1 2014 ANSYS, Inc.

May 13, 2014 ANSYS Confidential

Multiphase Flow Modeling
with Free Surfaces Flow
Jinwon Seo
TAESUNG Software and Engineering, INC
2 2014 ANSYS, Inc. May 13, 2014 ANSYS Confidential
Outline
Overview of Multiphase Flow
Multiphase Models in ANSYS CFD
Separated / Free Surface Flows
Volume of Fluid (VOF) Model
Key Concepts
VOF Model Inputs & Requirements
Best Practices
VOF Model Examples
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Multiphase flow involves the simultaneous flow of two
or more immiscible interacting phases.
Introduction of Multiphase Flow
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Features of Multiphase Flows
Multiple Length Scales
Several Flow Regimes
Multiple Physics
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Flow Always Accompanied by Other Physics!
Fluid
Dynamics
Heat transfer
Heterogeneous
and
homogeneous
reactions
Phase change
Size change
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Multiphase Models in ANSYS CFD
Separated
flows
VOF model
Dispersed
flows
Eulerian
Models
Lagrangian
models
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A Solution for Every Multiphase Problem
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Separated / Free Surface Flows
Fluids are separated by a distinct resolvable interface
Separated Flows
Both phases are continuous and both are of interest
Interface length scale is large
Stratified flows
Free Surface Flows
Only liquid phase is of interest
Open channel flows
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Applications
Inkjets
Coating
Tank Filling and Sloshing
Jet breakup
Open channel flows
Offshore transport
Gear lubrication
Piston cooling
Ship Hull
Wave Loading



Courtesy Speedo
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Volume of Fluid (VOF) Method

Method to track/capture the sharp interfaces
between immiscible fluids

Shape of the interface is of interest
Fluid-1
Fluid-2
Volume Fraction :
Scalar indicator function between 0
and 1, for each fluid represented as
V
V
f
f

f = 1 : Fluid-1
f = 0 : Fluid-2
0 < f < 1 : Interface
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Applicability of VOF Model
VOF model is used to model immiscible fluids with clearly defined interface
Two gases cannot be modeled since they mix at the molecular level
Liquid/liquid interfaces can be modeled as long as the two liquids are immiscible
VOF is not appropriate if interface length is small compared to a computational
grid
Accuracy of VOF decreases with interface length scale getting closer to the computa
tional grid scale
Interface
length larger
than grid
VOF applicable
VOF not applicable
Interface
length scale
is smaller
than grid
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VOF Scheme Comparisons
Advantages Disadvantages
Explicit VOF Sharper interface
Accurate solution
Poor convergence for
skewed meshes

Poor convergence if phases
are compressible
Implicit VOF Does not have Courant number limitation
(can be run with large time steps or in ste
ady state mode)

Can be used with poor mesh quality and f
or complex flows (e.g. compressible flows)
Numerical diffusion of inter
face does not allow accurat
e prediction of interface cur
vature
Implicit Compressive scheme along with Bounded Second Order time
discretization scheme give sharp interface and accurate solution
(with uniform mesh size or gradual cell jumps)
Take Away
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Interface scheme comparisons for VOF
Scheme
Interface scheme Implicit Explicit Accuracy Speed
First order
Not recommende
d
Not
recommended
Second order
Not
recommended
Not
recommended
QUICK Low High
Modified HRIC Medium High
CICSAM High Medium
Compressive High Medium to High
Georeconstruct Very high Low to medium
BGM Very high Low to medium
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VOF Implicit, Second order time
Compressive HRIC

VOF Explicit, First order time
Compressive
CICSAM
First Order
Geo-Recon
Implicit Compressive scheme along with Bounded Second Order time
discretization scheme give sharp interface which is comparable to the most
accurate Geo-Reconstruct
Take Away
Interface scheme comparisons for VOF Scheme
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Implicit(or Steady State) Schemes Comparison
Speed HRIC > Compressive > BGM
Sharpness BGM > Compressive > HRIC
Stability HRIC > Compressive > BGM
Explicit Schemes Comparison
Accuracy Geo-Reconstruct > Compressive > CICSAM > HRIC
Speed HRIC > CICSAM > Compressive > Geo-Reconstruct
Sharpness Geo-Reconstruct > CICSAM > Compressive > HRIC
Transient Formulation Comparison
Accuracy Bounded Second Order > Second Order > First Order
Speed First order > Second Order > Bounded Second Order
Stability First order > Bounded Second Order > Second Order
Interface scheme comparisons for VOF
Scheme
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Zonal Discretization Schemes
This option enables you to set diffusive or sharp interfac
e modeling in different cell zones based on the value of
zone dependent slope limiter. Extension of compressive
scheme.


The usage in porous medium application:
Diffusive interface modeling in porous medium zone
Sharp interface modeling outside the porous zone
(Zone 1) (Zone 2)
(Zone 3)
Slope Limiter (Beta) Scheme
Beta = 0 First Order Upwind
Beta = 1 Second order upwind
Beta = 2 Compressive
0 < Beta < 1 ,
1 < Beta < 2
Blended scheme
d d f

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Surface Tension

Attractive forces between molecules in a fluid
VOF model can include the effects of surface tension along the interface between each
pair of phases, through source term in momentum equation
Surface tension force made of two components:
Normal component (due to interface curvature):
Tangential component (due to variations in the surface tension coefficient): (
s
)
Importance of surface tension effects:
For Re >> 1, Weber number - droplet formation



For Re<<1, Capillary number - coating flows



force tension Surface
force Inertial
We
2

L U
force tension Surface
force Viscous
We Re Ca

U
Surface tension effects
can be neglected
if Ca>>1 or We>>1.
Continuum Surface Force Model (CSF) and Continuum Surface Stress Model (CSS)
are available in ANSYS Fluent
Take Away
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Resolving Velocity Gradient in the vicinity of
interface
High velocity gradients at the free surface
results in high turbulence generation
Important to resolve interfacial instability
Numerical damping of turbulence by adding
source term for turbulent dissipation in
interfacial cells.
This treatment is available only for k-omega
turbulence model

t = 8.3s
t = 8.1s
t = 8.5s
t = 9s
Interfacial instability
Slug formation
Slug growth
Reference : Experimental investigation and CFD simulation of horizontal stratified two-phase
flow phenomena, Christophe Vallee , Thomas Hohne, Horst-Michael Prasser, Tobias
Suhnel Nuclear Engineering and Design 238 (2008) 637646
No Damping
With Damping
Turbulence Damping
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Open Channel Flows
Characterized by Froude Number ,


Applicable to flows where both inertia and gravity are dominant with
known depths of the liquid at the inlets or outlets
Example Ship moving through the sea at depth y
in
and speed V
in
Prescribe yin and Vin at inlet and y
out
at the outlet.






y
i
n

y
o
u
t

in
V

force Gravity
force Inertia

gL
V
Fr
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First order Airy wave theory
Linear
Small amplitude
Shallow to deep liquid
depth

Stokes wave theories
Non linear
Finite amplitude
Intermediate to deep water
range. ( h/L > 0.1)

Cnoidal & Solitary
Non linear
Finite amplitude
Shallow water
H - Wave height
h - Water depth
L - Wave length
Modeling Surface Gravity Waves

ANSYS CFD (Fluent) has the inbuilt capability for simulating complete wave regime.
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Using a TUI command
/define/boundary-conditions/
open-channel-wave-settings
Open Channel Wave BC Checking
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Modeling Oblique Waves
User can specify the Reference Wave Direction as Averaged
Flow Direction, Direction Vector or Normal to Boundary
Now user can specify different velocity magnitude and
directions for the flow current, wave and ship .
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Wave Spectrum for Random Sea ( Beta Fe
ature)

Wave spectrum is used for simulating irregular waves
(Short and long crested waves)
Wave spectrum available in 15.0
Pierson-Moskowitz (Fully developed seas)
Jonswap (Fetch limited seas)
TMA ( Fetch limited finite depth seas)

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Multi-Fluid/Inhomogeneous VOF
Adds interfacial sharpening schemes in Eulerian
Model Framework
Different Velocities and Temperatures at the
interphase
Capable for modeling both dispersed and
separated flow regimes
Physics in the stratified region: surface tension,
no-slip at the interface
Physics in the dispersed region: wall lubrication,
sub-grid scale drag models based on predicted
diameter
Anisotropic drag
Higher drag in the interfacial normal direction for
the velocity continuity
Lower drag in the tangential direction to allow
different shear stresses


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VOF Model Compatibility with Other Models
Compatible
Solidification and Melting Model
Moving Dynamic Mesh
Six Degrees of Freedom (6DOF) Model
System Coupling ( FSI)
Phase Change / Cavitation Model
Not Compatible
Turbulent Combustion Models
Boiling Models
VOF + Cavitation Model
NACA 66 hydrofoil
Air entrapment during mold filling and
solidification in casting process
VOF + Solidification & Melting
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VOF + Solidification/Melting
Casting
Applications :
Droplet solidification during
impingement
Casting, air entrapment
Effect of air convection on
solidification rate
Shrinkage/expansion
Welding of different metals
Effect of arc pressure on molten pool
Impingement of filler droplets in
welding


Air entrapment during mold filling and
solidification in casting process
Welding
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Free Surface Mass Transfer
Gas
(air + vapor species)
Liquid (water only)
Evaporation occurring at free surface
Wall condensation
Equilibrium
After heating
Evaporation: Bubble growth
(pressure contours)

Using UDFs for mass & heat
transfer
Free surface evaporation
and condensation
Direct contact
condensation
Film boiling
Wall condensation


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Phases
Arbitrary number of phases are allowed
Any phase can be primary or secondary
not important in VOF model.
Usual practice is to have secondary phase
which has less presence in the domain
Compressible phase as primary phase
Implicit body force (Designed for flows with large
body forces)
The force is handled in robust numerical
manner.
Gravity acting on phases with large density
difference.
Flows with large rotational accelerations
(such as centrifugal separators and/or
rotating machinery).




VOF Inputs
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Mesh Requirement
Uniform mesh
Gradual cell growth in case of non uniform mesh
Same mesh type in the interface region
For speed up with Explicit VOF
For less numerical diffusion with Implicit VOF

Tet is better than Tet+hex in this case
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Best Practice: VOF Schemes
Steady ( Only Implicit VOF available)
Compressive recommended for most
of the problems
BGM for sharper interface
P-V Coupling: Coupled VOF ( for faster
convergence)
Transient
Explicit Compressive / Implicit
Compressive with Bounded second
order time discretization -
recommended for most of the problems
Geo-reconstruct (available only with
Explicit) - for sharper interface
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Best Practice: VOF Schemes & Solver Settings
Explicit VOF
Turn off for surface tension dominated flows
Operating Conditions must set properly
for most of the VOF cases
Generic conservative settings
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Use PISO algorithm
Use lower URF for Pressure and Momentum
if any divergence ( Pressure-0.2, Momentum-0.3)
If the liquid interface mesh is not uniform or the velocity is varying
Use Variable Time stepping Method
Use best suited courant calculation method
Solve > set > vof-explicit-controls
0 = velocity based , 1 = flux based (default),
2 = flux averaged , 3= hybrid
Generic conservative settings
New in R 15.0
Best Practice: VOF Schemes & Solver Settings
Explicit VOF
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Best Practice: VOF Schemes & Solver Settings
Implicit VOF
Generic conservative settings
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Best Practice: For Speed Up
1. Use Implicit VOF, Compressive and Bounded Second
Order Time Discretization scheme
This allows to use a larger time step size
Use higher URFs for pressure and momentum( up to 0.8)
NITA can be tried along with this if the phases are modeled as incompressible
2. If the solution is not accurate with Implicit VOF
Check the solution with a smaller time step size
Use Explicit Compressive or Geo-Reconstruct
3. Explicit VOF
Use uniform mesh in the liquid interface regions
Use Variable Time Stepping for non uniform mesh in the interface region
Try with different courant calculation methods
Solve > set > vof-explicit-controls
NITA can be tried if the phases are modeled as incompressible





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NITA(Non Iterative Transient Advancement)
for Transient Speed-up
Sloshing in a Tank with baffles
ITA PISO
CPU-15,794
NITA PISO
CPU-3,450
NITA can be used when the phases are modeled as incompr
essible
ITA vs NITA
NITA is 3 to 5 times faster and does not compromise on accuracy
Water loading on a structure
Computational Time in 8 CPU, Mesh count-
264K: ITA- 9.5 hr, NITA- 2.67 hr
Take Away
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VOF Model Examples
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Tank Filling
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Sliding mesh model with VOF
Free Surface Flow around a Spinning Gear
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Box falling
MDM (Moving Deforming Mesh) Remeshing & 6DOF (6 Degrees of Freedom)
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Air Inlet
Water Inlet
Splitter plate
Diameter: 0.078m
Length: 37m

Slug frequency
ANSYS
FLUENT
Experiment
(Reference)
Reference :
Slug initiation and evolution in two-phase horizontal flow
Priscilla M. Ujang, Christopher J. Lawrence, Colin P. Hale, Geoffrey F.
Hewitt , International Journal of Multiphase Flow 32 (2006)
Slug Flow
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Solids Gas
Slurry (Water
+ Solids)
Gas
bubble
Gas
Solids
HRIC
Phase localized
Compressive
Slope limiters : Gas-Solid = 2
Gas-Fluid = 2 , Fluid-Solid = 0
t = 0.2 s
Bubble Rise in Slurry
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Wave interaction with a floating structure Wave slamming on submarine
MDM (Moving Deforming Mesh), 6DOF (6
Degrees of Freedom)and Open channel
Wave BC along with VOF model
Wave Slamming
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Wave Slamming
MDM (Moving Deforming Mesh), 6DOF (6 Degrees of Freedom)and Open channel Wave BC along with VOF model
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Wave Impact Loading on an Offshore Oil Rig
Open Channel Wave BC with Solitary Wave
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