A New Computational Method for Free Surface Problems

A new technique, called the surface velocity correction technique (SVC), is developed to track a free surface such as a liquid-vapor interface. SVC is a computationally inexpensive, and accurate method to capture interfacial fluid phenomena. This method uses a finite volume technique to discretize the governing equations, and a semi-Legrangian mesh to locate the interface between two fluids. The effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated through several classical examples and the results are also compared to both analytical and VOF solutions. The examples include: the shape of a meniscus in a capillary tube in mechanical equilibrium, the rise of a meniscus in a capillary tube, and the instability growth of a free flowing cylindrical column of fluid.