Simulation of three-component fluid flows using the multiphase lattice Boltzmann flux solver

In this work, we extend the multiphase lattice Boltzmann flux solver, which was proposed in [1] for simulating incompressible flows of binary fluids based on two-component Cahn-Hilliard model, to three-component fluid flows. In the present method, the multiphase lattice Boltzmann flux solver is applied to solve for the flow field and the three-component Cahn-Hilliard model is used to predict the evolution of the interfaces. The proposed method is first validated through the classical problem of simulation of partial spreading of a liquid lens between the other two components. Numerical results of interface shapes and contact angles agree well with theoretical solutions. After that, to further demonstrate the capability of the present method, several numerical examples of three-component fluid flows are presented, including a bubble rising across a fluid-fluid interface, single droplet falling through a fluid-fluid interface, the collision-coalescence of two droplets, and the non-contact collision of two droplets. It is shown that the present method can successfully handle complex interactions among three components. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.