Computation of free surface flows with a projection FEM in a moving mesh framework Original Research Article

A numerical model for the simulation of incompressible viscous free surface flows is presented. The equations governing the fluid flow are solved with the finite element fractional-step projection method. A moving mesh approach, similar to the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method is introduced to deal with the presence of a free surface. Validations are carried out with a two-dimensional sloshing problem with small deformations. Thus, results concerning, respectively, the damped oscillations of a gravity and a capillary wave are compared with the initial-value linear theory. Then, a three-dimensional computation concerning the behavior of a uniform flow field subjected on its free surface to an external applied traction is presented.