A diffuse-interface method for two-phase flows with soluble surfactants

A method is presented to solve two-phase problems involving soluble surfactants. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved along with equations for the bulk and interfacial surfactant concentrations. A non-linear equation of state is used to relate the surface tension to the interfacial surfactant concentration. The method is based on the use of a diffuse interface, which allows a simple implementation using standard finite difference or finite element techniques. Here, finite difference methods on a block-structured adaptive grid are used, and the resulting equations are solved using a non-linear multigrid method. Results are presented for a drop in shear flow in both 2D and 3D, and the effect of solubility is discussed.     

A front-tracking/ghost-fluid method for fluid interfaces in compressible flows

A front-tracking/ghost-fluid method is introduced for simulations of fluid interfaces in compressible flows. The new method captures fluid interfaces using explicit front-tracking and defines interface conditions with the ghost-fluid method. Several examples of multiphase flow simulations, including a shock–bubble interaction, the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability, the Rayleigh–Taylor instability, the collapse of an air bubble in water and the breakup of a water drop in air, using the Euler or the Navier–Stokes equations, are performed in order to demonstrate the accuracy and capability of the new method. The computational results are compared with experiments and earlier computational studies. The results show that the new method can simulate interface dynamics accurately, including the effect of surface tension. Results for compressible gas–water systems show that the new method can be used for simulations of fluid interface with large density differences.     

A subgrid computation of the curvature by a particle/level-set method. Application to a front-tracking/ghost-fluid method for incompressible flows

A particle/level-set method is developed to capture the interface between two immiscible phases. No redistance equation is used for the level-set function which is built from an accurate cubic spline interpolation of the markers describing the interface. Mass losses which usually appear with level-set functions are drastically reduced. Interface coupling with the incompressible momentum equation is taken into account thanks to the ghost-fluid method. Indeed, the particles allow an accurate computation of the local interfacial curvatures, and the capillary part of the pressure jump computed across the interface is more accurately evaluated. Results on static drop show a large decrease of spurious currents compared to other methods. Scalar advection validations and convergence studies are carried out as well as tough test-cases involving large density ratios (typically air/water). A better agreement with literature results is shown compared to classical approaches.     

A hybrid numerical method for interfacial fluid flow with soluble surfactant

We address a significant difficulty in the numerical computation of fluid interfaces with soluble surfactant that occurs in the physically representative limit of large bulk Peclet number Pe. At the high values of Pe in typical fluid-surfactant systems, there is a transition layer near the interface in which the surfactant concentration varies rapidly, and large gradients at the interface must be resolved accurately to evaluate the exchange of surfactant between the interface and bulk flow. We use the slenderness of the layer to develop a fast and accurate ‘hybrid’ numerical method that incorporates a separate, singular perturbation analysis of the dynamics in the transition layer into a full numerical solution of the interfacial free boundary problem. The accuracy and efficiency of the method is assessed by comparison with a more ‘traditional’ numerical approach that uses finite differences on a curvilinear coordinate system exterior to the bubble, without the separate transition layer reduction. The traditional method implemented here features a novel fast calculation of fluid velocity off the interface.     

A nonlinear PSE method for two-fluid shear flows with complex interfacial topology

A nonlinear stability method is developed for laminar two-fluid shear flows which undergo changes in the interface topology. The method is based on the nonlinear parabolized stability equations (PSE) and incorporates a scalar-based interface capturing (IC) scheme in order to track complex deformations of the fluid interface. In doing so, the formulation retains the flexibility and physical insight of instability-wave based methods, while providing hydrodynamic modeling capabilities similar to direct numerical calculations: the new formulation, referred to as the IC-PSE, can capture the nonlinear physical mechanisms responsible for generating large-scale, two-fluid structures, without incurring heavy computational costs. This approach is valid for spatially developing, laminar two-fluid shear flows which are convectively unstable, and can naturally account for the growth of finite amplitude interfacial waves, along with changes to the interfacial topology. We demonstrate the accuracy of the IC-PSE against direct Navier–Stokes calculations for two-fluid mixing layers with density and viscosity stratification. The comparisons show that the IC-PSE can predict the dynamics of the instability waves and capture the formation of Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex rolls and large scale liquid structures, at an order of magnitude less computational cost than direct calculations. The role of surface tension in the IC-PSE formulation is shown to be valid for flows in which Re/We ? 1, and the method accurately predicts the formation and non-linear evolution of flow structures in this limit. This is demonstrated for spatially developing mixing layers which lead to vortex roll-up and ligaments, prior to droplet formation. The pinch-off process itself is a high surface tension phenomenon and in not considered herein. The method also accurately captures the effect of interfacial waves on the mean flow, and the topology changes during the non-linear evolution of the two-fluid structures.     

A high-order WENO-Z finite difference based particle-source-in-cell method for computation of particle-laden flows with shocks

A high-order particle-source-in-cell (PSIC) algorithm is presented for the computation of the interaction between shocks, small scale structures, and liquid and/or solid particles in high-speed engineering applications. The improved high-order finite difference weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO-Z) method for solution of the hyperbolic conservation laws that govern the shocked carrier gas flow, lies at the heart of the algorithm. Finite sized particles are modeled as points and are traced in the Lagrangian frame. The physical coupling of particles in the Lagrangian frame and the gas in the Eulerian frame through momentum and energy exchange, is numerically treated through high-order interpolation and weighing. The centered high-order interpolation of the fluid properties to the particle location is shown to lead to numerical instability in shocked flow. An essentially non-oscillatory interpolation (ENO) scheme is devised for the coupling that improves stability. The ENO based algorithm is shown to be numerically stable and to accurately capture shocks, small flow features and particle dispersion. Both the carrier gas and the particles are updated in time without splitting with a third-order Runge–Kutta TVD method. One and two-dimensional computations of a shock moving into a particle cloud demonstrates the characteristics of the WENO-Z based PSIC method (PSIC/WENO-Z). The PSIC/WENO-Z computations are not only in excellent agreement with the numerical simulations with a third-order Rusanov based PSIC and physical experiments in [V. Boiko, V.P. Kiselev, S.P. Kiselev, A. Papyrin, S. Poplavsky, V. Fomin, Shock wave interaction with a cloud of particles, Shock Waves, 7 (1997) 275–285], but also show a significant improvement in the resolution of small scale structures. In two-dimensional simulations of the Mach 3 shock moving into forty thousand bronze particles arranged in the shape of a rectangle, the long time accuracy of the high-order method is demonstrated. The fifth-order PSIC/WENO-Z method with the fifth-order ENO interpolation scheme improves the small scale structure resolution over the third-order PSIC/WENO-Z method with a second-order central interpolation scheme. Preliminary analysis of the particle interaction with the flow structures shows that sharp particle material arms form on the side of the rectangular shape. The arms initially shield the particles from the accelerated flow behind the shock. A reflected compression wave, however, reshocks the particle arm from the shielded area and mixes the particles.     

A numerical algorithm for viscous incompressible interfacial flows

We present a new algorithm to numerically simulate two-dimensional viscous incompressible flows with moving interfaces. The motion is updated in time by using the backward difference formula through an iterative procedure. At each iteration, the pseudo-spectral technique is applied in the horizontal direction. The resulting semi-discretized equations constitute a boundary value problem in the vertical coordinate which is solved by decoupling growing and decaying solutions. Numerical tests justify that this method achieves fully second-order accuracy in both the temporal variable and vertical coordinate. As an application of this algorithm, we study the motion of Stokes waves in the presence of viscosity. Our numerical results are consistent with the recently published asymptotic solution for Stokes waves in slightly viscous fluids.     

Three-dimensional multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann front-tracking method for two-phase flow

We developed a three-dimensional multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method for incompressible and immiscible two-phase flow by coupling with a front-tracking technique. The flow field was simulated by using an Eulerian grid, an adaptive unstructured triangular Lagrangian grid was applied to track explicitly the motion of the two-fluid interface, and an indicator function was introduced to update accurately the fluid properties. The surface tension was computed directly on a triangular Lagrangian grid, and then the surface tension was distributed to the background Eulerian grid. Three benchmarks of two-phase flow, including the Laplace law for a stationary drop, the oscillation of a three-dimensional ellipsoidal drop,and the drop deformation in a shear flow, were simulated to validate the present model.     

Phase-field modeling droplet dynamics with soluble surfactants

Using lattice Boltzmann approach, a phase-field model is proposed for simulating droplet motion with soluble surfactants. The model can recover the Langmuir and Frumkin adsorption isotherms in equilibrium. From the equilibrium equation of state, we can determine the interfacial tension lowering scale according to the interface surfactant concentration. The model is able to capture short-time and long-time adsorption dynamics of surfactants. We apply the model to examine the effect of soluble surfactants on droplet deformation, breakup and coalescence. The increase of surfactant concentration and attractive lateral interaction can enhance droplet deformation, promote droplet breakup, and inhibit droplet coalescence. We also demonstrate that the Marangoni stresses can reduce the interface mobility and slow down the film drainage process, thus acting as an additional repulsive force to prevent the droplet coalescence.     

A Riemann solver for unsteady computation of 2D shallow flows with variable density

A novel 2D numerical model for vertically homogeneous shallow flows with variable horizontal density is presented. Density varies according to the volumetric concentration of different components or species that can represent suspended material or dissolved solutes. The system of equations is formed by the 2D equations for mass and momentum of the mixture, supplemented by equations for the mass or volume fraction of the mixture constituents. A new formulation of the Roe-type scheme including density variation is defined to solve the system on two-dimensional meshes. By using an augmented Riemann solver, the numerical scheme is defined properly including the presence of source terms involving reaction. The numerical scheme is validated using analytical steady-state solutions of variable-density flows and exact solutions for the particular case of initial value Riemann problems with variable bed level and reaction terms. Also, a 2D case that includes interaction with obstacles illustrates the stability and robustness of the numerical scheme in presence of non-uniform bed topography and wetting/drying fronts. The obtained results point out that the new method is able to predict faithfully the overall behavior of the solution and of any type of waves.     

An accurate adaptive solver for surface-tension-driven interfacial flows

A method combining an adaptive quad/octree spatial discretisation, geometrical Volume-Of-Fluid interface representation, balanced-force continuum-surface-force surface-tension formulation and height-function curvature estimation is presented. The extension of these methods to the quad/octree discretisation allows adaptive variable resolution along the interface and is described in detail. The method is shown to recover exact equilibrium (to machine accuracy) between surface-tension and pressure gradient in the case of a stationary droplet, irrespective of viscosity and spatial resolution. Accurate solutions are obtained for the classical test case of capillary wave oscillations. An application to the capillary breakup of a jet of water in air further illustrates the accuracy and efficiency of the method. The source code of the implementation is freely available as part of the Gerris flow solver.     

Investigation of turbulence models for computation of swirling flows

Different turbulence models were studied in application to calculation of swirling flows. The differential models of turbulent viscosity considering streamline curvature and the method of detached eddy simulation were used. Weakly and strongly swirling flows were considered at the example of concentrated vortex in a tube, swirling flow in a diffuser, and vortex breakdown through an abrupt expansion. The RANS models with correction to flow swirling represented well the experimental data for the weakly swirling flows. In case of strongly swirling flows, it was more correct to use the method of detached eddy simulation.     

The LS-STAG method: A new immersed boundary/level-set method for the computation of incompressible viscous flows in complex moving geometries with good conservation properties

This paper concerns the development of a new Cartesian grid/immersed boundary (IB) method for the computation of incompressible viscous flows in two-dimensional irregular geometries. In IB methods, the computational grid is not aligned with the irregular boundary, and of upmost importance for accuracy and stability is the discretization in cells which are cut by the boundary, the so-called “cut-cells”. In this paper, we present a new IB method, called the LS-STAG method, which is based on the MAC method for staggered Cartesian grids and where the irregular boundary is sharply represented by its level-set function. This implicit representation of the immersed boundary enables us to calculate efficiently the geometry parameters of the cut-cells. We have achieved a novel discretization of the fluxes in the cut-cells by enforcing the strict conservation of total mass, momentum and kinetic energy at the discrete level. Our discretization in the cut-cells is consistent with the MAC discretization used in Cartesian fluid cells, and has the ability to preserve the five-point Cartesian structure of the stencil, resulting in a highly computationally efficient method. The accuracy and robustness of our method is assessed on canonical flows at low to moderate Reynolds number: Taylor–Couette flow, flows past a circular cylinder, including the case where the cylinder has forced oscillatory rotations. Finally, we will extend the LS-STAG method to the handling of moving immersed boundaries and present some results for the transversely oscillating cylinder flow in a free-stream.     

A level-set continuum method for two-phase flows with insoluble surfactant

A level-set continuum surface force method is presented to compute two-phase flows with insoluble surfactant. Our method recasts the Navier–Stokes equations for a two-phase flow with insoluble surfactant as “one-fluid” formulation. Interfacial transport and interfacial jump conditions are treated using the level-set method and the discrete Dirac function. Based on the density-weighted projection method, a stable semi-implicit scheme is used to decouple the velocity components in solving the regularized Navier–Stokes equations. It allows numerical simulations for a wide range of viscosity ratios and density ratios.Numerical simulations on single drop deformation in a 2D shear flow are presented. Simulations on two drop interaction shows that surfactants can play a critical role in preventing drop coalescence. A fully 3D simulation demonstrating the physical interactions of multiple surfactant-laden drops is presented.     

A fourth-order divergence-free method for MHD flows

This paper extends our previous third-order method [S. Li, High order central scheme on overlapping cells for magneto-hydrodynamic flows with and without constrained transport method, J. Comput. Phys. 227 (2008) 7368–7393] to the fourth-order. Central finite-volume schemes on overlapping grid are used for both the volume-averaged variables and the face-averaged magnetic field. The magnetic field at the cell boundaries falls within the dual grid and is naturally continuous so that our method eliminates the instability triggered by the discontinuity in the normal component of the magnetic field. Our fourth-order scheme has much smaller numerical dissipation than the third-order scheme. The divergence-free condition of the magnetic field is preserved by our fourth-order divergence-free reconstruction and the constrained transport method. Numerical examples show that the divergence-free condition is essential to the accuracy of the method when a limiter is used in the reconstruction. The high-order, low-dissipation, and divergence-free properties of this method make it an ideal tool for direct magneto-hydrodynamic turbulence simulations.     

A direct method for computation of the absorption grating

A simple method to calculate the parameters of the absorption grating, the mean absorption, the absorption modulation and its phase shift with respect to the interference pattern, without involving the TWM is presented. The procedure is based on the typical first Fourier-expansion. Population gratings and photorefractive material were specially suitable for exemplifying our scheme.     

天线方向系数的一类计算逼近方法

天线的方向系数是天线的核心性能指标之一,准确计算方向系数是高性能天线应用的核心要求.本文基于平面近场测试理论、实测数据和快速傅里叶变换算法,系统阐述基于近场测试来数值计算天线方向系数的原理,并进行深入的误差分析.本文选择一种方向图函数和方向系数已知的被测天线,来检验所讨论的误差评估方案.评估分两步实现,第一步,针对这一天线,采用标准的近场测试配置,仿真模拟出(相当于实际测量出)一套平面近场数据.第二步,基于这套近场数据,利用数值积分计算出天线方向系数.本文使用或提出了四种数值算法,分析了提出的后三种算法本身的误差来源,并开发出程序搜索方案,确定出后两种算法的最小误差界.随后,利用这四种数值算法分别得出天线的方向系数.结果表明,计算所得的近场方向系数都比真实方向系数大,但误差不超过0.6 d B.这一结果对实际应用中正确评估基于近场测试的天线方向系数准确性有重要参考价值.     

Force-coupling method for flows with ellipsoidal particles

The force-coupling method, previously developed for spherical particles suspended in a liquid flow, is extended to ellipsoidal particles. In the limit of Stokes flow, there is an exact correspondence with known analytical results for isolated particles. More generally, the method is shown to provide good approximate results for the particle motion and the flow field both in viscous Stokes flow and at finite Reynolds number. This is demonstrated through comparison between fully resolved direct numerical simulations and results from the numerical implementation of the force-coupling method with a spectral/hp element scheme. The motion of settling ellipsoidal particles and neutrally buoyant particles in a Poiseuille flow are discussed.     

Efficient computation of compressible and incompressible flows

The combination of explicit Runge–Kutta time integration with the solution of an implicit system of equations, which in earlier work demonstrated increased efficiency in computing compressible flow on highly stretched meshes, is extended toward conditions where the free stream Mach number approaches zero. Expressing the inviscid flux Jacobians in terms of Mach number, an artificial speed of sound as in low Mach number preconditioning is introduced into the Jacobians, leading to a consistent formulation of the implicit and explicit parts of the discrete equations. Besides extension to low Mach number flows, the augmented Runge–Kutta/Implicit method allowed the admissible Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy number to be increased from O(1 0 0) to O(1 0 0 0). The implicit step introduced into the Runge–Kutta framework acts as a preconditioner which now addresses both, the stiffness in the discrete equations associated with highly stretched meshes, and the stiffness in the analytical equations associated with the disparity in the eigenvalues of the inviscid flux Jacobians. Integrated into a multigrid algorithm, the method is applied to efficiently compute different cases of inviscid flow around airfoils at various Mach numbers, and viscous turbulent airfoil flow with varying Mach and Reynolds number. Compared to well tuned conventional methods, computation times are reduced by half an order of magnitude.