`compute temp/asphere <compute_temp_asphere>`
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* :doc:`compute erotate/sphere <compute_erotate_sphere>`
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* :doc:`compute erotate/asphere <compute_erotate_asphere>`
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These include rotational degrees of freedom in their computation. If
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you wish the thermodynamic output of temperature or pressure to use
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one of these computes (e.g. for a system entirely composed of
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finite-size particles), then the compute can be defined and the
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:doc:`thermo\_modify <thermo_modify>` command used. Note that by default
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thermodynamic quantities will be calculated with a temperature that
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only includes translational degrees of freedom. See the
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:doc:`thermo\_style <thermo_style>` command for details.
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These commands can be used to output various attributes of finite-size
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particles:
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* :doc:`dump custom <dump>`
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* :doc:`compute property/atom <compute_property_atom>`
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* :doc:`dump local <dump>`
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* :doc:`compute body/local <compute_body_local>`
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Attributes include the dipole moment, the angular velocity, the
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angular momentum, the quaternion, the torque, the end-point and
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corner-point coordinates (for line and tri particles), and
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sub-particle attributes of body particles.
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Rigid bodies composed of finite-size particles
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----------------------------------------------
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The :doc:`fix rigid <fix_rigid>` command treats a collection of
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particles as a rigid body, computes its inertia tensor, sums the total
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force and torque on the rigid body each timestep due to forces on its
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constituent particles, and integrates the motion of the rigid body.
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If any of the constituent particles of a rigid body are finite-size
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particles (spheres or ellipsoids or line segments or triangles), then
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their contribution to the inertia tensor of the body is different than
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if they were point particles. This means the rotational dynamics of
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the rigid body will be different. Thus a model of a dimer is
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different if the dimer consists of two point masses versus two
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spheroids, even if the two particles have the same mass. Finite-size
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particles that experience torque due to their interaction with other
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particles will also impart that torque to a rigid body they are part
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of.
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See the "fix rigid" command for example of complex rigid-body models
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it is possible to define in LAMMPS.
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Note that the :doc:`fix shake <fix_shake>` command can also be used to
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treat 2, 3, or 4 particles as a rigid body, but it always assumes the
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particles are point masses.
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Also note that body particles cannot be modeled with the :doc:`fix rigid <fix_rigid>` command. Body particles are treated by LAMMPS
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as single particles, though they can store internal state, such as a
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list of sub-particles. Individual body particles are typically treated
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as rigid bodies, and their motion integrated with a command like :doc:`fix nve/body <fix_nve_body>`. Interactions between pairs of body
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particles are computed via a command like :doc:`pair\_style body/nparticle <pair_body_nparticle>`.
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.. _lws: http://lammps.sandia.gov
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.. _ld: Manual.html
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.. _lc: Commands_all.html
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