A Cartesian grid-based boundary integral method for moving interface problems

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Cartesian grid-based boundary integral method that efficiently solves moving interface problems like Hele-Shaw flow and Stefan problem by reformulating PDEs into boundary integrals and evolving interfaces with simplified variables.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel boundary integral approach using $ heta-L$ variables and fast PDE solvers for stable, efficient simulation of complex moving interface phenomena.

Findings

Successfully simulates viscous fingering and dendritic solidification.

Achieves stable interface evolution with preserved mesh quality.

Demonstrates computational efficiency with FFT and multigrid methods.

Abstract

This paper proposes a Cartesian grid-based boundary integral method for efficiently and stably solving two representative moving interface problems, the Hele-Shaw flow and the Stefan problem. Elliptic and parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) are reformulated into boundary integral equations and are then solved with the matrix-free generalized minimal residual (GMRES) method. The evaluation of boundary integrals is performed by solving equivalent and simple interface problems with finite difference methods, allowing the use of fast PDE solvers, such as fast Fourier transform (FFT) and geometric multigrid methods. The interface curve is evolved utilizing the $\theta-L$ variables instead of the more commonly used $x-y$ variables. This choice simplifies the preservation of mesh quality during the interface evolution. In addition, the $\theta-L$ approach enables the design of efficient and stable time-stepping schemes to remove the stiffness that arises from the curvature term. Ample numerical examples, including simulations of complex viscous fingering and dendritic solidification problems, are presented to showcase the capability of the proposed method to handle challenging moving interface problems.