33

A Study on the Kelvin-Helmholtz

Instability Using Two Different
Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods
Theodoros Atmakidis and Eugeny Y. Kenig
Chair of Fluid Process Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Paderborn, Pohlweg 55, 33098 Paderborn, Germany
e-mail: eugeny.kenig@upb.de

Received: 22 October 2009, Accepted: 10 March 2010

Abstract
The two-dimensional Kelvin-Helmholtz instability which arises in two immiscible
co-currently moving horizontal liquid layers is studied numerically. Two different
methods for capturing the free interface movement are applied, namely the volume-of-
fluid method and the level-set method. Both methods are very popular and available
within commercial computational fluid dynamics tools. The wave is initialized using
two different perturbations implemented into the model. As a case study, a system
comprising a toluene layer and an aqueous layer is chosen. Numerical results obtained
by both methods are in a good agreement with the linear stability theory for small wave
amplitudes. The application of both methods is compared and their advantages and
drawbacks are highlighted.

1. INTRODUCTION
Multiphase flows are of crucial importance in many industrial processes, e.g. distillation,
extraction, absorption. The mechanisms governing interfacial heat and mass transfer are complex;
a substantial influence of the interface configuration change results in a further complication [1].
Consequently, the prediction of two-phase flow characteristics (e.g. interface position, interfacial
area, interfacial mass and heat transfer) based on first principal methods is hardly possible.
An important phenomenon that significantly influences the topology of the interface in two-
phase stratified flows is the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI). This phenomenon, caused either
by velocity or density difference between the two immiscible fluids, is responsible for the
appearance of wavy interfaces.
In the past decades, KHI has been studied extensively, both experimentally and theoretically. An
experimental study on the KHI of two immiscible horizontal liquid fluids was carried out in the work
by Thorpe [2]. In this work, a rectangular glass tube filled with two immiscible fluids with various
densities was used. Half of the tube was filled with water, whereas the other half with a mixture of
carbon tetrachloride and commercial paraffin. To promote the instability, a vertical perturbation was
introduced when the rectangular tube was tilted by a small angle of 4.13 degree. Another experimental
investigation of the KHI in a gas-liquid shearing flow in a Hele-Shaw cell was performed by Meignin
et al. [3] who analysed a system containing nitrogen and silicon oil. In this work, the instability was
caused by a periodic change of the oil injection pressure at the entrance to the measuring cell.
The KHI was studied theoretically by the classical linear stability theory (see e.g. [4]) and the
influence of surface tension, variable density, rotation and applied magnetic field on the development
of instability was examined. This theory gives reliable results for small wave amplitudes and small
Weber numbers (We), i.e. high surface tension, even for long wave development durations. For small
We, the interface simply oscillates in time without developing new unstable wave structures, since
the interface is stabilised by the surface tension force. For intermediate and high We, the effect
of the surface force becomes less important compared to the inertial forces. Although, at the beginning,
the interface starts to develop in a similar way as for small We numbers, new unstable wave
structures are developed beyond a certain amplitude. For intermediate We numbers, the interface
forms finger-like structures, whereas for higher We numbers, unstable roll-up structures appear.
34 A Study on the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Using Two Different
Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods
These roll-up structures are destroyed by the collision of the wave crest with another interface,
forming trapped droplets of one fluid inside the other one. For intermediate and high We numbers,
the linear stability theory fails to predict the wave growth just because of the development of these
unstable structures [5].
There are some numerical studies of immiscible two-phase mixing layers available (see e.g.
[5,6]) based on the vortex discretisation technique that can predict the nonlinear wave growth
and the unstable structures (fingers, roll-ups, etc.) for intermediate and high We numbers. This
method is based on the fact that the vorticity is confined to a small portion of the flow field. By
discretising the actual vorticity distribution into vortex elements, a complete description of the
flow field can be obtained. The accuracy of the discretisation technique is a limiting factor of this
technique. To apply this method, certain simplification should be taken into account, e.g. density
ratios close to unity and negligible gravitational effects. Most of the newly published research
is focused on the evolution of surface tension effects in vortex sheets at relatively early
development stages [7].
Recently, due to the rapid development of computational power and algorithms, direct
numerical simulations have become more and more popular for studying interfacial phenomena.
To track the position and motion of the interface, different methods have been developed, as, for
example, the marker and cell method (see, e.g., [8]), the volume-of-fluid (VoF) method (see, e.g., [9]),
the level-set (LS) method (see, e.g., [10]) and the combined front-tracking/front-capturing method
(see, e.g., [11]).
In the work by Herrmann [12], the LS method in combination with the vortex-sheet method is
used for the study of the KHI for three different cases, namely, the roll-up of a vortex sheet
neglecting surface tension forces, the growth of the KHI in the linear regime, and the long-time KHI
evolution. Numerical investigations of the KHI are carried out for gas-liquid systems with different
density/viscosity ratios by Chen et al. [13], Li and Renardy [14] and Boeck et al. [15]. In all works,
the VoF method is applied together with a piecewise-linear-interface-calculation method for the
reconstruction of the interface. Two-dimensional simulations of the KHI have been performed using
connected markers to track the interface by Tauber et al. [16]. In these investigations, the effect of
the density ratio and the We number on the wave shape and evolution was examined. Simulation
results revealed different unstable structures for different We number, e.g., finger-like and roll-up
structures. To summarize, only few studies using direct numerical simulations of the two-phase KHI
can be found in literature, and, in most of them, the VoF method is used.
In our work, the two-dimensional KHI is studied using two different methods for capturing free
interfaces, namely the VoF and the LS method. Both methods are popular and available within
commercially available computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. Simulation results obtained by
means of both methods are compared with the results achieved using the linear stability theory. In
this way, the two methods can be evaluated with respect to their ability to adequately capture these
interfacial phenomena. For the investigations, a system comprising a toluene layer and an aqueous
layer is chosen. This system is recommended as a standard one by the European Federation of
Chemical Engineers for testing the performance of liquid-liquid extraction columns [17]. To
additionally examine the effect of the surface tension on the wave development, simulations are
performed with the surface tension increased by one order of magnitude.

2. MODEL FORMULATION
Both toluene and aqueous layers have initial thicknesses and lengths of 0.1 m and 1 m, respectively
(Figure 1). The physicochemical properties of the studied systems are shown in Table 1. For the
first system, we used real physicochemical properties of the toluene-water system, while for the
second one, the surface tension was artificially increased by one order of magnitude. The second
modified system is used in order to understand the wave propagation phenomena in a more clear
way. The following assumptions are made:

• Newtonian fluids
• Incompressible flow
• Isothermal system
• Laminar flow of both phases
• Absence of surface active contaminants

Journal of Computational Multiphase Flows

Theodoros Atmakidis and Eugeny Y. Kenig 35

Wall boundary

Toluene phase

Outlet boundary
Inlet boundary
H = 0.2 m

Water phase
y
Wall boundary
1m
x

Figure 1. 2-D model geometry of the two liquid layers.

Table 1. Physicochemical properties of the studied systems

System 1 System 2
Property Water Toluene Water Toluene
Density ρ 997 862.3 997 862.3
[kg m−3]
Viscosity µ 0.8903 10−3 0.552 10−3 0.8903 10−3 0.552 10−3
[kg m−1 s−1]
Surface tension σ 0.033 0.33
[mN m−1]

In the VoF method used to resolve the movement of the interface, a scalar quantity f is
introduced which represents the volume fraction of a mesh cell occupied by one phase. Thus, it
takes values between 0 and 1 for the cells containing the interface; otherwise either the value 0 or
1:

1, if the mesh cell isoccupied by phase 1

 (1)
f =  0, if the meesh cell isoccupied by phase 2
0 < f < 1, if the two phases coexist in one cell


For incompressible flows, the movement of the interface is tracked by solving the following
equation

∂f

+ ∇ ⋅( f u) = 0 (2)
∂t


where u is the local velocity vector. This equation reflects the fact that the VoF function f is
advected with the local fluid velocity.
In the LS method, a different function is used to track the interface, which takes positive values
for one phase and negative values for another phase. Directly at the interface, it is equal to zero and,
therefore, is called zero level set. Usually, the LS is defined as a distance function given by:




Φ(x ) = min ( x − x I ) (3)
xI ∈ I

where index I denotes the interface.

Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2010

36 A Study on the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Using Two Different
Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods
In order to take into account density and viscosity discontinuities at the interface and at the same
time to achieve numerical robustness, the LS is artificially smeared out using the following
Heaviside function [18]:

 0, Φ < −ε

1 Φ 1  π Φ
ϕ= + + sin  −ε ≤Φ ≤ε (4)
 ε 
,
 2 2 ε 2 π
1, Φ>ε

The interface is thus smeared out over a small distance equal to 2 ε. In our work, ε is chosen to
be equal to the size of one mesh element for all simulations. Using this formulation, the smoothed
LS function takes the value of 0.5 exactly at the interface and the values 0 or 1 away from the
interface.
To capture the interface movement, an advection equation similar to that used in the VoF method
is employed. This movement causes changes of the ϕ-function [18] and, thus, the interface
thickness would not remain constant. In order to maintain the thickness constant during the
simulation and hence to limit the numerical error arising due to the interface smearing, a re-
initialisation function is added to the advection equation. This function acts as an additional
artificial compression of the interface in the normal direction in regions where 0 < ϕ < 1. The
advection equation including the right-hand re-initialization term reads as follows:

∂ϕ
 ∇ϕ 
+ ∇ ⋅ (ϕ u ) = γ ∇ ⋅  −ϕ (1 − ϕ ) + ε∇ϕ  (5)
∂t  ∇ϕ 

where γ is the re-initialisation factor. This factor should take values in the range of the velocities
[19]. To estimate this factor, we performed a parameter study and found that for γ = 0.1 the
thickness of the smeared out-Heaviside function was constant at all time steps.
The governing continuity and momentum equations applied in both methods for the two-phase
fluid flow are:


∇u = 0 (6)

∂




ρ u + ∇ ⋅ ρ u u = −∇ p + ρ g + µ ∆ u (7)
∂t

where ρ, µ are density and viscosity of the fluid, p is pressure and g is gravity. The density and
viscosity are given as functions of the VoF function ( f ) or LS function (ϕ) as

ρ = f ρT + (1 − f ) ρW or ρ = ϕ ρT + (1 − ϕ ) ρW (8)

µ = f µT + (1 − f ) µW or µ = ϕ µT + (1 − ϕ ) µW (9)

where index T denotes toluene phase and index W denotes aqueous phase. The surface tension
description is based on the continuum surface force model (see [20]). In this model, the surface
tension force is represented as a volume force:

Fσ = ( −σ κ n ) δ (10)

δ = ∇f (11)

where σ is surface tension, n is vector normal to the interface and κ is surface curvature. The factor
δ is often called the interface delta function; it is equal to zero away from the interface, thereby

Journal of Computational Multiphase Flows

Theodoros Atmakidis and Eugeny Y. Kenig 37

ensuring that the surface tension force acts only near the interface. The normal vector and curvature
at the liquid-liquid interface are determined in terms of the VoF or the LS function according to:

∇f ∇ϕ
n= or n= (12)
∇f ∇ϕ

κ = −∇n (13)

For the VoF method, the implementation of an interface reconstruction algorithm is not
necessary, since only minor smearing of the interface is observed. Besides, the use of such
reconstruction algorithm is hardly possible within the CFX 10.0 solver, since this solver provides
only limiting access to the unstructured mesh elements.
To complete the model formulation, the boundary and initial conditions should be defined. The
boundaries are shown in Figure 1.
As an inlet boundary condition, the horizontal component of the inlet velocity in each phase is
specified. To ensure the appearance of the KHI, an appropriate velocity difference between the two
layers should be specified. The critical velocity difference between the two layers at which the KHI
appears is given in [4]:

ρT + ρW
∆uc2 = 2 σ g ( ρT − ρW ) (14)
ρT ρW

where ∆uc is the critical velocity difference between the toluene and water phase. For the toluene-
water system, according to Eq. (14), the critical velocity difference exceeds 0.02 m/s. Therefore, to
ensure the appearance of the instability, a velocity difference of ∆u = 0.30 m/s is selected. For
aqueous phase, the inlet velocity is taken to be 0.08 m/s and for toluene 0.38 m/s.
On the upper and lower wall boundaries, the standard no-slip condition is employed. At the
outlet, a pressure boundary condition is imposed, whereas pressure is set equal to 1 atm.
In all simulations, the position of the interface and the horizontal velocity component is
specified by initial conditions. The initial horizontal velocity component is set equal to the inlet
velocity component.
To cause the instability, a perturbation is imposed on the vertical velocity component. In this
work, two different perturbations are used. By the first one, a perturbation is implemented in the
initial vertical velocity component as follows

2π 2π 
sin 
 λ  x, initial
u y, initial = – A x u (15)
λ

where uy, initial and ux, initial are vertical and horizontal initial velocity components, A is the wave
amplitude and λ is the wavelength. The initial vertical velocity component is proportional to the
initial horizontal velocity component. Therefore, higher vertical initial velocities are expected in
the toluene phase compared to the aqueous phase. In what follows, the perturbation given by Eq.
(15) will be addressed as Perturbation 1.
The second perturbation comprises two terms which are applied simultaneously, one as an initial
and another as an inlet condition:

2 π 
u y, initial = Ainitial 1000 y ( H–y ) cos  x (16)
 λ 

u y, inlet = Ainlet 1000 y ( H–y ) cos(2 π t ) (17)

where H is total height of the channel, uy, inlet is vertical inlet velocity component. The initial
vertical velocity component does not depend on the initial horizontal velocity component and, thus,
similar vertical initial velocities are expected in both toluene and aqueous phase. This perturbation
will be further addressed as Perturbation 2.

Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2010

38 A Study on the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Using Two Different
Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods
3. MODEL IMPLEMENTATION
The two different methods for capturing free interface movement discussed above are implemented
into different commercial CFD tools. In our work, the application of the VoF method is realized with
the help of the finite-volume-based CFD tool CFX 10.0 by ANSYS. The solution is obtained using
a second-order discretisation scheme. A uniform hexahedral structured grid is used for the two-
dimensional domain, in which the system of governing equations is solved. Approximately 200,000
grid elements are necessary to obtain grid independent results.
To obtain stable solutions for transient free-interface problems, two stability criteria with respect
to the selected time step should be fulfilled. The first one is related to the Courant number while
the second one to the treatment of the surface tension. The Courant number is defined as:

umax ∆t
Co = (18)
∆x

where umax is maximum velocity in the computational domain, ∆ x is grid size and ∆ t is time step.
To obtain a stable solution, the Courant number should always be smaller than one, so that, within
a selected time step, the interface should only move from one grid element to a neighbouring one.
The second stability criterion is referred to the explicit treatment of the surface tension and it is
given as:

∆t ≤
( ρT + ρW ) ( ∆x )3 (19)
4πσ

Both stability criteria should be satisfied, and, in this way, the minimum time step obtained by
these criteria is selected. For the VoF method, we found out that a time step of 5 · 10−4 s is
appropriate. When two processors in parallel were used, the simulation time was approximately
120 hrs. The use of more parallel processors did not decrease the computational time substantially.
Further, we used the LS method, implemented into COMSOL Multiphysics 3.3a by COMSOL
AB. This is a finite-element-based solver. To obtain grid independent results, more than 90,000
unstructured triangular mesh elements were used. Both stability criteria (see Eqs. (18)-(19)) are
important for the LS method, too. Due to the use of a non-uniform unstructured mesh in COMSOL
Multiphysics 3.3a, it was necessary to work with a smaller time step of 1 · 10−4 s. The reason is that,
in the unstructured mesh, there exist smaller elements than those of the uniform structured mesh
used within the VoF method. For the LS simulations, approximately 20 hrs of computational time
were necessary. Since the developed solver by COMSOL AB is not parallelised yet, one processor
(AMD Opteron MP 852-2.6 GHz) was used.

4. RESULTS
As a fist step, the different perturbations terms was examined. The initial velocity field for the two
different cases is presented in Figure 2. For all the simulations, the amplitude of the wave was equal
to 0.05 m and the wavelength to 0.25 m. Both perturbations were selected in such a way that the
resulting maximum initial vertical velocity component was equal for both cases.
When Perturbation 1 was applied, the maximum velocity was reached in the toluene phase,
while in case of Perturbation 2, the velocity field was uniform for both phases. It was clearly seen
that Perturbation 2 is stronger due to the higher vertical velocity components in the aqueous phase,
as compared to Perturbation 1.

4.1. VoF Method

In Figure 3, the wave propagation using Perturbation 1 is presented for different times. The Weber
number, defined as the ratio of the inertial forces to the surface tension forces, is given as:
ρT ∆u
We = (20)
σk

where k is wave number and ∆ux is horizontal velocity difference between the toluene and aqueous
phases. The Weber number for the real toluene-water system is 9.35, while, for the modified

Journal of Computational Multiphase Flows

Theodoros Atmakidis and Eugeny Y. Kenig 39

(a)
Max: 0.478
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
−0.1
−0.2
−0.3
−0.4
Min: −0.478

(b) Max: 0.500

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
−0.1
−0.2
−0.3
−0.4
Min: −0.500
Figure 2. Initial vertical velocity component for Perturbation 1 (a) and Perturbation 2 (b).

t = 0.1 s t = 0.6 s

t = 0.2 s t = 0.7 s

t = 0.3 s t = 0.8 s

t = 0.4 s t = 0.9 s

t = 0.5 s t = 1.0 s

Figure 3. Wave propagation for different time steps obtained by the VoF method using
Perturbation 1 for We = 9.35.

system, it is 0.935. This means that, for the first system, inertial forces are more significant than
surface tension, while, for the second system, both effects are almost similar.
For the first system, at the beginning, the wave develops in the vertical direction with increasing
amplitude. Gradually, the vertical growth of the wave ceases. Instead, finger-like structures begin

Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2010

40 A Study on the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Using Two Different
Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods
t = 0.1 s t = 0.6 s

t = 0.2 s t = 0.7 s

t = 0.3 s t = 0.8 s

t = 0.4 s t = 0.9 s

t = 0.5 s t = 1.0 s

Figure 4. Wave propagation for different time steps obtained by the VoF method using
Perturbation 1 for We = 0.935.

to develop almost parallel to the interface. These finger-like structures start to break after 0.6 s.
As the fingers pull back, fluid accumulates at the tip of each finger, forming a drop. This drop is
connected to the rest of the finger by a thin thread that appears to be collapsed completely. The
probability of a droplet formation is very high as the wave breaks down; this can be seen in
Figure 3 for the times 0.9 s and 1 s. Similar conclusions were drawn in [16].
The wave propagation for the system with a Weber number of 0.935 is shown in Figure 4. In
this case, the surface tension plays an important role in the wave development and stabilizes the
wave. The initial wave evolution is similar to We = 9.35. However, a smaller wave amplitude and
the absence of finger-like structures are observed. This is due to a stronger effect of surface tension.
As the initial perturbation vanishes, surface tension “pulls” the interface back and, at t = 0.6 s, the
interface becomes nearly flat. Then, the wave starts to grow again as shown in Figure 4 for times
0.8 s to 1 s.
In Figure 5, the wave evolution at three different times is shown for the two different
perturbations. In both cases, a similar wave development can be observed. At first, waves develop
in the horizontal direction and then in the vertical direction creating finger-like structures. In
Perturbation 2, the initial vertical velocities of the aqueous phase are higher as compared to the
Perturbation 1. This leads to thicker waves with larger wave amplitudes.
In Figure 6, the wave amplitude as a function of time for both Perturbation 1 and 2 is depicted.
The wave amplitude is plotted from the starting point till 0.5 s. After 0.5 s, the wave development
stops and the wave starts to break down. In this region, the amplitude of the wave is difficult to
estimate. In the same figure, the amplitude estimated using the linear stability theory [16] is shown
for comparison. Since the velocities of the two fluids are sufficiently high, the amplitudes of the
initial KHI instability can be predicted well by linear stability theory. At higher times, the effect of
viscous forces becomes important and deviations grow.

4.2. LS Method
As a first step, the influence of the artificial transformation (smearing) of the interface position and
shape for the LS method was examined. In Figure 7, the position of the interface for different values
of ε (cf. Eq. 4) is depicted. For ε = 0.008 m, the wave shape is deformed, especially at the wave

Journal of Computational Multiphase Flows

Theodoros Atmakidis and Eugeny Y. Kenig 41

t = 0.05 s

t = 0.25 s

t = 0.50 s

Figure 5. Wave evolution obtained with the VoF method using Perturbation 1 (left) and
Perturbation 2 (right) for A = AInitial = AInlet = 0.05 and λ = 0.25.

2.5

1.5
Log of wave amplitude

0.5

−0.5

−1.5
Perturbation 1
Perturbation 2
−2.5
Perturbation 1 - Linear theory
Perturbation 2 - Linear theory
−3.5
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Time [s]

Figure 6. Wave amplitude as a function of time.

0.2
Height of the computational domain [m]

0.18
Initial fluid interface
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06 ε = 0.008
0.04 ε = 0.006
0.02 ε = 0.004
0
0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8
Length of the computational domain [m]

Figure 7. Wave shape obtained with the LS method using Perturbation 1 for A = AInitial =
AInlet = 0.05 and λ = 0.25 for different values of ε.

Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2010

42 A Study on the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Using Two Different
Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods
t = 0.1 s t = 0.6 s

t = 0.2 s t = 0.7 s

t = 0.3 s t = 0.8 s

t = 0.4 s t = 0.9 s

t = 0.5 s t = 1.0 s

Figure 8. Wave propagation for different time steps obtained by the LS method using
Perturbation 1.

t = 0.05 s

t = 0.25 s

t = 0.50 s

Figure 9. Wave evolution obtained with the LS method using Perturbation 1 (left) and
Perturbation 2 (right) for A = AInitial = AInlet = 0.05 and λ = 0.25.

crest. Only small difference can be obtained for ε values of 0.006 m and 0.004 m. Thus, ε = 0.006 m
is assumed to be an appropriate value for the proper description of the interface.
Results obtained using the LS method are presented in Figure 8 for Perturbation 1. In this figure,
the wave propagation at different times is shown. The behaviour of the wave as a function of time
is similar to that obtained using the VoF method in terms of the wave shape and height. The
necessary time in which the wave develops and breaks down is, again, close to 1 s.
Simulations were also carried out with the LS method using Perturbation 2. In Figure 9, the
wave development at three time points is depicted for Perturbation 1 and Perturbation 2 to give a
clear comparison. Similar to the VoF method, for the Perturbation 2, the developed waves are
thicker and have higher amplitudes.

Journal of Computational Multiphase Flows

Theodoros Atmakidis and Eugeny Y. Kenig 43

4.3. Method Comparison

In Figure 10, a comparison of the calculated wave amplitude at different times obtained by the VoF
method and LS method is presented. Both methods give similar results. The maximum wave
amplitude is 0.11 m. At this point, the wave amplitude remains constant, since the vertical wave
development stops and the waves develop in the horizontal direction. That is why in Figure 8 an
accumulation of points can be seen around the maximum amplitude. Both methods can predict not
only the maximum wave amplitude but also the exact time at which the vertical wave development
stops and the horizontal development starts.
Table 2 gives a summary of the methods applied in this work. Both methods are easy to
implement and able to account for large interface deformations.
When the VoF method is applied, a substantially fine mesh should be used to minimize the
smearing of the interface. This makes transient simulations very demanding in terms of
computational power and time. With two processors in parallel, it takes approximately 120 hours
of computational time to simulate the wave movement for only 1 s. The use of a reconstruction
algorithm, as suggested in [21], can significantly reduce smearing. Therefore, in principle, a courser
mesh can be used, leading to a substantial reduction of the computational time. However, within
CFX 10.0, the implementation of such a reconstruction algorithm is not possible, because of the
missing access to the mesh nodes.

0.14
Calculated wave amplitute using the LS method [m]

Constant wave amplitude

0.12

0.1

0.08

0.06

0.04

0.02

0
0 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.1 0.12 0.14
Calculated wave amplitude using the VoF method [m]

Figure 10. Comparison of the wave amplitude calculated with the VoF method and the
LS method at different times.

Table 2. Properties of the investigated methods and tools.

VoF (CFX 10.0) LS (COMSOL Multiphysics 3.3a)

Easy to implement
Easy to implement
Advantages

Mass conservation
Exact position of the interface is known

Able to account large deformations
Able to account for large deformations

of the interface of the interface

Straightforward extension to 3D
Straightforward extension to 3D
Disadvantages

Smearing of the interface
Mass conservation is not always met

Reconstruction algorithm is not available
(limited access to the nodes)

Accurate calculation of interfacial mass

transfer phenomena is not possible

Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2010

44 A Study on the Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability Using Two Different
Computational Fluid Dynamics Methods
When the LS method is used, the exact position of the interface is known. Simulations can
be performed using a courser grid, which leads to a substantial reduction of the computational
time. Approximately 20 hours of computational time is necessary for the studied test case using
one processor. The commercial solver of COMSOL Multiphysics is not parallelised yet, and,
therefore, the use of more than one processor is not possible.
The main drawback of the LS method is that the mass conservation is not always met. However,
only minor loss of mass are observed (less than 3%) in all simulations. This is due to the use of the
conservative scheme suggested by Olsson and Kreiss [18].

5. CONCLUSIONS
In this work, the KHI in two immiscible horizontal liquid layers is studied using the VoF method
and the LS method. Both methods are very popular for the capturing of the free interface movement
and are implemented into commercially available computational fluid dynamics tools. For the VoF
method, the CFX 10.0 solver by ANSYS Inc. is used, while for the LS method, COMSOL
Multiphysics 3.3a by COMSOL AB.
To initialize the instability, two different perturbations are examined. In the first one, a single
perturbation term is used as an initial condition, while in the second one, two perturbation terms
are used, one as an initial condition and one as an inlet condition. For similar wavelengths and wave
amplitudes, the perturbation in the second case is stronger leading to larger waves.
Both methods are able to capture accurately the wave propagation when the wave develops in
the vertical direction and when finger-like structures start to appear. Similar wave development can
be observed for the different implemented perturbations. When the surface tension is artificially
increased by one order of magnitude, these unstable finger-like structures disappear, since the
stronger surface tension force stabilizes the wave. Numerical results obtained by both methods are
in a good agreement with the linear stability theory for small wave amplitudes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The support of the European Commission in the context of the 6th Framework Programme
(PRISM, Contract No. MRTN-CT-2004-512233) is greatly acknowledged

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Volume 2 · Number 1 · 2010