Volume of Fluid (VOF) type advection methods in two-phase flow: A comparative study

• Four VOF-type methods tested standalone and coupled with Level Set method.
• Unique setup including all methods within single solver code, available via switch.
• Large body of tests, including turbulent two-phase flow in three dimensions.
• Result: THINC/SW methods chosen as better “simplified” VOF than WLIC method.
• Analysis includes “human factor” point of view such as programming man-hours.

In this paper, four distinct approaches to Volume of Fluid (VOF) computational method are compared. Two of the methods are the ‘simplified’ VOF formulations, in that they do not require geometrical interface reconstruction. The assessment is made possible by implementing all four approaches into the same code as switchable options. This allows to rule out possible influence of other parts of numerical scheme, be it the discretisation of Navier–Stokes equations or chosen approximation of curvature, so that we are left with conclusive arguments because only one factor differs the compared methods. The comparison is done in the framework of Coupled Level Set Volume of Fluid (CLSVOF), so that all four methods are coupled with Level Set interface, which is used to compute pressure jump via the Ghost Fluid Method (GFM). Results presented include static advections and full N–S solutions in both laminar and turbulent flows. The paper is aimed at research groups who are implementing VOF methods in their computations or intend to do it, and might consider a simplified approach as a preliminary measure, since the methods presented differ greatly in complication level, or ease of implementation expressed, e.g. in number of code lines.