A Hybrid Langrangian-Eulerian Particle-Level Set Method for numerical Simulations of Two-Fluid Turbulent Flows

TitleA Hybrid Langrangian-Eulerian Particle-Level Set Method for numerical Simulations of Two-Fluid Turbulent Flows
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsLi, Z, Jaberi, FA, Shih, TI-P
JournalInternational Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids
Volume56
Issue12
Pagination2271-2300
Date Published4/2008
Keywordstwo-fluid turbulent flows; particle-level set method; interface tracking
Abstract

A coupled Lagrangian interface-tracking and Eulerian level set (LS) method is developed and implemented for numerical simulations of two-fluid flows. In this method, the interface is identified based on the locations of notional particles and the geometrical information concerning the interface and fluid properties, such as density and viscosity, are obtained from the LS function. The LS function maintains a signed distance function without an auxiliary equation via the particle-based Lagrangian re-initialization technique. To assess the new hybrid method, numerical simulations of several ‘standard interface-moving’ problems and two-fluid laminar and turbulent flows are conducted. The numerical results are evaluated by monitoring the mass conservation, the turbulence energy spectral density function and the consistency between Eulerian and Lagrangian components. The results of our analysis indicate that the hybrid particle-level set method can handle interfaces with complex shape change, and can accurately predict the interface values without any significant (unphysical) mass loss or gain, even in a turbulent flow. The results obtained for isotropic turbulence by the new particle-level set method are validated by comparison with those obtained by the ‘zero Mach number’, variable-density method. For the cases with small thermal/mass diffusivity, both methods are found to generate similar results. Analysis of the vorticity and energy equations indicates that the destabilization effect of turbulence and the stability effect of surface tension on the interface motion are strongly dependent on the density and viscosity ratios of the fluids. Copyright q 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.