Numerical simulation of a fountain flow on nonstaggered Cartesian grid system

A liquid–air fountain flow due to the downward motion of a rectangular sleeve over a stationary piston is studied in the paper. Two-dimensional incompressible laminar flows are assumed to prevail in both air and liquid regions. A single set of governing equations over the entire physical domain including the liquid, the air, and the liquid–air interface (free surface) is solved with the extended weighting function scheme and the NAPPLE (nonstaggered APPLE) algorithm on a fixed nonstaggered Cartesian grid system. To ensure the required dynamic contact angle, the liquid meniscus near the sleeve wall is corrected by solving the force balance equation with the geometry method. This is equivalent to introducing a slip condition at the contact line, and thus successfully removes the stress singularity. Steady state solution of the velocity and the pressure as well as the shape of the free surface is obtained. The numerical result evidences the existence of a toroidal-like motion on the free surface postulated by Dussan [E.B. Dussan V., Immiscible liquid displacement in a capillary tube: the moving contact line, AIChE J. 23 (1977) 131–133], although it is quite weak and thin. The resulting free surface profile agrees with the existing experimental observation excellently. Influence of the piston on the flow is discussed.