DIFFUSE-INTERFACE METHODS IN FLUID MECHANICS

TLDR

Diffuse‑interface models have successfully captured interfacial phenomena at scales comparable to interface thickness, including near‑critical and small‑scale flows, as well as large‑deformation and topological changes such as breakup and coalescence, and they are linked to sharp‑interface analyses and computational approaches for miscible fluids. The paper reviews the development and application of diffuse‑interface hydrodynamic models and discusses formulation issues for single‑component and binary fluids. The authors examine recent computational applications of diffuse‑interface models and outline the formulation of such models for single‑component and binary fluids.

Abstract

▪ Abstract We review the development of diffuse-interface models of hydrodynamics and their application to a wide variety of interfacial phenomena. These models have been applied successfully to situations in which the physical phenomena of interest have a length scale commensurate with the thickness of the interfacial region (e.g. near-critical interfacial phenomena or small-scale flows such as those occurring near contact lines) and fluid flows involving large interface deformations and/or topological changes (e.g. breakup and coalescence events associated with fluid jets, droplets, and large-deformation waves). We discuss the issues involved in formulating diffuse-interface models for single-component and binary fluids. Recent applications and computations using these models are discussed in each case. Further, we address issues including sharp-interface analyses that relate these models to the classical free-boundary problem, computational approaches to describe interfacial phenomena, and models of fully miscible fluids.