The particle finite element method for multi-fluid flows

Abstract

This paper presents the Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM) and its application to multi-fluid flows. Key features of the method are the use of a Lagrangian description to model the motion of the fluid particles (nodes) and that all the information is associated to the particles. A mesh connects the nodes defining the discretized domain where the governing equations, expressed in an integral form, are solved as in the standard FEM.We have extended the method to problems involving several different fluids with the aim of exploiting the fact that Lagrangian methods are specially well suited for tracking any kind of interfaces.