The Mixture Model, Laminar Flow (mm) interface (
), found under the
Multiphase Flow>Mixture Model branch (
) when adding a physics interface, is used to model the flow at low and moderate Reynolds numbers of liquids containing a dispersed phase. The dispersed phase can be bubbles, liquid droplets, or solid particles, which are assumed to always travel with their terminal velocity.
When this physics interface is added, the following default physics nodes are also added in the Model Builder —
Mixture Properties,
Wall, and
Initial Values. Then, from the
Physics toolbar, add other nodes that implement, for example, boundary conditions and volume forces. You can also right-click
Mixture Model, Laminar Flow to select physics features from the context menu.
The Label is the default physics interface name.
The Name is used primarily as a scope prefix for variables defined by the physics interface. Refer to such physics interface variables in expressions using the pattern
<name>.<variable_name>. In order to distinguish between variables belonging to different physics interfaces, the
name string must be unique. Only letters, numbers, and underscores (_) are permitted in the
Name field. The first character must be a letter.
The default Name (for the first physics interface in the model) is
mm.
For the Mass Transfer rate, use a two-film theory model, which includes the interfacial area per unit volume between the two phases. It is possible to compute the interfacial area per unit volume if the number density
n (that is, the number of dispersed particles per volume) is known. Select the
Solve for interfacial area check box to add the following equation for the number density
n:
The Mixture Model, Laminar Flow Interface calculates the interfacial area
a (SI unit: m
2/m
3) from
There are generally two ways to include the pressure in fluid flow computations: either to use the absolute pressure pA = p + pref, or the gauge pressure
p. When
pref is nonzero, the physics interface solves for the gauge pressure whereas material properties are evaluated using the absolute pressure. The reference pressure level is also used to define the density of both phases. The default
Reference pressure level pref (SI unit: Pa) is
1[atm].
For 2D axisymmetric components, select the Swirl flow check box to include the swirl velocity component — that is, the velocity component
in the azimuthal direction. While
can be nonzero, there can be no gradients in the
direction
The consistent stabilizations Streamline diffusion and
Crosswind diffusion are by default applied to the
Navier-Stokes and dispersed phase transport equations. In addition, when the flow is turbulent, the consistent stabilizations are also applied to the
Turbulence. Additional inconsistent stabilization terms may be added when required as isotropic diffusion.
To display this section, click the Show More Options button (
) and select
Advanced Physics Options in the
Show More Options dialog box. Normally these settings do not need to be changed.
Penalty Diffusion can be used to suppress negative values of the dispersed volume fraction. Including this term has been observed to slow down convergence and it is therefore disabled by default.
Select the Use pseudo time stepping for stationary equation form check box to add pseudo time derivatives to the equation when the
Stationary equation form is used. When selected, also choose a
CFL number expression —
Automatic (the default) or
Manual.
Automatic sets the local CFL number (from the Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy condition) to the built-in variable
CFLCMP which in turn triggers a PID regulator for the CFL number. For
Manual enter a
Local CFL number CFLloc (dimensionless).