Numerical Modeling for Multiphase Incompressible Flow with Phase Change

ABSTRACT

A general formula for the second-order projection method combined with the level set method is developed to simulate unsteady, incompressible multifluid flow with phase change. A subcell conception is introduced in a modified mass transfer model to accurately calculate the mass transfer across the interface. The third-order essentially nonoscillatory (ENO) scheme and second-order semi-implicit Crank-Nicholson scheme is employed to update the convective and diffusion terms, respectively. The projection method has second-order temporal accuracy for variable-density unsteady incompressible flows as well. The level set approach is employed to implicitly capture the interface for multiphase flows. A continuum surface force (CSF) tension model is used in the present cases. Phase change and dynamics associated with single bubble and multibubbles in two and three dimensions during nucleate boiling are studied numerically via the present modeling. The numerical results show that this method can handle complex deformation of the interface and account for the effect of liquid–vapor phase change.

The authors would like to thank Prof. S. Osher for fruitful discussion. This work is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Grant DE-FG03-86ER52123.