Open-source finite volume solvers for multiphase (n-phase) flows involving either Newtonian or non-Newtonian complex fluids

TL;DR

This paper introduces two advanced open-source volume-of-fluid solvers, multiFluidInterFoam and rheoMultiFluidInterFoam, for simulating complex multiphase flows involving Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids with high accuracy and efficiency.

Contribution

The paper presents novel control volume solvers that improve accuracy and robustness for multiphase flows, including non-Newtonian effects, within the OpenFOAM framework.

Findings

Enhanced accuracy in surface tension driven flows

Successful simulation of complex non-Newtonian fluids

Validation against analytical and numerical benchmarks

Abstract

Two new control volume solvers multiFluidInterFoam and rheoMultiFluidInterFoam are presented for the simulation of Newtonian and non-Newtonian n-phase flows, respectively, fully accounting for interfacial tension and contact-angle effects for each phase. The multiFluidInterFoam solver modifies certain crucial aspects of the regular multiphaseInterFoam solver provided by OpenFOAM for Newtonian flows, improving its efficiency and robustness, but most importantly improving considerably its accuracy for surface tension driven flows. The new solver uses the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method based on the MULES method and artificial interface compression for the interface capturing, in combination with a suitable continuum surface force model; i.e. the interfacial tension coefficient decomposition method is employed to treat pairings of interfacial tension between the phases. VOF smoothing is also implemented by applying a Laplacian filter on the distribution of volume fractions. The rheoMultiFluidInterFoam solver is capable of fully taking into account complex non-Newtonian effects (e.g. yield stress, viscoelasticity, etc.) of the involved liquids. To this end, the developed solver incorporates the RheoTool toolbox (Pimenta and Alves (2017) J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 239, 85-104), utilizing a wealth of constitutive equations suitable for modelling different types of fluids with complex rheology. Our solvers are tested for a wide range of different flow setups, considering typical benchmark two-phase and three-phase flows; flows involving Newtonian, viscoplastic and viscoelastic liquids have been considered. Comparisons against analytical solutions or previously published numerical data are performed clearly demonstrating the capability of the new solvers to efficiently and accurately simulate interfacial tension dominated three-phase flows for both simple and complex liquids.