Tufan Ghosh, post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Applied Analysis and Numerical Simulation (IANS) of the University of Stuttgart, will give the Pretty Porous Science Lecture #75 on the topic "Tracking the Untrackable: Phase-Field Modeling Beyond Sharp Interfaces".
Date: 7 May 2026
Time: 4 pm
Title: "Tracking the Untrackable: Phase-Field Modeling Beyond Sharp Interfaces"
Speaker: Dr. Tufan Ghosh, Department of Hydromechanics and Modelling of Hydrosystems, University of Stuttgart
Location: Multi Media Lab, University of Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 61, 70569 Stuttgart
Abstract
Modeling moving interfaces is a central challenge in multiphase flow systems, particularly in porous media where complex interfacial dynamics govern processes such as evaporation, imbibition, and phase change. The phase-field method has emerged as a powerful and thermodynamically consistent framework for capturing such evolving interfaces without the need for explicit interface tracking. By representing interfaces as diffuse transition zones, this approach enables a unified treatment of bulk phases and interfacial phenomena within a single set of governing equations.
In this presentation, we discuss recent advances in phase-field modeling of moving interfaces with a focus on multiphase flow in porous media. Special emphasis is placed on the work by Ghosh et al. (2025) in Advances in Water Resources (DOI: 10.1016/j.advwatres.2025.104922), where a comprehensive phase-field formulation is developed to model evaporation processes by incorporating liquid, gas, and vapor components along with mass, momentum, and energy conservation.
The model employs an Allen–Cahn type evolution equation for the phase field and is rigorously analyzed using matched asymptotic expansions, demonstrating convergence to the corresponding sharp-interface formulation in the limit of vanishing interface thickness. Furthermore, the framework is systematically upscaled from the pore scale to the Darcy scale using periodic homogenization, thereby establishing a consistent multiscale description of evaporation in porous media.
The presentation highlights the key advantages of phase-field methods in handling topological changes, incorporating interfacial physics, and bridging scales. It also discusses challenges related to numerical implementation and parameter selection, along with perspectives for future research in multiscale and multiphysics interface problems.
About Tufan Ghosh
Tufan Ghosh received his B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Calcutta and obtained his Ph.D. in 2020 from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur. His doctoral research focused on the mathematical modeling of two-phase flow through homogeneous and heterogeneous reservoirs. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Applied Analysis and Numerical Simulation (IANS), University of Stuttgart. His current work focuses on the phase-field modeling of moving interfaces and evaporation processes in porous media. In particular, he aims to bridge pore-scale physics and Darcy-scale descriptions by developing thermodynamically consistent multiscale modeling frameworks using periodic homogenization and matched asymptotic expansions