Pressure relaxation procedures for multiphase compressible flows

Abstract

This paper deals with pressure relaxation procedures for multiphase compressible flow models. Such models have nice mathematical properties (hyperbolicity) and are able to solve a wide range of applications: interface problems, detonation physics, shock waves in mixtures, cavitating flows, etc. The numerical solution of such models involves several ingredients. One of those ingredients is the instantaneous pressure relaxation process and is of particular importance. In this article, we present and compare existing and new pressure relaxation procedures in terms of both accuracy and computational efficiency. Among these procedures we enhance an exact one in the particular case of fluids governed by the stiffened gas equation of state, and approximate procedures for general equations of state, which are particularly well suited for problems with large pressure variations. We also present some generalizations of these procedures in the context of multiphase flows with an arbitrary number of fluids. Some tests are provided to illustrate these comparisons. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.