An interface and geometry preserving phase-field method for fully Eulerian fluid-structure interaction

Abstract

We present an interface and geometry preserving (IGP) method for the modeling of fully Eulerian fluid-structure interaction via phase-field formulation. While the hyperbolic tangent interface profile is preserved by the time-dependent mobility model, the proposed method maintains the geometry of the solid-fluid interface by reducing the volume-conserved mean curvature flow. To achieve the reduction in the curvature flow, we construct a gradient-minimizing velocity field (GMV) for the convection of the order parameter. The constructed velocity field enables the preservation of the solid velocity in the solid domain while extending the velocity in the normal direction throughout the diffuse interface region. With this treatment, the GMV reduces the normal velocity difference of the level sets of the order parameter which alleviates the undesired thickening or thinning of the diffuse interface region due to the convection. During this process, the time-dependent mobility coefficient is substantially reduced and there is a lesser curvature flow. The GMV ensures that the diffuse interface region moves with the solid bulk such that the fluid-solid interface conforms to the geometry of the solid. Using the unified momentum equation and the phase-dependent interpolation, we integrate the IGP method into a fully Eulerian variational FSI solver based on the incompressible viscous fluid and the neo-Hookean solid. We first demonstrate the ability of the phase-field-based IGP method for the convection of circular and square interfaces with a prescribed velocity field. The variational FSI framework with the IGP method is then examined for the flow passing a fixed deformable block in a channel domain. Finally, the vibration of a plate attached behind a stationary cylinder subjected to incoming flow is employed to assess the fully Eulerian framework for a large aspect ratio and sharp corners.