A volume-of-fluid (VOF) methodology for the prediction of cavitation phenomena

A sharp interface approach for modeling cavitation phenomena in incompressible viscous flows is presented. We utilize the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with a modified Poisson equation to account for phase change taking place at the boundary. The phase change is modeled via a semi-implicit mass transfer term. We adopt a one-fluid formulation for the liquid-vapor two-phase flow and the interface is tracked using a modified volume-of-fluid (VOF) methodology. The modification to VOF is at the level of the advection step whereby the interface is advected with two velocity components, the first one originating from the incompressible flow field, and the second emerging as a result of phase change, whilst maintaining the sharpness of the interface. Details of the method and validation examples will be presented.