Interaction of a deformable solid with two-phase flows: An Eulerian-based numerical model for fluid-structure interaction using the level contour reconstruction method

Abstract

We describe the formulation of a method for fluid-structure interaction involving the coupling of moving and/or flexible solid structures with multiphase flows in the framework of the Level Contour Reconstruction Method. We present an Eulerian-based numerical procedure for tracking the motion and interaction of a liquid-gas interface with a fluid-solid interface in the Lagrangian frame together with the evaluation of the fluid transport equations coupled to those for the solid transport, namely the left Cauchy-Green strain tensor field, in the Eulerian frame. To prevent excessive dissipation due to the convective nature of the solid transport equation, a simple incompressibility constraint for the strain field is enforced. A single grid structure is used for both the fluid and solid phases which allows for a simple and natural coupling of the fluid and solid dynamics. Several benchmark tests are performed to show the accuracy of the numerical method and which demonstrate accurate results compared to several of those in the existing literature. In particular we show that surface tension effects including contact line dynamics on the deforming solid phase can be properly simulated. The three-phase interaction of a droplet impacting on a flexible cantilever is investigated in detail. The simulations follow the detailed motion of the droplet impact (and subsequent deformation, breakup, and fall trajectory) along with the motion of the deformable solid cantilever due to its own weight as well as due to the force of the droplet impact.