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Advanced Numerical Approaches for Multiphase and Cavitating Flows

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydraulics and Hydrodynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 2101

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Multiflow and Fluid Machinery, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China
Interests: numerical simulation; cavitation; multiphase flow; Eulerian-Lagrangian model
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Multiphase and cavitating flows are widely found in fluid engineering, such as gas-stirring vessels, oil–gas transportation, fluidized beds, pumps, hydraulic turbines, and so on. The numerical simulation of multiphase and cavitating flow is a challenging task due to the complexity and diversity of the physical phenomena involved. The interaction between different phases, the presence of multiscale interfaces, and the effects of turbulence make the problem highly non-linear and difficult to solve.

One of the main challenges in multiphase and cavitating flow simulation is the accurate representation of the interfaces between different phases. Capturing the sharp interfaces and tracking their movement accurately requires high resolution and special treatments.

Another challenge is the modeling of turbulence, which is inherently unsteady and complex. Turbulent multiphase flows exhibit a wide range of scales, from large eddies to small droplets or bubbles, and the interaction between these scales is not well understood. Accurate turbulence models that can handle multiphase flows are still an active area of research.

Multiphase flow simulations also require the coupling of different physical models, such as hydrodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and chemical reactions. This coupling adds another layer of complexity to the simulation.

This Special Issue aims to gather high-quality papers regarding the advanced numerical approaches that can well simulate the multiphase and cavitating flows, especially interfaces capturing and movement tracking, the multiscale and Eulerian–Lagrangian approaches, turbulence models, the complicated model considering chemical reactions, and so on.

Dr. Linmin Li
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • multiphase flow
  • cavitation
  • numerical simulation
  • Eulerian–Lagrangian approach
  • computational fluid dynamics

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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18 pages, 8631 KiB  
Article
Flow Characteristics and Pressure Pulsation Analysis of Cavitation Induced in a Double-Volute Centrifugal Pump
by Yongsha Tu, Xueying Zhao, Lifeng Lu, Wenjie Zhou, Siwei Li, Jin Dai, Zhongzan Wang, Yuan Zheng and Chunxia Yang
Water 2025, 17(3), 445; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17030445 - 5 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 772
Abstract
Cavitation is a complex multiphase flow phenomenon, and the generation of transient phase transitions between liquid and vapor during cavitation development leads to multi-scale vortex motion. The transient cavitation dynamics and centrifugal pump’s rotor–stator interaction will induce pressure fluctuations in the impeller and [...] Read more.
Cavitation is a complex multiphase flow phenomenon, and the generation of transient phase transitions between liquid and vapor during cavitation development leads to multi-scale vortex motion. The transient cavitation dynamics and centrifugal pump’s rotor–stator interaction will induce pressure fluctuations in the impeller and the volute fluid of the centrifugal pump, resulting in a complex flow field structure. Based on the Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model and SST k-ω turbulence model, this paper studies the transient characteristics of the cavitation-induced unsteady flow in the centrifugal pump and the excitation response to the pressure pulsation in the volute under different flow conditions, taking the large vertical double-volute centrifugal pump as the research object. The results indicate the following: As the impeller rotates, in the external excitation response, the jet-wake flow structure at the centrifugal pump blade outlet shows an increase in the blade frequency signal. This is evident near the measurement points of the volute tongue and separator. When severe cavitation occurs, the maximum amplitude at the blade frequency in the volute shifts from the pump tongue (30°) to the downstream of the tongue (45°). The value of fpmax is 3.1 times that when NPSHa = 8.88 m. By applying the Omega vortex identification method, it can be seen that the interaction between the vortices at the blade trailing edge and the stable vortex in the volute tongue undergoes a process of elongation, fusion, separation, and recovery. This represents the downstream influence of the impeller on the volute. When Q = 0.9Qd, the process of the blade passage vortex tail detaching and dissipating in the impeller flow path can be observed, demonstrating the upstream influence of the volute on the impeller. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Numerical Approaches for Multiphase and Cavitating Flows)
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20 pages, 6126 KiB  
Article
Investigation of Splashing Characteristics During Spray Impingement Using VOF–DPM Approach
by Mingming Chen, Linmin Li, Zhe Lin, Junhao Zhang and Fengyu Li
Water 2025, 17(3), 394; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17030394 - 31 Jan 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 754
Abstract
Liquid jets impinging on surfaces are widely found in various industrial processes, such as spray painting, high-pressure water jets, and dishwashers. The liquid jets can break up into sprays with discrete, small-scale features that are difficult to reveal. This work proposes a multiscale [...] Read more.
Liquid jets impinging on surfaces are widely found in various industrial processes, such as spray painting, high-pressure water jets, and dishwashers. The liquid jets can break up into sprays with discrete, small-scale features that are difficult to reveal. This work proposes a multiscale solver in OpenFOAM that achieves two-way conversion by capturing the large-scale interface using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) approach and tracing small-scale droplets using the Discrete Phase Model (DPM). By comparing the VOF–DPM solver with the standard VOF solver, the conservation of mass and momentum, as well as the accuracy of the new solver are verified. Considering that, in spraying processes, collisions mainly occur after the liquid jet breaks up into multiple droplets, we simplify the model to focus on the collision of droplets with walls at different speeds and contact angles, corresponding to different materials. The results indicate that, as the speed increases, splashing becomes more likely and the droplets spurt further. It is also found that an increase of contact angle will increase the mean diameter of the discrete droplets. Overall, this multiscale solver can accurately capture both large-scale interfaces and small-scale droplets, offering wide application prospects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Numerical Approaches for Multiphase and Cavitating Flows)
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