A FEM SOLVER COUPLED TO A MULTILEVEL VOF METHOD FOR SIMULATION OF AXISYMMETRIC JETS AND TO A FRONT-TRACKING METHOD FOR SIMULATION OF SPREADING DROPLETS

作者：Cervone A; Manservisi S; Scardovelli R^*

来源：Atomization and Sprays, 2010, 20(2): 115-131.

DOI：10.1615/AtomizSpr.v20.i2.20

• finite element method
• multilevel VOF
• front tracking
• jet breakup
• droplet spreading

In this work we review a few studies on the performance of the finite element approach in direct numerical simulations of liquid jet injection and droplet impact on dry surfaces. We consider the single-fluid formulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, discretize these equations on a fixed grid with the finite element method, and solve the resulting algebraic system with a multigrid technique. The finite element method allows a variational formulation of the capillary force that is implemented both with a volumetric approach and by using the Laplace-Beltrami operator. In order to study the injection of a liquid jet in a gas environment at low Reynolds numbers, we have implemented a multilevel volume of fluid (VOF) method because it can deal with strong topology changes in an automatic way. We have also considered a front-tracking algorithm to study the spreading of a droplet on a dry solid surface, because there is the need of a very precise positioning of the contact point, while there is no breaking or topology change. The results of several numerical experiments are presented and discussed for both cases.

• 出版日期2010