A method for simulating interfacial mass transfer on arbitrary meshes

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel finite volume method for simulating interfacial mass transfer in two-phase flows with phase change, applicable to arbitrary meshes and validated against analytical and experimental data.

Contribution

The paper presents a new approach for modeling interfacial mass transfer on arbitrary meshes within a VOF framework, avoiding artificial smearing and suitable for complex two-phase flow simulations.

Findings

Validated against analytical solutions for evaporation and bubble growth.

Accurately predicts local phase change rates in two-phase flow simulations.

Applicable to realistic cases with large density ratios.

Abstract

This paper presents a method for modelling interfacial mass transfer in Interface Capturing simulations of two-phase flow with phase change. The model enables mechanistic prediction of the local rate of phase change at the vapour-liquid interface on arbitrary computational meshes and is applicable to realistic cases involving two-phase mixtures with large density ratios. The simulation methodology is based on the Volume Of Fluid (VOF) representation of the flow, whereby an interfacial region in which mass transfer occurs is implicitly identified by a phase indicator, in this case the volume fraction of liquid, which varies from the value pertaining to the "bulk" liquid to the value of the bulk vapour. The novel methodology proposed here has been implemented using the Finite Volume framework and solution methods typical of "industrial" CFD practice. The proposed methodology for capturing mass transfer is applicable to arbitrary meshes without the need to introduce elaborate but artificial smearing of the mass transfer term as is often done in other techniques. The method has been validated via comparison with analytical solutions for planar interface evaporation and bubble growth test cases, and against experimental observations of steam bubble growth.