Molecular-Dynamics Simulation of Vulcanian Eruption
  Vulcanian explosive eruption, which is a nonlinear and nonequilibrium abrupt dynamics of magma-gas mixture, is modeled by a two-component Lennard-Jones particle system. Molecular-dynamics simulation of a shock-tube experiment gives consistent results with a explosive eruption picture of volcanology; Shock wave and expansion wave are reproduced. In addition bubble nucleation of a gas component in the magma melt and spinodal-like decomposition are observed in the simulation. The result is also compared with a continuum hydrodynamic model; Qualitative features of continuum dynamics are reproduced by the present model. We find that the particle description of dynamics is an effective method in such kind of abrupt dynamics. 
Satoshi Yukawa, Nobuyasu Ito