Lattice Boltzmann Multiphase Models for Foam Simulation

Schwarzmeier C, Rüde U (2021)


Publication Type: Conference contribution, Conference Contribution

Publication year: 2021

Event location: Virtual Conference

Abstract

In the industrial production of beverages, undesirable foaming is a severe problem.
There, foaming in columns can lead to high pressure drops, reduced separation
effects and a reduction of process efficiency. As experimental investigations are time-
consuming, difficult and provide only limited insight into the underlying physical
processes, numerical simulations can be used as additional tool for obtaining a more
detailed level of understanding.
We present and compare two numerical multiphase simulation models that are
capable of simulating foam. Both models are based on the lattice Boltzmann method
(LBM), a relatively modern approach for computational fluid dynamics.
On the one hand, the free surface lattice Boltzmann method (FSLBM) is a volume-of-
fluid approach, where the interface between liquid and gas is represented by a single
layer of computational cells. It follows the assumption that the fluid movement in the
gas phase can be neglected. Therefore, fluid flow is only simulated in the liquid
phase, while the gas phase solely interacts with the fluid phase via changes in
pressure.
In contrast to the sharp interface approach of the FSLBM, phase field models
describe the interface between liquid and gas with several computational cells. For
this reason, they are referred to as diffusive interface models. The presented LBM
phase field model is based on the Allen-Cahn equation and simulates the fluid flow in
the liquid and in the gas phase.
Based on the test case of a rising bubble in different flow regimes, we compare the
physical accuracy of the FSLBM with the phase field approach using the open source
multiphysics software framework waLBerla.

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How to cite

APA:

Schwarzmeier, C., & Rüde, U. (2021). Lattice Boltzmann Multiphase Models for Foam Simulation. In Proceedings of the 13th European Congress of Chemical Engineering and 6th European Congress of Applied Biotechnology. Virtual Conference.

MLA:

Schwarzmeier, Christoph, and Ulrich Rüde. "Lattice Boltzmann Multiphase Models for Foam Simulation." Proceedings of the 13th European Congress of Chemical Engineering and 6th European Congress of Applied Biotechnology, Virtual Conference 2021.

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