VOF-Technology in

STAR-CCM+

Samir Muzaferija & Milovan Peri

Contents

Introduction to multiphase flows

Theoretical background for VOF-method
High-Resolution Interface-Capturing (HRIC) scheme
Accounting for surface tension effects
Extensions of VOF-method
Waves: generation, propagation, damping
Free surface flows: application examples
Future development
Introduction to Multiphase Flows

VOF-approach is suitable, when

the grid is fine enough to resolve
the interface between two
immiscible fluids.

Sometimes not all parts of the flow

are suited for VOF-treatment

Examples: Atomization nozzle

flow and jet break-up (right) and
flow around a hydrofoil (below)
Interface Conditions, I

Conditions at an interface between two immiscibe fluids:

Kinematic condition: No flow through interface.
Dynamic conditions: Balance of normal and tangential
stresses (surface tension forces):
VOF: Theory, I

VOF considers a single effective fluid whose properties vary

according to volume fraction of individual fluids:

The mass conservation equation for fluid i reads:

It can be rearranged into an equation in integral form:

This equation is used to compute the transport of volume fraction i.

VOF: Theory, II

The mass conservation equation for the effective fluid is

obtained by summing up all component equations and
using the condition:

The integral form of mass conservation equation (used to

compute pressure correction) reads:

The properties of effective fluid are computed according to

volume fractions:
VOF: Theory, III

All fluids (liquids and gases) can be compressible.

If density is a function of pressure and temperature, we have:

For an ideal gas, the following relations hold:

The source term due to compressibility is then:

Interface-Capturing Method, I

For sharp interfaces, special discretization for convective

terms in the equation for volume fraction i is needed (to
avoid excessive spreading).
The method must produce bounded solutions, i.e. each
volume fraction must lie between 0 and 1 and the sum of all
volume fractions must be 1 at each control volume.
Bounded schemes must fall within a certain region of the
normalized variable diagram; the normalized variables are
defined as:
Interface-Capturing Method, II

The boundedness requirement:

The normalized variable

diagram and the proposed
high-resolution interface-
capturing (HRIC) scheme
HRIC-Scheme, I

The HRIC-scheme defines the face value of the

normalized variable as follows:

This value is corrected by the local Courant-number (CFLl

and CFLu are scheme parameters default 0.5 and 1):
HRIC-Scheme, II

Another correction is introduced to account for the

orientation of interface relative to cell face:

This correction reduces the tendency of interface to align

with the grid
C is the scheme parameter (default value: 0.05)
HRIC-Scheme, III

The convected cell-face value of volume fraction is finally

determined as:

The face value can also be expressed as a blend of

upwind and downwind values:

The blending factor is a function of normalized face

variable and volume fraction values at U, C and D nodes:
Surface Tension Effects, I

The kinematic interface condition is implicitly accounted

for by the transport equation for volume fraction.

The dynamic interface conditions require additional forces

in the momentum equations in cells containing free
surface

Surface tension forces are converted to volume forces:

Since the gradient of volume

fraction is zero away from
interface, these terms are
equal to zero everywhere
except along interface
Surface Tension Effects, II

The unit vector normal to interface is obtained from the

gradient of volume fraction:

The curvature of free surface is obtained from the

divergence of the unit vector normal to interface:

The volume fraction field needs to be smoothed before

the curvature is computed (sharp interface leads to a non-
smooth curvature field).
Surface Tension Effects, III

The so called parasitic currents can develop, if the fluid

moves only slowly or not at all, and the surface tension
effects dominate (high curvature or surface tension
coefficient)...

The reason: pressure and surface tension forces must be

in equilibrium when fluid is at rest but the numerical
approximations do not guarantee that (one term is linear
and the other is non-linear):

There are many partial solutions to this problem in

literature, but none works in all situations
Surface Tension Effects, IV

Where free surface is in contact with wall, contact angle

needs to be prescribed.
Surface Tension Effects, IV

One can distinguish between:

Static contact angle
Dynamic advancing contact angle on dry surface
Dynamic advancing contact angle on wet surface
Dynamic receding contact angle

The contact angle is enforced as:

nfs = - nw cos w + tw sin w

Surface Tension Effects, V

Contact angle and dynamic contact line at a moving wall (e.g. in

a coating process)...
Extensions of VOF-Method

One can add additional models in the equation for volume

fraction (diffusion, sources) in order to model effects like
non-sharp interfaces, phase change etc.
This is the main advantage of this approach compared to
level-set and similar schemes...
VOF-framework is already used in STAR-CCM+ for the
following models:
Cavitation
Boiling
Evaporation and condensation at free surface
Melting and solidification
Wave Models

STAR-CCM+ provides several wave models:

For initialization of volume fraction, velocity and pressure
fields;
For a transient inlet boundary condition.

Currently available models:

1st-order linear wave theory
Non-linear 5th-order Stokes wave theory (Fenton, 1985)
Pierson-Moskowitz and JONSWAP long-crested wave
spectra
Superposition of linear waves with varying amplitude,
period and direction of propagation (can be set-up via
Excel-file)
Wave Damping

Vertical motion is damped by introducing smoothly

increasing resistance
The method proposed by Choi and Yoon (Costal Engineering,
Vol. 56, pp. 1043-1060, 2009) has been implemented into
STAR-CCM+:

w w

xsd Starting point for wave damping (propagation in x-direction)

xed End point for wave damping (boundary)
f1 , f2 and nd Parameters of the damping model
w Vertical velocity component
Time-Accurate Wave Propagation, I

Accurate wave propagation requires 2nd-order time-

integration method.
Second-order method (quadratic interpolation in time)
requires that the wave propagates less than half a cell
per time step.
First-order scheme is always stable but less accurate
Test case:
Stokes 5th-order wave
Wavelength 102.7 m
Wave height 5.8 m
Wave period 8 s
Solution domain 4 wavelengths long
Time-Accurate Wave Propagation, II

Wave damping was applied over the last 100 m before outlet... 41 cells
per wave length, 11.5 cells per wave height (x = 2.5 m, z = 0.5 m)

1st-order scheme, 100 t/T (CFL = 0.41), after 4 periods

5 cells

2nd-order scheme, 100 t/T (CFL = 0.41), after 4 periods

10 cells
Application examples

Droplet impact on a wall

Flow in a slot coater
Micro-gravity free surface re-orientation
Flow around ships
Wave impact on offshore structures
Flow over a weir
Simulation of pouring
Drop Impact on a Wall, I

A water droplet with a diameter D = 2.7 mm hits a wall with a

speed of 4.551 m/s.
Wall surface is waxed: contact angle is 105 for advancing
interface and 95 for receding interface.
Surface tension coefficient: = 0.073 N/m
Weber number: We = u2D/ = 763
Mesh size at wall: 6 m
Time step: 0.2 s
Comparison with experiments by S. Sikalo and E. Ganic
(Phenomena of droplet-surface interactions, Experimental
Thermal and Fluid Science, 2006)
Drop Impact on a Wall, II

Animation showing
droplet impact on
the wall and rebound
due to non-wetting
contact angle...
Drop Impact on a Wall, III
Comparison of predicted and
measured spreading of liquid
droplet on the wall

Comparison of predicted and

measured height of liquid above
wall at the impingement location...
 Simulation of Slot Coating, I

Prediction of stable operation window of a slot coater as a function of vacuum level

Stable region
predicted well on
very coarse grid
Simulation of Slot Coating, II

Effects of grid refinement (web speed 0.8 m/s,

under-pressure 500 Pa):

Coarse grid

Refined grid
Simulation of Slot Coating, III

Effects of grid refinement: Flow rates at inlet and outlet

Coarse grid Web speed: 0.5 m/s

Vacuum: 2000 Pa

On a coarse mesh,
outlet flux oscillates
strongly, on a fine mesh
much less

Refined grid
Micro-Gravity Free Surface Shape, I

Silicon oil in a cylindrical

container subjected to a
sudden reduction in gravity
(to 1e-6 m/s^2) changes
free surface shape to
spherical

Fluid is at rest both

initially and at the end
of simulation
parasitic currents
Wall require reduced CFL-
limits for HRIC

Symmetry axis
Micro-Gravity Free Surface Shape, II

Wall

Symmetry axis

Comparison of predicted and experimentally observed position of free surface

during transition process at symmetry axis and at wall (experiments by Michaelis
and Dreyer, in Multiphase Science and Technology, Vol. 16, pp. 219-238, 2004)
Flow Around Ships, I

Comparison of predicted and measured wave profiles around

container ship at Froude number 0.26
Flow Around Ships, II

Comparison of measured and predicted wave profiles

around a military vessel (destroyer DTMB 5415)
Wave Impact on Offshore Structures, I

Simulation of wave impact on a

jack-up platform in shallow water
by GL (published at OMAE2009
Conference)

Simulation of wave impact on a

platform in shallow water by DNV
(published at OMAE2012
Conference)
Wave Impact on Offshore Structures, II
Evidence of damage on a
platform after it was hit by
a hurricane

Deformation in a
simulation: good
agreement with field
observation

Coupled simulation of
flow using STAR-CCM+
and deformation of
platform structure using
ABAQUS.

Simulation by CD-adapco
Engineering Services for
Chevron. Published at
OMAE2012 Conference.
Flow Over a Weir
Simulation of Pouring, I
Future Developments

Improvements to computation of free surface curvature

(to reduce the parasitic currents)
Transition to other multiphase models:
VOF to Lagrangian and vice-versa

Fluid film to VOF and vice versa

Eulerian or Lagrangian multiphase models within VOF

phases