A level-set based mesh adaptation technique for mass conservative ice accretion in unsteady simulations

Abstract

This paper presents an innovative approach to model evolving boundaries problems due to the accumulation or erosion of material over a surface, offering a robust alternative to standard algebraic methods. The strategy is based on the level-set method and it allows the local conservation of the prescribed mass material accounting for the curvature of the body. No partial differential equations are solved for the level-set function, but simple geometric quantities are used to provide an implicit discretization of the new updated boundary. The method is applied to body-fitted unstructured grids, that allow a good representation of arbitrarily complex geometries. Two multi-step in-flight ice accretion simulations over a NACA0012 are presented to show the feasibility and adaptability of the method, that can be also extended to three-dimensional applications