Phase Transition in Van der Waals Fluid

Abstract

We study liquid--vapor phase transition modeled by the van der Waals equations in which the equation of state is a nonmonotone function. We solve the van der Waals system numerically by a pseudospectral method and with small viscosity in the equations. In particular, we solve the equations with initial data inside the elliptic region. Phase transition process and long time behavior of the system are studied. The Maxwell configuration is shown to be the most stable configuration after phase transition.