ABSTRACT
Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) was introduced a decade ago by Hoogerbrugge and Koelman [1, 2] as a particle-based off-lattice simulation method for the flow of complex fluids. Developed for mesoscopic length and time scales, i.e., much larger than atomic but still much smaller than macroscopic, DPD faithfully reproduces the relevant thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, and the omnipresent thermal noise. It was quickly recognized that DPD offered new and exciting opportunities for modeling polymers, materials that are rich in physical phenomena characterized by their mesoscopic scale. Already it has made significant impact on our understanding of microphase separation in block copolymers and phase behavior of polymer solutions [3].
