A finite difference method for a conservative Allen-Cahn equation on non-flat surfaces

Abstract

We present an efficient numerical scheme for the conservative Allen-Cahn (CAC) equation on various surfaces embedded in a narrow band domain in the three-dimensional Space. We apply a quasi-Neumann boundary condition on the narrow band domain boundary using the closest point method. This boundary treatment allows us to use the standard Cartesian Laplacian operator instead of the Laplace-Beltrami operator. We apply a hybrid operator splitting method for solving the CAC equation. First, we use an explicit Euler method to solve the diffusion term. Second, we solve the nonlinear term by using a closed form solution. Third, we apply a space-time-dependent Lagrange multiplier to conserve the total quantity. The overall scheme is explicit in time and does not need iterative steps; therefore, it is fast. A series of numerical experiments demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed hybrid scheme. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.