Structure-preserving discretizations of two-phase Navier-Stokes flow using fitted and unfitted approaches

We consider the numerical approximation of a sharp-interface model for two-phase flow, which is given by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in the bulk domain together with the classical interface conditions on the interface. We propose structure-preserving finite element methods for the model, meaning in particular that volume preservation and energy decay are satisfied on the discrete level. For the evolving fluid interface, we employ parametric finite element approximations that introduce an implicit tangential velocity to improve the quality of the interface mesh. For the two-phase Navier-Stokes equations, we consider two different approaches: an unfitted and a fitted finite element method, respectively. In the unfitted approach, the constructed method is based on an Eulerian weak formulation, while in the fitted approach a novel arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) weak formulation is introduced. Using suitable discretizations of these two formulations, we introduce two finite element methods and prove their structure-preserving properties. Numerical results are presented to show the accuracy and efficiency of the introduced methods

A stable parametric finite element discretization of two-phase Navier–Stokes flow

We present a parametric finite element approximation of two-phase flow. This free boundary problem is given by the Navier–Stokes equations in the two phases, which are coupled via jump conditions across the interface. Using a novel variational formulation for the interface evolution gives rise to a natural discretization of the mean curvature of the interface. The parametric finite element approximation of the evolving interface is then coupled to a standard finite element approximation of the two-phase Navier–Stokes equations in the bulk. Here enriching the pressure approximation space with the help of an XFEM function ensures good volume conservation properties for the two phase regions. In addition, the mesh quality of the parametric approximation of the interface in general does not deteriorate over time, and an equidistribution property can be shown for a semidiscrete continuousin- time variant of our scheme in two space dimensions. Moreover, our finite element approximation can be shown to be unconditionally stable. We demonstrate the applicability of our method with some numerical results in two and three space dimensions

Geometric partial differential equations: Surface and bulk processes

The workshop brought together experts representing a wide range of topics in geometric partial differential equations ranging from analyis over numerical simulation to real-life applications. The main themes of the conference were the analysis of curvature energies, new developments in pdes on surfaces and the treatment of coupled bulk/surface problems

An Energy Formulation of Surface Tension or Willmore Force For Two-Phase Flow

The motion of a biological cell in liquid is a rich subject for modeling. In the early 1970’s, it was realized by Canham that biological vesicles with lipid bilayer membranes reach a steady state shape that minimizes bending. Helfrich soon after mathematically quantified the related bending energy and showed that the shapes from minimizing this bending energy match the types of shapes observed in nature. The resulting Canham-Helfrich energy, consisting of bending energy and a constant surface area and volume constraint, is a major component of any model of cellular motility. To this end, we consider the cellular vesicle to be a closed interface between two fluids and we present a finite element model for a two-phase flow coupling the minimization of some given energy defined on the interface to the incompressible flow of the two fluids, which is then advected according to the resulting velocity field. We provide a general framework for incorporating the energies on the interface and then focus on three applications of energy on the interface: the first is surface tension minimizing the surface area energy, the second minimizes the bending energy without explicit surface area or volume constraints, the third minimizes the Canham-Helfrich energy including the constraints. We present a semi-implicit model for bending energy which uses an implicit levelset formulation for the interface and couples the forces from the interface to the two phase incompressible Navier-Stokes system through the use of an approximate Dirac delta function defined on a band around the interface. By using energies to describe the motion, our model is immediately provided with a sense of energy stability. We provide various numerical simulations and validations of flow under these three energies in two and three dimensions. Our simulations confirm that enforcing the volume constraint in the incompressible flow is vital to achieve the desired steady state shapes