Numerical solution of a phase field model for incompressible two-phase flows based on artificial compressibility

We present an artificial compressibility based numerical method for a phase field model for simulating two-phase incompressible viscous flows. The phase model was proposed by Liu and Shen [Physica D. 179 (2003) 211–228], in which the interface between two fluids is represented by a thin transition region of fluid mixture that stores certain amount of mixing energy. The model consists of the Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the Allen–Cahn equation (phase field equation) through an extra stress term and a transport term. The extra stress in the momentum equations represents the phase-induced capillary effect for the mixture due to the surface tension. The coupled equations are cast into a conservative form suitable for implementation with the artificial compressibility method. The resulting hyperbolic system of equations are then discretized with weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) finite difference scheme. The dual-time stepping technique is applied for obtaining time accuracy at each physical time step, and the approximate factorization algorithm is used to solve the discretized equations. The effectiveness of the numerical method is demonstrated in several two-phase flow problems with topological changes. Numerical results show the present method can be used to simulate incompressible two-phase flows with small interfacial width parameters and topological changes.     

Hybrid spectral-element-low-order methods for incompressible flows

In this article we present a new formulation for coupling spectral element discretizations to finite difference and finite element discretizations addressing flow problems in very complicated geometries. A general iterative relaxation procedure (Zanolli patching) is employed that enforcesC ¹ continuity along the patching interface between the two differently discretized subdomains. In fluid flow simulations of transitional and turbulent flows the high-order discretization (spectral element) is used in the outer part of the domain where the Reynolds number is effectively very high. Near rough wall boundaries (where the flow is effectively very viscous) the use of low-order discretizations provides sufficient accuracy and allows for efficient treatment of the complex geometry. An analysis of the patching procedure is presented for elliptic problems, and extensions to incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are implemented using an efficient high-order splitting scheme. Several examples are given for elliptic and flow model problems and performance is measured on both serial and parallel processors.     

A phase-field method for shape optimization of incompressible flows

In this paper, we present a phase-field method applied to the fluid-based shape optimization. The fluid flow is governed by the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. A phase field variable is used to represent material distributions and the optimized shape of the fluid is obtained by minimizing the certain objective functional regularized. The shape sensitivity analysis is presented in terms of phase field variable, which is the main contribution of this paper. It saves considerable amount of computational expense when the meshes are locally refined near the interfaces compared to the case of fixed meshes. Numerical results on some benchmark problems are reported, and it is shown that the phase-field approach for fluid shape optimization is efficient and robust.     

A high order Discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element solver for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

The paper presents an unsteady high order Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) solver that has been developed, verified and validated for the solution of the two-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. A second order stiffly stable method is used to discretise the equations in time. Spatial discretisation is accomplished using a modal DG approach, in which the inter-element fluxes are approximated using the Symmetric Interior Penalty Galerkin formulation. The non-linear terms in the Navier–Stokes equations are expressed in the convective form and approximated through the Lesaint–Raviart fluxes modified for DG methods.Verification of the solver is performed for a series of test problems; purely elliptic, unsteady Stokes and full Navier–Stokes. The resulting method leads to a stable scheme for the unsteady Stokes and Navier–Stokes equations when equal order approximation is used for velocity and pressure. For the validation of the full Navier–Stokes solver, we consider unsteady laminar flow past a square cylinder at a Reynolds number of 100 (unsteady wake). The DG solver shows favourably comparisons to experimental data and a continuous Spectral code.     

Self-regulating finite-difference methods for the computation of reacting flows with nonlinear kinetics

This paper deals with the difficult problem of predicting the concentration (and temperature) fields of reacting flows in which the chemistry is modeled by a multicomponent set ofnonlinear reactions. A novel variable split-operator method is presented, which splits each individual chemical reaction at each point and for each step or iteration in such a way as to guarantee the nonpositiveness of the eigenvalues of the chemical Jacobian matrix. This helps to ensure stability/convergence of the proposed iterative scheme. The possibility of constructing accelerated schemes of this nature is also explored. Finally, computed results illustrate the usefulness and reliability of the proposed methods and provide evidence concerning their relative merits.     

Conjugate filters with spectral-like resolution for 2D incompressible flows

A conjugate filter oscillation reduction scheme originally developed for compressible flows and in general for hyperbolic conservation laws is applied to the solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation with periodic boundary conditions. Conjugate low-pass and high-pass filters are constructed by using a local spectral method, the discrete singular convolution algorithm. A spectral-like resolution, i.e., near the machine precision obtained at a sampling rate close to the Nyquist limit (2 points per wavelength), is achieved in treating a smooth initial value problem which admits an exact solution. The spectral-like resolution is enhanced by the use of conjugate low-pass filters in treating the double shear layer and multi-shear layer problems, which exhibit extremely small flow features.     

High order finite difference methods for unsteady incompressible flows in multi-connected domains

Using the vorticity and stream function variables is an effective way to compute 2-D incompressible flow due to the facts that the incompressibility constraint for the velocity is automatically satisfied, the pressure variable is eliminated, and high order schemes can be efficiently implemented. However, a difficulty arises in a multi-connected computational domain in determining the constants for the stream function on the boundary of the “holes”. This is an especially challenging task for the calculation of unsteady flows, since these constants vary with time to reflect the total fluxes of the flow in each sub-channel. In this paper, we propose an efficient method in a finite difference setting to solve this problem and present some numerical experiments, including an accuracy check of a Taylor vortex-type flow, flow past a non-symmetric square, and flow in a heat exchanger.     

Numerical approximation of incompressible flows with net flux defective boundary conditions by means of penalty techniques

We consider incompressible flow problems with defective boundary conditions prescribing only the net flux on some inflow and outflow sections of the boundary. As a paradigm for such problems, we simply refer to Stokes flow. After a brief review of the problem and of its well posedness, we discretize the corresponding variational formulation by means of finite elements and looking at the boundary conditions as constraints, we exploit a penalty method to account for them. We perform the analysis of the method in terms of consistency, boundedness and stability of the discrete bilinear form and we show that the application of the penalty method does not affect the optimal convergence properties of the finite element discretization. Since the additional terms introduced to account for the defective boundary conditions are non-local, we also analyze the spectral properties of the equivalent algebraic formulation and we exploit the analysis to set up an efficient solution strategy. In contrast to alternative discretization methods based on Lagrange multipliers accounting for the constraints on the boundary, the present scheme is particularly effective because it only mildly affects the structure and the computational cost of the numerical approximation. Indeed, it does not require neither multipliers nor sub-iterations or additional adjoint problems with respect to the reference problem at hand.     

Numerical solution of incompressible Navier–Stokes equations using a fractional-step approach

A fractional step method for the solution of steady and unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations is outlined. The method is based on a finite-volume formulation and uses the pressure in the cell center and the mass fluxes across the faces of each cell as dependent variables. Implicit treatment of convective and viscous terms in the momentum equations enables the numerical stability restrictions to be relaxed. The linearization error in the implicit solution of momentum equations is reduced by using three subiterations in order to achieve second order temporal accuracy for time-accurate calculations. In spatial discretizations of the momentum equations, a high-order (third and fifth) flux-difference splitting for the convective terms and a second-order central difference for the viscous terms are used. The resulting algebraic equations are solved with a line-relaxation scheme which allows the use of large time step. A four color ZEBRA scheme is employed after the line-relaxation procedure in the solution of the Poisson equation for pressure. This procedure is applied to a Couette flow problem using a distorted computational grid to show that the method minimizes grid effects. Additional benchmark cases include the unsteady laminar flow over a circular cylinder for Reynolds numbers of 200, and a 3-D, steady, turbulent wingtip vortex wake propagation study. The solution algorithm does a very good job in resolving the vortex core when fifth-order upwind differencing and a modified production term in the Baldwin–Barth one-equation turbulence model are used with adequate grid resolution.     

Three time integration methods for incompressible flows with discontinuous Galerkin Boltzmann method

This paper presents three time integration methods for incompressible flows with finite element method in solving the lattice-BGK Boltzmann equation. The space discretization is performed using nodal discontinuous Galerkin method, which employs unstructured meshes with triangular elements and high order approximation degrees. The time discretization is performed using three different kinds of time integration methods, namely, direct, decoupling and splitting. From the storage cost, temporal accuracy, numerical stability and time consumption, we systematically compare three time integration methods. Then benchmark fluid flow simulations are performed to highlight efficient time integration methods. Numerical results are in good agreement with others or exact solutions.     

Boundary conditions for incompressible flows

A general framework is presented for the formulation and analysis of rigid no-slip boundary conditions for numerical schemes for the solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. It is shown that fractional-step (splitting) methods are prone to introduce a spurious numerical boundary layer that induces substantial time differencing errors. High-order extrapolation methods are analyzed to reduce these errors. Both improved pressure boundary condition and velocity boundary condition methods are developed that allow accurate implementation of rigid no-slip boundary conditions.     

A class of high-resolution algorithms for incompressible flows

We present a class of a high-resolution Godunov-type algorithms for solving flow problems governed by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The algorithms use high-resolution finite volume methods developed in LeVeque (SIAM J Numer Anal 1996;33:627-665) for the advective terms and finite difference methods for the diffusion and the Poisson pressure equation. The high-resolution algorithm advects the cell-centered velocities using the divergence-free cell-edge velocities. The resulting cell-centered velocity is then updated by the solution of the Poisson equation. The algorithms are proven to be robust for constant-density flows at high Reynolds numbers via an example of lid-driven cavity flow. With a slight modification for the projection operator in the constant-density solvers, the algorithms also solve incompressible flows with finite-amplitude density variation. The strength of such algorithms is illustrated through problems like Rayleigh-Taylor instability and the Boussinesq equations for Rayleigh-Bénard convection. Numerical studies of the convergence and order of accuracy for the velocity field are provided. While simulations for two-dimensional regular-geometry problems are presented in this study, in principle, extension of the algorithms to three dimensions with complex geometry is feasible.     

A numerical method for two phase flows with insoluble surfactants

In many practical multiphase flow problems, i.e. treatment of gas emboli and various microfluidic applications, the effect of interfacial surfactants, or surface reacting agents, on the surface tension between the fluids is important. The surfactant concentration on an interface separating the fluids can be modeled with a time dependent differential equation defined on the moving and deforming interface. The equations for the location of the interface and the surfactant concentration on the interface are coupled with the Navier–Stokes equations. These equations include the singular surface tension forces from the interface on the fluid, which depend on the interfacial surfactant concentration.A new accurate and inexpensive numerical method for simulating the evolution of insoluble surfactants is presented in this paper. It is based on an explicit yet Eulerian discretization of the interface, which for two dimensional flows allows for the use of uniform one dimensional grids to discretize the equation for the interfacial surfactant concentration. A finite difference method is used to solve the Navier–Stokes equations on a regular grid with the forces from the interface spread to this grid using a regularized delta function. The timestepping is based on a Strang splitting approach.Drop deformation in shear flows in two dimensions is considered. Specifically, the effect of surfactant concentration on the deformation of the drops is studied for different sets of flow parameters.     

Development of a parallelized 2D/2D-axisymmetric Navier–Stokes equation solver for all-speed gas flows

A parallelized 2D/2D-axisymmetric pressure-based, extended SIMPLE finite-volume Navier–Stokes equation solver using Cartesians grids has been developed for simulating compressible, viscous, heat conductive and rarefied gas flows at all speeds with conjugate heat transfer. The discretized equations are solved by the parallel Krylov–Schwarz (KS) algorithm, in which the ILU and BiCGStab or GMRES scheme are used as the preconditioner and linear matrix equation solver, respectively. Developed code was validated by comparing previous published simulations wherever available for both low- and high-speed gas flows. Parallel performance for a typical 2D driven cavity problem is tested on the IBM-1350 at NCHC of Taiwan up to 32 processors. Future applications of this code are discussed briefly at the end.     

An explicit projection method for solving incompressible flows driven by a pressure difference

A finite-difference method for solving the incompressible time-dependent three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations in open flows where Dirichlet boundary condition (BC) for the pressure are given on part of the boundary is presented. The equations in primitive variables are solved using a projection method on a non-staggered grid with second-order accuracy in space and time. On the inflow and outflow boundaries the pressure is obtained from its given value at the contour of these surfaces using a two-dimensional form of the pressure Poisson equation, which enforces the incompressibility constraint . The obtained pressure in these surfaces is used as Dirichlet BCs for the three-dimensional Poisson equation inside the domain. The solenoidal requirement imposes some restrictions on the choice of the open surfaces. However, these restrictions are usually met in most flows of interest driven by a pressure (or a body force) difference, to which the present numerical method is mainly intended. To check the accuracy of the method, it is applied to several examples including the flow over a backward-facing step, and the three-dimensional pressure driven flow in a circular pipe.     

Stencil adaptive diffuse interface method for simulation of two-dimensional incompressible multiphase flows

Diffuse interface method is becoming a more and more popular approach for simulation of multiphase flows. As compared to other solvers, it is easy to implement and can keep conservation of mass and momentum. In the diffuse interface method, the interface is not considered as a sharp discontinuity. Instead, it treats the interface as a diffuse layer with a small thickness. This treatment is similar to the shock-capturing method. To have a fine resolution around the interface, one has to use very fine mesh in the computational domain. As a consequence, a large computational effort will be needed. To improve the computational efficiency, this paper incorporates the efficient 5-points stencil adaptive algorithm [1] into the diffuse interface method with local refinement around the interface and then applies the developed method to simulate two-dimensional incompressible multiphase flows. Three cases are chosen to test the performance of the method, including Young-Laplace law for a 2D drop, drop deformation in the shear flow and viscous finger formation. The method is well validated through the comparison with theoretical analysis or earlier results available in the literature. It is shown that the method can obtain accurate results at much lower cost, even for problems with moving contact lines. The improvement of computational efficiency by the stencil adaptive algorithm is demonstrated obviously.     

Textbook multigrid efficiency for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations: high Reynolds number wakes and boundary layers

Textbook multigrid efficiencies for high Reynolds number simulations based on the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations are attained for a model problem of flow past a finite flat plate. Elements of the full approximation scheme multigrid algorithm, including distributed relaxation, defect correction, and boundary treatment, are presented for the three main physical aspects encountered: entering flow, wake flow, and boundary layer flow. Textbook efficiencies, i.e., reduction of algebraic errors below discretization errors in one full multigrid cycle, are attained for second order accurate simulations at a laminar Reynolds number of 10,000.     

A generalized continuous surface tension force formulation for phase-field models for multi-component immiscible fluid flows

We present a new phase-field method for modeling surface tension effects on multi-component immiscible fluid flows. Interfaces between fluids having different properties are represented as transition regions of finite thickness across which the phase-field varies continuously. At each point in the transition region, we define a force density which is proportional to the curvature of the interface times a smoothed Dirac delta function. We consider a vector valued phase-field, the velocity, and pressure fields which are governed by multi-component advective Cahn–Hilliard and modified Navier–Stokes equations. The new formulation makes it possible to model any combination of interfaces without any additional decision criteria. It is general, therefore it can be applied to any number of fluid components. We give computational results for the four component fluid flows to illustrate the properties of the method. The capabilities of the method are computationally demonstrated with phase separations via a spinodal decomposition in a four-component mixture, pressure field distribution for three stationary drops, and the dynamics of two droplets inside another drop embedded in the ambient liquid.     

A high order finite-difference solver for investigation of disturbance development in turbulent boundary layers

This paper outlines a velocity–vorticity based numerical simulation method for modelling perturbation development in laminar and turbulent boundary layers at large Reynolds numbers. Particular attention is paid to the application of integral conditions for the vorticity. These provide constraints on the evolution of the vorticity that are fully equivalent to the usual no-slip conditions. The vorticity and velocity perturbation variables are divided into two distinct primary and secondary groups, allowing the number of governing equations and variables to be effectively halved. Compact finite differences are used to obtain a high-order spatial discretization of the equations. Some novel features of the discretization are highlighted: (i) the incorporation of the vorticity integral conditions and (ii) the related use of a co-ordinate transformation along the semi-infinite wall-normal direction. The viability of the numerical solution procedure is illustrated by a selection of test simulation results. We also indicate the intended application of the simulation code to parametric investigations of the effectiveness of spanwise-directed wall oscillations in inhibiting the growth of streaks within turbulent boundary layers.     

A Spectral Element Projection Scheme for Incompressible Flow with Application to the Unsteady Axisymmetric Stokes Problem

This paper presents a modified Goda scheme in the simulation of unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes flows in cylindrical geometries. The study is restricted to the case of axisymmetric flows. For the justification of the robustness of our scheme some computational test cases are investigated. It turns out that by adopting the new approach, a significant accuracy improvement on both pressure and velocity can be obtained relative to the classical Goda scheme.