Two-phase free-surface flow interaction with moving bodies using a consistent, momentum preserving method

Abstract

The numerical prediction of two-phase flows with an interface is challenging, to a considerable extent because of the high density ratio at the interface. Numerical results become affected by momentum losses, diverging spurious interface velocities, free surface distortion, and even numerical instability. To prevent issues like these, consistent momentum and mass transport with an additional continuity equation were introduced.In this article, we describe how a consistent discretization was incorporated into our own method and extended for fluid-structure interaction (FSI) with moving rigid bodies. The new method was tested against benchmark simulations from literature confirming that consistent transport modeling gives a significant improvement compared to non-consistent modeling for the dynamics of two-phase flows.Newly devised proof of principle FSI simulations with momentum transfer from fluid to body in the presence of a high-density ratio between fluids are introduced that could serve as a benchmark for future studies. The simulations demonstrate that consistent modeling gives an order of magnitude improvement in terms of momentum conservation compared to non-consistent modeling.Simulations with the new method are also compared to FSI experiments from literature. Results obtained with the consistent method are closer to the measurements than results of the non-consistent method.The merit of consistent modeling with and without FSI becomes especially apparent for two-phase flows with a high-density ratio between fluids.