Mixture theory for diffuse interface models of two-phase flows

Diffuse interface models are an important class of models used to describe multi-phase flows. In the case of incompressible viscous fluids there are a number of different diffuse interface models which have been known for many years. Nevertheless, a model based on mixture theory with a full set of conservation laws for the conservation of linear momentum of each constituent was not yet available. This gap was filled by ten Eikelder et al. (J. Fluid Mech., in press) recently and a first comparison with known models of Navier–Stokes/Cahn–Hilliard type is given. A detailed understanding of the relations between these models remains an important question.