ABSTRACT
Simulations enable us to test the approximations made in theories, and contribute to a rational design of new viscoelastic materials based on wormlike micelles. Simulations of wormlike micelles may be performed on many different length and time scales, from the atomistic to the mesoscopic. Molecular dynamics has witnessed a rapid development since the seminal hard sphere simulations of Alder and Wainwright in the 1960s. Several factors have contributed to this rise, the most important of which is the immense performance improvement of integrated circuits, which has made computer power a cheap and abundant commodity. The chapter aims to explain the concepts of atomistic and “coarse grained” simulations, including their successes and limitations. It explains the basic principles of computer simulations, and focuses on simulations of wormlike micelles. When performing numerical simulations, the aim is to calculate structural and thermodynamic properties, and possibly dynamical properties, of the system under investigation.
