Simulating Two-phase Fluid-rigid Interactions with an Overset-Grid Kinetic Solver.

Abstract

Simulating the coupled dynamics between rigid bodies and two-phase fluids, especially those with a large density ratio and a high Reynolds number, is computationally demanding but visually compelling with a broad range of applications. Traditional approaches that directly solve the Navier-Stokes equations often struggle to reproduce these flow phenomena due to stronger numerical diffusion, resulting in lower accuracy. While recent advancements in kinetic lattice Boltzmann methods for two-phase flows have notably enhanced efficiency and accuracy, challenges remain in correctly managing fluid-rigid boundaries, resulting in physically inconsistent results. In this paper, we propose a novel kinetic framework for fluid-rigid interaction involving two fluid phases. Our approach leverages the idea of an overset grid, and proposes a novel formulation in the two-phase flow context with multiple improvements to handle complex scenarios and support moving multi-resolution domains with boundary layer control. These new contributions successfully resolve many issues inherent in previous methods and enable physically more consistent simulations of two-phase flow phenomena. We have conducted both quantitative and qualitative evaluations, compared our method to previous techniques, and validated its physical consistency through real-world experiments. Additionally, we demonstrate the versatility of our method across various scenarios.