Title: A Balanced-Force Algorithm for Modeling Interface Dynamics with Surface Tension         

Speaker: Marianne Francois, Los Alamos National Laboratories

Date/Time: Monday, January 25, 2010, 9:00 – 10:00 am        

Location: CSRI Building/Room 90 (Sandia NM)

Brief Abstract: Multiphase flows are frequently encountered in several industrial processes, as for example in liquid-liquid extraction. Understanding the complex interaction of droplet dynamics with mass transfer and chemical reactions is of fundamental importance to design efficient extraction devices. Here, we are interested in the development of accurate numerical methods for high-fidelity simulation of droplet dynamics. For such simulation, the position of the interface between the fluids and the interface physics (like surface tension) needs to be predicted as part of the solution of the flow equations. Our framework is the volume tracking method, a pure Eulerian method that represents the interface with volume fraction and has for intrinsic property to ensure mass conservation. However, since the interface is not explicitly tracked by marker points, estimation of the geometric properties of the interface is challenging. In this talk, I will present our balanced-force algorithm for modeling incompressible flow with surface tension. I will also discuss accurate ways to estimate interfacial curvature. Numerical test cases will be presented to illustrate the strength of the methods.

CSRI POC: Rekha R. Rao, (505) 844-5591