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Published May 15, 2014 | public
Journal Article

Level set reinitialization at a contact line

Abstract

When a level-set signed distance function is reinitialized in the vicinity of a contact line, there is a "blind spot" that prevents an accurate reconstruction of a signed distance function. The numerical method can create parasitic velocity currents near this region. If additional contact-line physics are included, the parasitic velocity currents would pollute the solution and alter the physical behavior. In this study, a modified reinitialization routine is proposed that combines the standard Hamilton–Jacobi equation with a relaxation equation for those grid cells along a wall in the blind spot. Two test cases, an angled fluid wedge (zero curvature) and a circular fluid arc (constant curvature), are used to evaluate the numerical error induced by different methods. The proposed method has less numerically-induced interface distortion than other techniques examined. Furthermore, this routine can be easily extended to three dimensions. Drops sliding on a wall are simulated in both two and three dimensions to demonstrate the advantages of this method. A spreading fluid interface further shows that this method allows contact lines to merge naturally.

Additional Information

© 2014 Elsevier Inc. Received 3 August 2013; Received in revised form 13 December 2013; Accepted 24 January 2014; Available online 6 February 2014. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-1144469. The authors would like to thank Professor T. Colonius and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful suggestions.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 26, 2023