A nearly-implicit hydrodynamic numerical scheme for two-phase flows (Q1091222)

The paper presents an extension of the available semi-implicit numerical schemes for two-phase flow simulation. The new scheme, called nearly- implicit, uses an implicit evaluation of the convective flux terms; and is useful for simulating slowly-varying, quasi-steady phenomena when the dynamic propagation features of the system are unimportant. For such cases, the present scheme has been shown to eliminate the material Courant stability restriction. Starting from a general set of equations governing two-phase flows, a two-step, nearly-implicit finite difference formulation has been given. It has been applied on test problems and detailed comments have been made on its positive and negative features. In particular, it is suitable for simulating slow transients whereas semi-implicit schemes are preferrable for solving fast transient problems.