A phase-field model and its efficient numerical method for two-phase flows on arbitrarily curved surfaces in 3D space

Junxiang Yang, Junseok Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Herein, we present a phase-field model and its efficient numerical method for incompressible single and binary fluid flows on arbitrarily curved surfaces in a three-dimensional (3D) space. An incompressible single fluid flow is governed by the Navier–Stokes (NS) equation and the binary fluid flow is governed by the two-phase Navier–Stokes–Cahn–Hilliard (NSCH) system. In the proposed method, we use a narrow band domain to embed the arbitrarily curved surface and extend the NSCH system and apply a pseudo-Neumann boundary condition that enforces constancy of the dependent variables along the normal direction of the points on the surface. Therefore, we can use the standard discrete Laplace operator instead of the discrete Laplace–Beltrami operator. Within the narrow band domain, the Chorin's projection method is applied to solve the NS equation, and a convex splitting method is employed to solve the Cahn–Hilliard equation with an advection term. To keep the velocity field tangential to the surface, a velocity correction procedure is applied. An effective mass correction step is adopted to preserve the phase concentration. Computational results such as convergence test, Kevin–Helmholtz instability, and Rayleigh–Taylor instability on curved surfaces demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.

Original languageEnglish
Article number113382
JournalComputer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
Volume372
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020 Dec 1

Keywords

  • Cahn–Hilliard equation
  • Kevin–Helmholtz instability
  • Rayleigh–Taylor instability
  • Two-phase fluid flow

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computational Mechanics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Physics and Astronomy(all)
  • Computer Science Applications

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