A relaxation model for liquid-vapor phase change with metastability (Q346000)

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a model which describes phase transitions for the van der Waals equation of state (EoS). First the thermodynamics of the system is described by the usual differential relations. Then a dynamical system is constructed, whose equilibria are either pure liquid/vapor, or a system of equations for the chemical potentials, pressures, etc. A theorem concerning the attractors of this system is proved by Lyapunov functions and the Gibbs relation. The different states are plotted in diagrams, and numerical illustrations are given by using Maxwell's equal area rule. A property of the Helmholtz free-energy is proved and the eigenvalues of the homogeneous system are computed.