An extension of the ghost fluid method for multimaterial, compressible flows with surface tension

We report on an extension of the ghost fluid method (GFM) to simulate multimaterial, compressible flows with surface tension between fluids. Our work builds on the earlier efforts of [1], who incorporated surface tension effects acting on an interface between separate compressible and incompressible materials. In our extension, both fluids are compressible, and a new method of treating the interface curvature is introduced for the surface tension calculations. The interface is tracked using a level set approach, with reinitialization. The algorithm is implemented in IMPACT, a multi-phase, shock physics code, with accurate representation of surface tension effects. Several validation cases have been carried out and will be presented.

¹R. Caiden, R. Fedkiw, & C. Anderson, J. Comput. Phys., 166, 1 (2001).