Modeling transport of scalars in two-phase flows with a diffuse-interface method

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new scalar-transport model for two-phase flows using a diffuse-interface method, effectively handling sharp gradients and ensuring physical properties like positivity and zero-flux boundary conditions.

Contribution

The novel scalar-transport model maintains positivity, enforces zero-flux boundary conditions at interfaces, and is discretized with a non-dissipative scheme suitable for turbulent flow simulations.

Findings

Model accurately captures scalar confinement in two-phase flows.

Maintains positivity of scalar concentration under certain criteria.

Successfully enforces zero-flux boundary condition at interfaces.

Abstract

In this article, we propose a novel scalar-transport model for the simulation of scalar quantities in two-phase flows with a phase-field method (diffuse-interface method). In a two-phase flow, the scalar quantities typically have disparate properties in two phases, which results in effective confinement of the scalar quantities in one of the phases, in the time scales of interest. This confinement of the scalars lead to the formation of sharp gradients of the scalar concentration values at the interface, presenting a serious challenge for its numerical simulations. To overcome this challenge, we propose a model for the transport of scalars. The model is discretized using a central-difference scheme, which leads to a non-dissipative implementation that is crucial for the simulation of turbulent flows. Furthermore, the provable strengths of the proposed model are: (a) the model maintains the positivity property of the scalar concentration field, a physical realizability requirement for the simulation of scalars, when the proposed criterion is satisfied, (b) the proposed model is such that the transport of the scalar concentration field is consistent with the transport of the volume fraction field, which results in the enforcement of the effective zero-flux boundary condition for the scalar at the interface; and therefore, prevents the artificial numerical diffusion of the scalar across the interface. Finally, we present numerical simulations using the proposed model in a wide range of two-phase flow regimes, spanning laminar to turbulent flows; and assess: the accuracy and robustness of the model, the validity of the positivity property of the scalar concentration field, and the enforcement of the zero-flux boundary condition for the scalar at the interface.