Fringe element reconstruction for front tracking for three-dimensional incompressible flow analysis

Fringe element reconstruction technique for tracking the free surface in three-dimensional incompressible flow analysis was developed. The flow field was calculated by the mixed formulation based on a four-node tetrahedral element with a bubble function at the centroid (P1+/P1). Since an Eulerian approach was employed in this study, the flow front interface was advected by the flow through a fixed mesh. For accurate modelling of interfacial movement, a fringe element reconstruction method developed can provide not only an accurate treatment of material discontinuity but also surface tension across the interface. The effect of surface tension was modelled by imposing tensile stress directly on the constructed surface elements at the flow front interface. To verify the numerical approach developed, the developed algorithm was applied to two examples whose solutions are available in references. Good agreement was obtained between the simulation results and these solutions. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.