A novel phase-field model for $N$-phase problems: modeling, asymptotic analysis and numerical simulations

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Zhang, Lun, Wang, Chenxi, Lu, Nan, Zhang, Zhen
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Zhang, Lun
Wang, Chenxi
Lu, Nan
Zhang, Zhen
author_facet Zhang, Lun
Wang, Chenxi
Lu, Nan
Zhang, Zhen
contents The classical phase-field modeling approaches for multiphase problems represent each phase using a regularized characteristic function, which necessarily introduces a simplex constraint for the phase-field variables. Additionally, the consistency requirement for phase-field modeling brings difficulties to the construction of nonlinear potentials in the energy functionals, posing significant challenges for classical phase-field modeling and its numerical methods for problems involving many phases. In this work, by adopting a dichotomic approach to represent multiphase, we propose a novel phase-field modeling framework without simplex constraint,in which the free energy is interpolated from the classical two-phase Ginzburg-Landau free energies. We systematically establish the interpolation rules and explicitly construct the interpolation functions, rendering the consistency properties of the model. The proposed model enjoys an energy dissipation property and is shown to be asymptotically consistent with its sharp interface limit, with the Neumann triangle condition recovered at the triple junction.Based on a mobility operator splitting technique, we develop a linear, decoupled, and energy stable scheme for efficiently solving the system of phase-field equations. The numerical stability and accuracy, as well as the consistency properties of the model, are validated through a large number of numerical examples. In particular, the model demonstrates its success in several benchmark simulations for multiphase problems, such as the formation of liquid lenses between two stratified fluids, the generation of double emulsions and Janus emulsions, showing good agreement with experimental observations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_06462
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A novel phase-field model for $N$-phase problems: modeling, asymptotic analysis and numerical simulations
Zhang, Lun
Wang, Chenxi
Lu, Nan
Zhang, Zhen
Numerical Analysis
The classical phase-field modeling approaches for multiphase problems represent each phase using a regularized characteristic function, which necessarily introduces a simplex constraint for the phase-field variables. Additionally, the consistency requirement for phase-field modeling brings difficulties to the construction of nonlinear potentials in the energy functionals, posing significant challenges for classical phase-field modeling and its numerical methods for problems involving many phases. In this work, by adopting a dichotomic approach to represent multiphase, we propose a novel phase-field modeling framework without simplex constraint,in which the free energy is interpolated from the classical two-phase Ginzburg-Landau free energies. We systematically establish the interpolation rules and explicitly construct the interpolation functions, rendering the consistency properties of the model. The proposed model enjoys an energy dissipation property and is shown to be asymptotically consistent with its sharp interface limit, with the Neumann triangle condition recovered at the triple junction.Based on a mobility operator splitting technique, we develop a linear, decoupled, and energy stable scheme for efficiently solving the system of phase-field equations. The numerical stability and accuracy, as well as the consistency properties of the model, are validated through a large number of numerical examples. In particular, the model demonstrates its success in several benchmark simulations for multiphase problems, such as the formation of liquid lenses between two stratified fluids, the generation of double emulsions and Janus emulsions, showing good agreement with experimental observations.
title A novel phase-field model for $N$-phase problems: modeling, asymptotic analysis and numerical simulations
topic Numerical Analysis
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.06462