A lattice Boltzmann model for incompressible gas and liquid two-phase flows combined with free-surface method

Abstract

A novel lattice Boltzmann (LB) model is proposed to study the gas and liquid two-phase flows with large density and viscosity ratios. In the model, both the gas and liquid phases are considered as viscous incompressible fluids, which are governed separately by the two-relaxation-time LB equations. They are coupled by a momentum exchange method at the interface. The interaction between the gas and liquid phases is explicitly described and naturally involved in the model. The interfacial conditions in the model are validated by the benchmarks of the layered Poiseuille flow and the Laplace law. The feasibility of combining this model with the bubble model and the wetting scheme is proven through transient flow problems of single bubble rising and capillary intrusion. The validity of this model is confirmed by more complex flows including solid–liquid–gas coupling and droplet breaking problems by simulating shearing a droplet on a substrate and a droplet falling on a liquid film. The results demonstrate that the present model can be used to describe both the gas and the liquid flows. This work provides a solution to model the simulation of the dynamical behaviors of multi-phase flows.