Compressible VoF
Compressible VoF in OpenFOAM: free surface flow where the gas compresses
Two-phase interface tracking where compressibility matters — trapped air pockets, sloshing with pressurised ullage, and impacts that compress the gas phase.
What it is
Standard VoF treats both phases as incompressible, which stops being true when a gas pocket is trapped and squeezed. Here the gas compresses and its pressure rises accordingly, which is what makes trapped-air cushioning and pressurised tank behaviour come out right.
What the application sets up
- Properties for both phases, with a compressible gas thermophysical model
- Initial interface position and gas-space pressure
- Interface compression controls to keep the surface sharp
- Transient controls with a Courant limit the interface can live with
- Pressure output in the gas space as well as interface position
Typical uses
- Tank sloshing with a pressurised gas space
- Slamming where trapped air cushions the impact
- Filling and venting of closed vessels
- Water hammer and rapid valve closure with entrained gas
Industries
Sectors where this analysis is routinely asked for.
- Marine & offshore
- Aerospace fuel systems
- Pressure equipment
- Transport of liquids
What comes out
- Interface motion with gas compression
- Pressure in trapped gas pockets
- Slosh loads on walls and baffles
- Venting adequacy
OpenFOAM solvers
compressibleInterFoam
Selected and configured for you from the analysis type. You can still see every dictionary the application writes.
In every tier
This analysis type is in the free build. The free tier limits mesh size to 250,000 cells and solving to one core — not which physics you may use.
On accuracy, plainly.