An improved level set method for incompressible two-phase flows

A level set method for capturing the interface between two fluids is combined with a variable density projection method to allow for computation of a two-phase flow where the interface can merge/break and the flow can have a high Reynolds number. A distance function formulation of the level set method enables us to compute flows with large density ratios (1000/1) and flows that are surface tension driven, with no emotional involvement. Recent work has improved the accuracy of the distance function formulation and the accuracy of the advection scheme. We compute flows involving air bubbles and water drops, among others. We validate our code against experiments and theory. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.