On reducing interface curvature computation errors in the height function technique

A detailed analysis of the errors involved in computing the interface curvature from volume fraction distributions using a height function technique is presented. An improved version of the height function technique is proposed, based on introducing a correction of the height function discretization error estimated from the local osculating spheres at interface points. By using this error correction and an appropriate discretization of the partial derivatives of the height function, a substantial improvement in the accuracy of the interface curvature computation can be efficiently achieved.