A finite volume Navier-Stokes algorithm for adaptive grids

A compact, finite volume, time-marching scheme for the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations of viscous fluid flow is presented. The scheme is designed for unstructured (locally refined) quadrilateral meshes. An earlier inviscid equation (Euler) scheme is employed for the convective terms and the emphasis is on treatment of the viscous terms. An essential feature of the algorithm is that all necessary operations are restricted to within each cell, which is very important when dealing with unstructured grids. Numerical issues which have to be addressed when developing a Navier-Stokes scheme are investigated. These issues are not limited to the particular Navier-Stokes scheme developed in the present work but are general problems. Specifically, the extent of the numerical molecule, which is related to the compactness of the scheme and to its suitability for unstructured grids, is examined. An approach which considers suppression of odd-even mode decoupling of the solution when designing a scheme is presented. In addition, accuracy issues related to grid stretching as well as boundary layer solution contamination due to artificial dissipation are addressed. Although the above issues are investigated with respect to the specific scheme presented, the conclusions are valid for an entire class of finite volume algorithms. The Navier-Stokes solver is validated through test cases which involve comparisons with analytical, numerical and experimental results. The solver is coupled to an adaptive algorithm for high-Reynolds-number aerofoil flow computations.     

An unstructured/structured multi‐layer hybrid grid method and its application

A multi‐layer hybrid grid method is constructed to simulate complex flow field around 2‐D and 3‐D configuration. The method combines Cartesian grids with structured grids and triangular meshes to provide great flexibility in discretizing a domain. We generate the body‐fitted structured grids near the wall surface and the Cartesian grids for the far field. In addition, we regard the triangular meshes as an adhesive to link each grid part. Coupled with a tree data structure, the Cartesian grid is generated automatically through a cell‐cutting algorithm. The grid merging methodology is discussed, which can smooth hybrid grids and improve the quality of the grids. A cell‐centred finite volume flow solver has been developed in combination with a dual‐time stepping scheme. The flow solver supports arbitrary control volume cells. Both inviscid and viscous flows are computed by solving the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations. The above methods and algorithms have been validated on some test cases. Computed results are presented and compared with experimental data. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Turbulent flow calculations using unstructured and adaptive meshes

A method of efficiently computing turbulent compressible flow over complex two-dimensional configurations is presented. The method makes use of fully unstructured meshes throughout the entire flow field, thus enabling the treatment of arbitrarily complex geometries and the use of adaptive meshing techniques throughout both viscous and inviscid regions of the flow field. Mesh generation is based on a locally mapped Delaunay technique in order to generate unstructured meshes with highly stretched elements in the viscous regions. The flow equations are discretized using a finite element Navier-Stokes solver, and rapid convergence to steady state is achieved using an unstructured multigrid algorithm. Turbulence modelling is performed using an inexpensive algebraic model, implemented for use on unstructured and adaptive meshes. Compressible turbulent flow solutions about multiple-element aerofoil geometries are computed and compared with experimental data.     

The simulation of inviscid,compressible flows using an upwind kinetic method on unstructured grids

A kinetic flux-vector-splitting method has been used to solve the Euler equations for inviscid, compressible flow on unstructured grids. This method is derived from the Boltzmann equation and is an upwind, cell-centered, finite volume scheme with an explicit time-stepping procedure. The Delaunay triangulation has been used to generate the grids. The approach is demonstrated for three flow field simulations, namely the subsonic flow over a two-component high-lift aerofoil, the transonic flow over an aerofoil and the supersonic flow in a channel.     

Anisotropic mesh adaptation: towards user‐independent,mesh‐independent and solver‐independent CFD. Part I: general principles

The present paper is the lead article in a three‐part series on anisotropic mesh adaptation and its applications to structured and unstructured meshes. A flexible approach is proposed and tested on two‐dimensional, inviscid and viscous, finite volume and finite element flow solvers, over a wide range of speeds. The directional properties of an interpolation‐based error estimate, extracted from the Hessian of the solution, are used to control the size and orientation of mesh edges. The approach is encapsulated into an edge‐based anisotropic mesh optimization methodology (MOM), which uses a judicious sequence of four local operations: refinement, coarsening, edge swapping and point movement, to equi‐distribute the error estimate along all edges, without any recourse to remeshing. The mesh adaptation convergence of the MOM loop is carefully studied for a wide variety of test cases. The mesh optimization generic coupling of MOM with finite volume and finite element flow solvers is shown to yield the same final mesh no matter what the starting point is. It is also shown that on such optimized meshes, the need for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) stabilization artifices, such as upwinding or artificial viscosity, are drastically reduced, if not altogether eliminated, in most well‐posed formulations. These two conclusions can be considered significant steps towards mesh‐independent and solver‐independent CFD. The structure of the three‐part series is thus, 1, general principles; 2, methodology and applications to structured and unstructured grids; 3, applications to three‐dimensional flows. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ADAPTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR UNSTEADY LAMINAR FLOWS ON UNSTRUCTURED GRIDS

An adaptive finite volume method for the simulation of time-dependent, viscous flow is presented. The Navier–Stokes equations are discretized by central schemes on unstructured grids and solved by an explicit Runge–Kutta method. The essential topics of the present study are a new concept for a local Runge–Kutta time-stepping scheme, called multisequence Runge–Kutta, which reduces the severe stability restriction in unsteady problems, a common grid generation and adaptation procedure and the application of dynamic grids for capturing moving flow structures. Results are presented for laminar, separated flow around an aerofoil with a flap.     

On the Computation of Compressible Turbulent Flows on Unstructured Grids

An accurate, fast, matrix-free implicit method has been developed to solve compressible turbulent How problems using the Spalart and Allmaras one equation turbulence model on unstructured meshes. The mean-flow and turbulence-model equations are decoupled in the time integration in order to facilitate the incorporation of different turbulence models and reduce memory requirements. Both mean flow and turbulent equations are integrated in time using a linearized implicit scheme. A recently developed, fast, matrix-free implicit method, GMRES+LU-SGS, is then applied to solve the resultant system of linear equations. The spatial discretization is carried out using a hybrid finite volume and finite element method, where the finite volume approximation based on a containment dual control volume rather than the more popular median-dual control volume is used to discretize the inviscid fluxes, and the finite element approximation is used to evaluate the viscous flux terms. The developed method is used to compute a variety of turbulent flow problems in both 2D and 3D. The results obtained are in good agreement with theoretical and experimental data and indicate that the present method provides an accurate, fast, and robust algorithm for computing compressible turbulent flows on unstructured meshes.     

基于非结构化同位网格的SIMPLE算法

通过基于非结构化网格的有限体积法对二维稳态Navier—Stokes方程进行了数值求解。其中对流项采用延迟修正的二阶格式进行离散；扩散项的离散采用二阶中心差分格式；对于压力-速度耦合利用SIMPLE算法进行处理；计算节点的布置采用同位网格技术，界面流速通过动量插值确定。本文对方腔驱动流、倾斜腔驱动流和圆柱外部绕流问题进行了计算，讨论了非结构化同位网格有限体积法在实现SIMPLE算法时，迭代次数与欠松弛系数的关系、不同网格情况的收敛性、同结构化网格的对比以及流场尾迹结构。通过和以往结果比较可知，本文的方法是准确和可信的。     

Symmetric Gauss-Seidel multigrid solution of the Euler equations on structured and unstructured grids

The efficient symmetric Gauss-Seidel (SGS) algorithm for solving the Euler equations of inviscid, compressible flow on structured grids, developed in collaboration with Jameson of Stanford University, is extended to unstructured grids. The algorithm uses a nonlinear formulation of an SGS solver, implemented within the framework of multigrid. The earlier form of the algorithm used the natural (lexicographic) ordering of the mesh cells available on structured grids for the SGS sweeps, but a number of features of the method that are believed to contribute to its success can also be implemented for computations on unstructured grids. The present paper reviews, the features of the SGS multigrid solver for structured gr0ids, including its nonlinear implementation, its use of “absolute” Jacobian matrix preconditioning, and its incorporation of multigrid, and then describes the incorporation of these features into an algorithm suitable for computations on unstructured grids. The implementation on unstructured grids is based on the agglomerated multigrid method developed by Sørensen, which uses an explicit Runge-Kutta smoothing algorithm. Results of computations for steady, transonic flows past two-dimensional airfoils are presented, and the efficiency of the method is evaluated for computations on both structured and unstructured meshes.     

The design of improved smoothing operators for finite volume flow solvers on unstructured meshes

Spatial operators used in unstructured finite volume flow solvers are analysed for accuracy using Taylor series expansion and Fourier analysis. While approaching second‐order accuracy on very regular grids, operators in common use are shown to have errors resulting in accuracy of only first‐, zeroth‐ or even negative‐order on three‐dimensional tetrahedral meshes. A technique using least‐squares optimization is developed to design improved operators on arbitrary meshes. This is applied to the fourth‐order edge sum smoothing operator. The improved numerical dissipation leads to a much more accurate prediction of the Strouhal number for two‐dimensional flow around a cylinder and a reduction of a factor of three in the loss coefficient for inviscid flow over a three‐dimensional hump. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A point implicit unstructured grid solver for the euler and Navier–Stokes equations

An upwind finite element technique that uses cell-centred quantities and implicit and/or explicit time marching has been developed for computing hypersonic laminar viscous flows using adaptive triangular grids. The approach is an extension to unstructured grids of the LAURA algorithm due to Gnoffo. A structured grid of quadrilaterals is laid out near a solid surface. For inviscid flows the method is stable at Courant numbers of over 100000. A first-order basic scheme and a higher-order flux-corrected transport (FCT) scheme have been implemented. This technique has been applied to the problem of predicting type III and IV shock wave interactions on a cylinder, with a view to simulating the pressure and heating rate augmentation caused by an impinging shock on the leading edge of a cowl lip of an engine inlet. The predictions of wall pressure and heating rates compare very well with experimental data. The flow features are distinctly captured with a sequence of adaptively generated grids.     

Solution of the 2D shallow water equations using the finite volume method on unstructured triangular meshes

A 2D, depth-integrated, free surface flow solver for the shallow water equations is developed and tested. The solver is implemented on unstructured triangular meshes and the solution methodology is based upon a Godunov-type second-order upwind finite volume formulation, whereby the inviscid fluxes of the system of equations are obtained using Roe's flux function. The eigensystem of the 2D shallow water equations is derived and is used for the construction of Roe's matrix on an unstructured mesh. The viscous terms of the shallow water equations are computed using a finite volume formulation which is second-order-accurate. Verification of the solution technique for the inviscid form of the governing equations as well as for the full system of equations is carried out by comparing the model output with documented published results and very good agreement is obtained. A numerical experiment is also conducted in order to evaluate the performance of the solution technique as applied to linear convection problems. The presented results show that the solution technique is robust. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implicit schemes for unsteady Euler equations on triangular meshes

An implicit finite element method is presented for the solution of steady and unsteady inviscid compressible flows on triangular meshes under transonic conditions. The method involves a first-order time-stepping scheme with a finite element discretization that reduces to central differencing on a rectangular mesh. On a solid wall the slip condition is prescribed and the pressure is obtained from an approximation of the normal momentum equation. With this solver no artificial viscosity is added to ensure the success of the calculation. Numerical examples are given for steady and unsteady cases.     

Multi‐material incompressible flow simulation using the moment‐of‐fluid method

This paper compares the numerical performance of the moment‐of‐fluid (MOF) interface reconstruction technique with Youngs, LVIRA, power diagram (PD), and Swartz interface reconstruction techniques in the context of a volume‐of‐fluid (VOF) based finite element projection method for the numerical simulation of variable‐density incompressible viscous flows. In pure advection tests with multiple materials MOF shows dramatic improvements in accuracy compared with the other methods. In incompressible flows where density differences determine the flow evolution, all the methods perform similarly for two material flows on structured grids. On unstructured grids, the second‐order MOF, LVIRA, and Swartz methods perform similarly and show improvement over the first‐order Youngs' and PD methods. For flow simulations with more than two materials, MOF shows increased accuracy in interface positions on coarse meshes. In most cases, the convergence and accuracy of the computed flow solution was not strongly affected by interface reconstruction method. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

A PRESSURE-CORRECTION METHOD FOR THE SOLUTION OF INCOMPRESSIBLE VISCOUS FLOWS ON UNSTRUCTURED GRIDS

An unstructured grid, finite volume method is presented for the solution of two-dimensional viscous, incompressible flow. The method is based on the pressure-correction concept implemented on a semi-staggered grid. The computational procedure can handle cells of arbitrary shape, although solutions presented herein have been obtained only with meshes of triangular and quadrilateral cells. The discretization of the momentum equations is effected on dual cells surrounding the vertices of primary cells, while the pressure-correction equation applies to the primary-cell centroids and represents the conservation of mass across the primary cells. A special interpolation scheme s used to suppress pressure and velocity oscillations in cases where the semi-staggered arrangement does not ensure a sufficiently strong coupling between pressure and velocity to avoid such oscillations. Computational results presented for several viscous flows are shown to be in good agreement with analytical and experimental data reported in the open literature.     

基于非结构网格的TTGC有限元格式的实现及在超声速流动中的应用

基于非结构网格系统,实现了时空三阶精度的TTGC有限元格式,并在三阶TTGC格式上发展了基于人工粘性的激波捕捉技术。在非结构网格下,采用这种方法对若干典型的超声速流动问题(SOD激波管、马赫数为3的前台阶流动以及马赫数为8的高超声速圆柱流动)进行了验证计算。结果表明,TTGC格式分辨率高,在粗糙网格下能够准确的模拟超声速流场中的激波、接触间断等复杂流动现象,并且能有效的控制间断附近的数值色散现象。与传统的有限体积方法相比,本文实现的TTGC有限元格式在模拟超声速流动问题方面具有格式精度高、数值耗散小等优点。     

A cost‐effective curvature calculation approach for interfacial flows on unstructured meshes

We present a simple and cost‐effective curvature calculation approach for simulations of interfacial flows on structured and unstructured grids. The interface is defined using volume fractions, and the interface curvature is obtained as a function of the gradients of volume fractions. The gradient computation is based on a recently proposed gradient recovery method that mimicks the least squares approach without the need to solve a system of equations and is quite easy to implement on arbitrary polygonal meshes. The resulting interface curvature is used in a continuum surface force formulation within the framework of a well‐balanced finite‐volume algorithm to simulate multiphase flows dominated by surface tension. We show that the proposed curvature calculation is at least as accurate as some of the existing approaches on unstructured meshes while being straightforward to implement on any mesh topology. Numerical investigations also show that spurious currents in stationary problems that are dependent on the curvature calculation methodology are also acceptably low using the proposed approach. Studies on capillary waves and rising bubbles in viscous flows lend credence to the ability of the proposed method as an inexpensive, robust, and reasonably accurate approach for curvature calculation and numerical simulation of multiphase flows.     

Calculation of viscous and inviscid gas flows on unstructured grids using the AUSM scheme

An approach to the solution of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations on triangular unstructured grids is considered. The method is based on the key idea of the Godunov scheme, namely, the advisability of solving the Riemann problem of arbitrary discontinuity breakdown. In the calculations the derivatives with respect to space are approximated with both the first and the second order. However, as distinct from the conventional Godunov method, in calculating the fluxes across the cell boundaries the Riemann problem is solved using the Advection Upstream Splitting Method (AUSM). The concepts involved in the AUSM scheme are discussed. The solution of the discontinuity breakdown problem obtained within the framework of this approach is compared with the results obtained using the Godunov method. Numerical solutions of some problems of viscous and inviscid perfect-gas flows obtained on unstructured grids of different fineness and those obtained on structured grids are also compared. The effect of the spatial approximation order on the accuracy of numerical solutions is studied.