Phase-Field Modeling and Energy-Stable Schemes for Osmotic Flow through Semi-Permeable

TL;DR

This paper develops a thermodynamically consistent phase-field model for osmotic flow through semi-permeable membranes, incorporating fluid dynamics, solute transport, and interface evolution, with energy-stable numerical schemes validated by numerical experiments.

Contribution

It introduces a novel coupled phase-field model with energy-stable schemes for simulating osmotic flow across membranes, extending classical models with new flux dynamics.

Findings

Numerical schemes are proven energy-stable and accurate.

Osmotic pressure significantly affects droplet morphology.

The model effectively captures membrane permeability effects.

Abstract

We present a thermodynamically consistent phase-field model for simulating fluid transport across semi-permeable membranes, with a particular focus on osmotic pressure effects. The model extends the classical Navier-Stokes-Cahn-Hilliard (NSCH) system by introducing an Allen-Cahn-type transmembrane flux governed by chemical potential imbalances, resulting in a strongly coupled system involving fluid motion, solute transport, and interface dynamics. To solve this system efficiently and accurately, we develop high-order, energy-stable numerical schemes. The local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) method is employed for spatial discretization, offering high-order accuracy and geometric flexibility. For temporal integration, we first construct a first-order decoupled scheme with rigorous energy stability, and then improve temporal accuracy via a semi-implicit spectral deferred correction (SDC) method. Numerical experiments confirm the theoretical properties of the proposed scheme and demonstrate the influence of osmotic pressure and membrane permeability on droplet morphology at equilibrium. The framework offers a robust and versatile tool for modeling transmembrane fluid transport in both biological and industrial applications.