A New Computational Method for Free Surface Problems

Abstract

A new technique, called the surface velocity correction (SVC) technique, is developed to track a free surface such as a liquid–vapor interface. The SVC is a computationally inexpensive and accurate method to capture interfacial fluid phenomena. This method uses a finite-volume technique to discretize the governing equations, and a semi-Legrangian mesh to locate the interface between two fluids. The effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated through several classical examples and the results are also compared to both analytical and volume-of-fluid (VOF) solutions. The examples include the shape of a meniscus in a capillary tube in mechanical equilibrium, the rise of a meniscus in a capillary tube, and the instability growth of a free-flowing cylindrical column of fluid.