A finite volume unstructured multigrid method for efficient computation of unsteady incompressible viscous flows

An unstructured non‐nested multigrid method is presented for efficient simulation of unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes flows. The Navier–Stokes solver is based on the artificial compressibility approach and a higher‐order characteristics‐based finite‐volume scheme on unstructured grids. Unsteady flow is calculated with an implicit dual time stepping scheme. For efficient computation of unsteady viscous flows over complex geometries, an unstructured multigrid method is developed to speed up the convergence rate of the dual time stepping calculation. The multigrid method is used to simulate the steady and unsteady incompressible viscous flows over a circular cylinder for validation and performance evaluation purposes. It is found that the multigrid method with three levels of grids results in a 75% reduction in CPU time for the steady flow calculation and 55% reduction for the unsteady flow calculation, compared with its single grid counterparts. The results obtained are compared with numerical solutions obtained by other researchers as well as experimental measurements wherever available and good agreements are obtained. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is the steady viscous incompressible two-dimensional flow over a backward-facing step at Re = 800 stable?

A detailed case study is made of one particular solution of the 2D incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Careful mesh refinement studies were made using four different methods (and computer codes): (1) a high-order finite-element method solving the unsteady equations by time-marching; (2) a high-order finite-element method solving both the steady equations and the associated linear-stability problem; (3) a second-order finite difference method solving the unsteady equations in streamfunction form by time-marching; and (4) a spectral-element method solving the unsteady equations by time-marching. The unanimous conclusion is that the correct solution for flow over the backward-facing step at Re = 800 is steady—and it is stable, to both small and large perturbations.     

A Taylor-Galerkin Method for Modeling Unsteady Fluid Flow Under its Own Weight

The free fluid-surface of incompressible creeping flows is analyzed using a finite element method. A pseudo-concentration (PC) function is introduced to determine the position of the free surface. The Taylor-Galerkin finite element method (TGFEM) is applied to solve the equation of the PC function. Nine-node quadratic interpolation is used for both PC and velocity. The unsteady flows of fluids moving of their own weight are analyzed using the proposed method.     

Numerical simulation of the ground effect using the boundary element method

As is well known, the lift of a wing passing over the ground becomes larger than that of a wing in a finite air field because of the ground effect. Owing to its special aerodynamic characteristics and applications, the problem of the ground effect has become increasingly common. In this paper some investigations were conducted to calculate the unsteady aerodynamic forces for long and short ground plates by means of boundary element techniques. In order to calculate the pressure variation on a long ground plate, the steady boundary element method was used. However, when using a short ground plate, the boundary element method was modified to treat the unsteady aerodynamic phenomena. Experimental studies were also made for both ground plates to confirm the validity of the numerical results. At low angles of attack the qualitative behaviour of the unsteady aerodynamic pressure on both ground plates was well predicted by the boundary element methods and qualitative agreement is found between the calculated and measured results. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical approximation of generalized Newtonian fluids using Powell–Sabin–Heindl elements: I. theoretical estimates

In this paper we consider the numerical approximation of steady and unsteady generalized Newtonian fluid flows using divergence free finite elements generated by the Powell–Sabin–Heindl elements. We derive a priori and a posteriori finite element error estimates and prove convergence of the method of successive approximations for the steady flow case. A priori error estimates of unsteady flows are also considered. These results provide a theoretical foundation and supporting numerical studies are to be provided in Part II. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of new triangular elements for free surface flows

New finite elements have been developed to simulate steady and unsteady two-dimensional free surface flows. The depth-averaged velocity components with the free surface elevation have been used as independent variables in the model. The differences between the various elements presented lie in the choice of velocity approximation. The Newton–Raphson method has been used to solve the non-linear system of equations. Emphasis is put on bench-mark examples to assess the accuracy and efficiency of the elements. A simple stable new element tested herein shows promising advantages for industrial finite element codes.     

Sensitivity equation method for the Navier‐Stokes equations applied to uncertainty propagation

This works deals with sensitivity analysis (SA) for the Navier‐Stokes equations. The aim is to provide an estimate of the variance of the velocity field when some of the parameters are uncertain and then to use the variance to compute confidence intervals for the output of the model. First, we introduce the physical model and analyze its stability. The sensitivity equations are derived, and their stability analyzed as well. We propose a finite element‐volume numerical scheme for the state and the sensitivity, which is integrated into the open‐source industrial code TrioCFD. Finally, we present some numerical results: a steady and an unsteady test case for the channel flow problem are investigated. For the steady case, we compare the results to the Monte Carlo method and show how the SA technique succeeds in providing very accurate estimates of the variance. For the unsteady case, a new filtering procedure is proposed to deal with a sensitivity that grows in time. The filtered sensitivity is then used to compute the variance of the output and to provide confidence intervals.     

Solution of the 2‐D shallow water equations with source terms in surface elevation splitting form

A vertex‐centred finite‐volume/finite‐element method (FV/FEM) is developed for solving 2‐D shallow water equations (SWEs) with source terms written in a surface elevation splitting form, which balances the flux gradients and source terms. The method is implemented on unstructured grids and the numerical scheme is based on a second‐order MUSCL‐like upwind Godunov FV discretization for inviscid fluxes and a classical Galerkin FE discretization for the viscous gradients and source terms. The main advantages are: (1) the discretization of SWE written in surface elevation splitting form satisfies the exact conservation property (??‐Property) naturally; (2) the simple centred‐type discretization can be used for the source terms; (3) the method is suitable for both steady and unsteady shallow water problems; and (4) complex topography can be handled based on unstructured grids. The accuracy of the method was verified for both steady and unsteady problems, including discontinuous cases. The results indicate that the new method is accurate, simple, and robust. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite element,stream function–vorticity solution of steady laminar natural convection

Stream function–vorticity finite element solution of two-dimensional incompressible viscous flow and natural convection is considered. Steady state solutions of the natural convection problem have been obtained for a wide range of the two independent parameters. Use of boundary vorticity formulae or iterative satisfaction of the no-slip boundary condition is avoided by application of the finite element discretization and a displacement of the appropriate discrete equations. Solution is obtained by Newton–Raphson iteration of all equations simultaneously. The method then appears to give a steady solution whenever the flow is physically steady, but it does not give a steady solution when the flow is physically unsteady. In particular, no form of asymmetric differencing is required. The method offers a degree of economy over primitive variable formulations. Physical results are given for the square cavity convection problem. The paper also reports on earlier work in which the most commonly used boundary vorticity formula was found not to satisfy the no-slip condition, and in which segregated solution procedures were attempted with very minimal success.     

An ‘assumed deviatoric stress-pressure-velocity’ mixed finite element method for unsteady,convective, incompressible viscous flow: Part II: Computational studies

In Part I of this paper we presented a mixed finite element method, for solving unsteady, incompressible, convective flows, based on assumed ‘deviatoric stress–velocity–pressure’ fields in each element, which have the features: (i) the convective term is treated by the usual Galerkin technique; (ii) the unknowns in the global system of finite element equations are the nodal velocities, and the ‘constant term’ in the arbitrary pressure field over each element; and (iii) exact integrations are performed over each element. In this paper we present numerical studies, both for steady as well as unsteady cases, of the problems: (a) the driven cavity, (b) Jeffry–Hamel flow in a channel, (c) flow over a ‘backward’ or ‘downstream’ facing step, and (d) flow over a square step. All these problems are two-dimensional in nature, although certain 3-D solutions are to be presented in a separate paper. The present results are compared with those which are available in the literature and are based on alternative approaches to treat incompressibility and convective acceleration. The possible merits of the present method are thus pointed out.     

A continuous shape sensitivity equation method for unsteady laminar flows

This paper presents the application of a general shape sensitivity equation method (SEM) to unsteady laminar flows. The formulation accounts for complex parameter dependence and is suitable for a wide range of problems. The flow and sensitivity equations are solved on 3D meshes using a Streamline-Upwind Petrov Galerkin (SUPG) finite element method. In the case of shape parameters, boundary conditions for sensitivities depend on the flow gradient at the boundary. Therefore, an accurate recovery of solution gradients is crucial to the success of shape sensitivity computations. In this work, solution gradients at boundary points are extracted using the Finite Node Displacement (FiND) method on which the finite element discretization is enriched locally via the insertion of nodes close to the boundary points. The normal derivative of the solution is then determined using finite differences. This approach to evaluate shape sensitivity boundary conditions is embedded in the continuous SEM. The methodology is applied to the flow past a cylinder in ground proximity. First, the proposed method is verified on a steady state problem. The computed sensitivity is compared to the actual change in the solution when a small perturbation is imposed to the shape parameter. Then, the study investigates the ability of the SEM to anticipate the unsteady flow response to changes in the ground to cylinder gap. A reduction of the gap causes damping of the vortex shedding while an increase amplifies the unsteadiness.     

Visualization of Unsteady Creeping Viscous Flows Using Vector Products

A finite element method for analyzing unsteady incompressible creeping flows is presented. Marker particles are introduced to analyze the flow motions. To determine the marker position in the element, vector products are used. By checking the signs of the product, the marker position during the transient analysis can be determined in a simple manner. A benchmark-type problem for which an analytical solution is available and the filling process of a simple axisymmetrical mould shape are solved to illustrate this method.     

Finite volume element method for analysis of unsteady reaction–diffusion problems

A finite volume element method is developed for analyzing unsteady scalar reaction-diffusion problems in two dimensions. The method combines the concepts that are employed in the finite volume and the finite element method together. The finite volume method is used to discretize the unsteady reaction-diffusion equation, while the finite element method is applied to estimate the gradient quantities at cell faces. Robustness and efficiency of the combined method have been evaluated on uniform rectangular grids by using available numerical solutions of the two-dimensional reaction-diffusion problems. The numerical solutions demonstrate that the combined method is stable and can provide accurate solution without spurious oscillation along the high-gradient boundary layers.     

Numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations using a finite element method

A finite element algorithm for solving the Navier-Stokes equations is presented for the analysis of high-speed viscous flows. The algorithm uses triangular elements. The unsteady equations are integrated to steady state with a Runge-Kutta time-marching scheme. A postprocessing artificial dissipation term is introduced to stabilize the computations and to dampen dissipation errors. Numerical results are compared with the calculation of uniform flow on a rectangular region which encounters an embedded oblique shock. A shock/turbulent boundary layer problem is also solved and results are compared with experimental data. It is shown that the postprocessing smoothing term and boundary conditions similar to the finite difference method work well in the present numerical studies.     

定常流中聚合物分子的取向

本文将求解纳维-司托克斯方程的有限元方法与分子模型(多球刚杆模型)相结合,从而恰当地模拟刚棒状聚合物分子稀溶液的流动。对于几种定常流动问题,求解了流场和多球刚杆模型的最可几取向,并用图显示了这些结果。这些结果说明了这种方法处理的合理性。     

A cell‐based smoothed finite element method with semi‐implicit CBS procedures for incompressible laminar viscous flows

In this paper, the cell‐based smoothed finite element method (CS‐FEM) with the semi‐implicit characteristic‐based split (CBS) scheme (CBS/CS‐FEM) is proposed for computational fluid dynamics. The 3‐node triangular (T3) element and 4‐node quadrilateral (Q4) element are used for present CBS/CS‐FEM for two‐dimensional flows. The 8‐node hexahedral element (H8) is used for three‐dimensional flows. Two types of CS‐FEM are implemented in this paper. One is standard CS‐FEM with quadrilateral gradient smoothing cells for Q4 element and hexahedron cells for H8 element. Another is called as n‐sided CS‐FEM (nCS‐FEM) whose gradient smoothing cells are triangles for Q4 element and pyramids for H8 element. To verify the proposed methods, benchmarking problems are tested for two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional flows. The benchmarks show that CBS/CS‐FEM and CBS/nCS‐FEM are capable to solve incompressible laminar flow and can produce reliable results for both steady and unsteady flows. The proposed CBS/CS‐FEM method has merits on better robustness against distorted mesh with only slight more computation time and without losing accuracy, which is important for problems with heavy mesh distortion. The blood flow in carotid bifurcation is also simulated to show capabilities of proposed methods for realistic and complicated flow problems.     

An investigation on internal thermal flow of non-Newtonian fluid

In the present paper an unsteady thermal flow of non-Newtonian fluid is investigated which is of the fiow into axisymmetric mould cavity. In the second part an unsteady thermal flow of upper-convected Maxwell fluid is studied, For the flow into mould cavity the constitutive equation of power-law fluid is used as a rheological model of polymer fluid. The apparent viscosity is considered as a function of shear rate and temperature. A characteristic viscosity is introduced in order to avoid the nonlinearity due to the temperature dependence of the apparent viscosity. As the viscosity of the fluid is relatively high the flow of the thermal fluid can be considered as a flow of fully developed velocity field. However, the temperature field of the fluid fiow is considered as an unsteady one. The governing equations are constitutive equation, momentum equation of steady flow and energy conservation equation of non-steady form. The present system of equations has been solved numerically by the splitting differen     

一种改进格林元方法及在渗流问题中的应用

采用格林公式和基本解推导出直接边界积分方程来求解渗流问题.边界积分方程数值离散基于格林元方法(Green element methond),改进了原方法中压力和压力导数的求解方法,命名为混合边界元方法(Mixed boundary element method).相较于格林元类方法,该方法显式考虑了求解节点的外法向流量值和压力值,并使求得的数值解在求解区域上能够连续,符合实际的物理过程,在不增加额外未知数的情况下提高了计算精度.分析了不同网格类型对模拟计算结果的影响,并对稳定渗流问题、非稳定(瞬态)渗流问题和非稳态问题进行了实例计算,结果显示改进方法提高了计算精度,并对各类渗流问题有较好的适应性.     

非稳态蠕变裂纹断裂力学参量的工程分析方法

推广弹塑性断裂力学的EPRI工程分析方法用于蠕变裂纹分析,建立了弹性-幂律蠕变材料裂纹体在非稳态蠕变条件下的J积分、C积分和载荷线位移的工程估算公式。以受均匀拉伸的平面应变单边裂纹板为例,对若干种典型的时间相关载荷,与有限元解进行了比较,结果表明,工程估算公式具有相当高的精度。     

A numerical model for the flooding and drying of irregular domains

A numerical technique for the modelling of shallow water flow in one and two dimensions is presented in this work along with the results obtained in different applications involving unsteady flows in complex geometries. A cell‐centred finite volume method based on Roe's approximate Riemann solver across the edges of both structured and unstructured cells is presented. The discretization of the bed slope source terms is done following an upwind approach. In some applications a problem arises when the flow propagates over adverse dry bed slopes, so a special procedure has been introduced to model the advancing front. It is shown that this modification reproduces exactly steady state of still water in configurations with strong variations in bed slope and contour. The applications presented are mainly related with unsteady flow problems. The scheme is capable of handling complex flow domains as will be shown in the simulations corresponding to the test cases that are going to be presented. Comparisons of experimental and numerical results are shown for some of the tests. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.