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arXiv · 2608.06099

A Thermodynamically Consistent Cahn-Hilliard-Navier-Stokes Model for Tumor Growth

Chenyang Li·Ping Lin·Hui Yu·Haibiao Zheng
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Abstract

This work develops a thermodynamically consistent phase-field model for tumor growth based on the energetic variational framework. The model couples the Cahn-Hilliard equations for tumor evolution and nutrient transport with the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. A first-order time discretization scheme based on the Multiple Scalar Auxiliary Variables (MSAV) approach together with a pressure-correction strategy is proposed to efficiently handle the nonlinear and coupled structure of the system. The proposed scheme is rigorously proved to be unconditionally energy stable and mass conservative. Furthermore, optimal first-order temporal error estimates are established for the tumor phase-field variable, the nutrient concentration, and the fluid velocity. Finally, numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method and verify the theoretical convergence rates.

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Chenyang Li, Ping Lin, Hui Yu, Haibiao Zheng. 2026-08-06. A Thermodynamically Consistent Cahn-Hilliard-Navier-Stokes Model for Tumor Growth. https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.06099

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