Versatile SPH Open Boundary Conditions for Multiphase Flows in Extreme Condition

Abstract

Although the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method has been demonstrated as a promising numerical solver for multiphase flow problems due to its Lagrangian nature, its application to complex channel flow may encounter additional issues such as the open boundary condition and numerical instability in the extreme flow state. The present work aims to establish a general SPH algorithm for accurate and stable simulation of complex multiphase flows in configurations with open boundaries. The general scheme of weakly compressible SPH is adopted with special treatments implemented to ease the numerical oscillation in the density discontinuity scenario, and the turbulent model is implemented for interpretations of extreme flow conditions in high Reynolds numbers. Then, the conventional open boundary condition is fine-tuned by two new algorithms to guarantee the numerical stability in the inflow and the outflow regions. Firstly, a density relaxation is proposed to alleviate the pressure instability in the inflow region, which improves the smoothness of the particle pre-processing procedure. Secondly, the particle shifting technique with adaptive damper is implemented to adjust the magnitude of correction in the outflow region, which helps to suppress the velocity oscillation near the outlet. Validations of the proposed algorithms are carried out through four classic numerical examples, presenting appealing agreements with the analytical solutions and thus demonstrating the versatility in various flow conditions. Then, the robustness of the method is established through the turbulent multiphase channel flow cases and the horizontal slug channel flow with large density ratios. These results shed light on the value of the proposed algorithm as a general solver for complex multiphase flow problems with open boundaries.