An evaluation of interface capturing methods in a VOF based model for multiphase flow of a non-Newtonian ceramic in tape casting

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the different interface capturing methods as well as to find the best approach for flow modeling of the ceramic slurry in the tape casting process. The conventional volume of fluid (VOF) method with three different interpolation methods for interface capturing, i.e. the Geometric Reconstruction Scheme (GRS), High Resolution Interface Capturing (HRIC) and Compressive Interface Capturing Scheme for Arbitrary Meshes (CICSAM), are investigated for the advection of the VOF, both for Newtonian and non-Newtonian cases. The main purpose is to find the best method for the free surface capturing during the flow of a ceramic slurry described by a constitutive power law equation in the tape casting process. First the developed model is tested against well-documented and relevant solutions from literature involving free surface tracking and subsequently it is used to investigate the flow of a La_0.85Sr_0.15MnO₃ (LSM) ceramic slurry modeled with the Ostwald de Waele power law. Results of the modeling are compared with corresponding experimental data and good agreement is found.