A unified single-field Volume-of-Fluid-based formulation for multi-component interfacial transfer with local volume changes

Abstract

This paper presents a novel unified single-field formulation for Volume-Of-Fluid simulation of interfacial mass transfer with local volume changes. By comparison with the previous models referred as Continuous Species Transfer in the literature, our improved model uses a single-field formulation of the local mass transfer across the interface, enabling us to take into account local volume changes induced by non-dilute species transfer. The numerical model, implemented in our in-house OpenFOAM-based simulator, is validated by comparison with analytical solutions in 1D and 2D, and a semi-analytical solution in 3D. The implemented approach is first applied to investigate competing mass transfer in an infinite cylinder. We then simulate the shrinking of a single-component rising bubble at low Schmidt number. The numerical model is shown to be well adapted to investigate Sherwood numbers and existing correlation for mass transfer at fluid interfaces.