Study on the solution of reinitialization equation for level set method in the simulation of incompressible two-phase flows

Computation of moving interface by the level set method typically requires the reinitialization of level set function. An inaccurate estimation of level set function φ results in incorrect free-surface capturing and thus errors such as mass gain/loss. Therefore, an accurate and robust reinitialization process is essential to the simulation of free-surface flows. In the present paper, we pursue further development of the reinitialization process, which evaluates level set function directly using a normal vector on the interface without solving the re-distancing equation of hyperbolic type. The Taylor-Galerkin approximation and P1P1 splitting/SUPG (Streamline Upwind Petrov-Galerkin) FEM are adopted to discretize advection equation of the level set function and the incompressible Navier-Stokes equation, respectively. Advection equation and re-initialization process of free surface capturing are validated with benchmark problems, i.e., a broken dam flow and time-reversed single vortex flow. The simulation results are in good agreement with the existing results.