Towards High-Order Sharp Interface Capturing in Two-Phase Flow Simulations
Abstract: Simulating multiscale two-phase flows remains a major numerical challenge due to the difficulty of transporting discontinuous material properties, computing singular surface forces, and managing frequent topological changes. Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) and, more generally, Moment-of-Fluid (MOF) methods have proven effective in capturing the evolution of complex two-phase flows such as atomizing liquid sprays, thanks to their unique ability to exactly conserve local volume. However, current VOF/MOF methods are (at best) limited to second-order accuracy, constrained by a combination of reconstruction, representation, and integration errors of order two or less.
In this talk, I will present recent developments towards a high-order three-dimensional VOF/MOF framework built on two key advances: (1) a semi-Lagrangian formulation for transporting geometric moments of fluid of arbitrarily high order, and (2) the use of piecewise-parabolic interface reconstructions instead of traditional piecewise-linear ones to increase the order of accuracy of the moment transport. This approach retains the geometric and conservative strengths of traditional VOF/MOF methods while enabling higher accuracy.
Bio: Fabien Evrard is an assistant professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
See all upcoming talks at https://www.anl.gov/mcs/lans-seminars.