the area (length for 2D problems) bounded by the interface should be conserved if there is no inflow or outflow through the edges (nodes for 2D problems). To obtain exact numerical conservation in cases where Equation 11-26 is not fully satisfied, switch to the conservative form

Using the conservative phase field form, exact numerical conservation of the integral of ϕ is obtained. However, the nonconservative form is better suited for numerical calculations and usually converges more easily. The nonconservative form, which is the default form, only conserves the integral of the phase field function approximately, but this is sufficient for most applications.

When the Phase Field Thin-Film Flow interface is coupled to a Thin-Film Flow interface by means of The Two-Phase Thin-Film Flow, Field Coupling Feature, conservation of the integral of ϕ using the nonconservative form can be improved provided that the discretization order of the phase field variables is equal to or lower than the order of the film pressure.