Title: Modelling fluid flow in domains containing moving interfaces

Authors: David B. Carrington; Dominic A. Muñoz; Juan C. Heinrich

Addresses: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Theoretical Division T-03 Fluid Dynamics, P.O. Box 1663, MS-B216, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA ' Alion Science and Technology, 6200 Uptown Blvd., NE # 120 Albuquerque, NM 87110, USA ' University of New Mexico, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Bldg., Room 430, MSC01 1150, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001, USA

Abstract: A method for the numerical simulations of fluid flow in domains containing moving rigid objects or boundaries is presented, which falls into the general category of arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian methods. The method is based on a fixed mesh that is modified locally both in space and time to describe the moving interfaces that are allowed to displace independently of the mesh. It results in a fully robust formulation capable of calculating in irregular meshes on domains of complex geometry containing moving devises without danger of the mesh becoming unsuitable due to its continuous deformation. This work presents the ideas in the context of two space dimensions, and constitutes the first stage in the development of a three-dimensional model to interface with the KIVA simulator developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory. The method's capabilities and accuracy are assessed using several examples including a case that has an analytical solution.

Keywords: fluid flow; moving interfaces; arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian; ALE; fixed mesh; local mesh adaptation; 3D modelling; numerical simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2014.062429

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2014 Vol.14 No.3, pp.139 - 150

Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

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