Coupled level set volume of fluid method for incompressible two-phase flow

Abstract

Computational modeling of two-phase flow requires, among other things, an efficient means of tracking the interface between the phases. For incompressible two-phase flows, there are several existing methods for tracking the interface, including the level set and volume of fluid methods, but they have significant weaknesses. The level set is a signed distance field (that is 0 at the interface, positive in one phase, and negative in the other) that is advected with the flow; because it directly tracks the interface, it readily provides curvature information and naturally handles merging interfaces, however it is not strictly volume conserving. Conversely, the volume of fluid method is strictly volume conserving, but since it tracks the interface only indirectly, it does not readily provide curvature information or handle merging interfaces. Coupled level set volume of fluid (CLSVOF) methods combine the level set and volume of fluid methods in such a way as to keep the advantages of each method while eliminating their weaknesses. We are developing a CLSVOF method for parallel computing on unstructured meshes. This talk will cover the mechanics of level set, volume of fluid, and CLSVOF methods, our early development progress for CLSVOF, and our plan for completing the development and testing the performance of our CLSVOF method.

Date
Mar 31, 2015 3:30 PM — 4:30 PM
Location
Bechtel Collaboratory, Discovery Learning Center
Engineering Center, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309
MEREDITH PURSER

University of Colorado Boulder