Abstract

In this paper, an enhanced finite element formulation for unsteady incompressible flows with moving interfaces is presented. The weak form of the Navier-Stokes equations, written using a generalized streamline operator technique, is coupled with the movement of the interface between two immiscible fluids defined through an independent moving mesh. The position of the interface is updated using a Lagrangian formulation. In this framework, a global mass conservation corrector algorithm and an enhanced element integration technique are proposed to improve accuracy. The method is applied to a number of test problems with moving interfaces. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.