Mesh adaptation framework for embedded boundary methods for computational fluid dynamics and fluid-structure interaction

Embedded Boundary Methods (EBMs) are often preferred for the solution of Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) problems because they are reliable for large structural motions/deformations and topological changes. For viscous flow problems, however, they do not track the boundary layers that form around embedded obstacles and therefore do not maintain them resolved. Hence, an Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) framework for EBMs is proposed in this paper. It is based on computing the distance from an edge of the embedding computational fluid dynamics mesh to the nearest embedded discrete surface and on satisfying the y⁺ requirements. It is also equipped with a Hessian-based criterion for resolving flow features such as shocks, vortices, and wakes and with load balancing for achieving parallel efficiency. It performs mesh refinement using a parallel version of the newest vertex bisection method to maintain mesh conformity. Hence, while it is sufficiently comprehensive to support many discretization methods, it is particularly attractive for vertex-centered finite volume schemes where dual cells tend to complicate the mesh adaptation process. Using the EBM known as FIVER, this AMR framework is verified for several academic FSI problems. Its potential for realistic FSI applications is also demonstrated with the simulation of a challenging supersonic parachute inflation dynamics problem.     

A parallel unstructured dynamic mesh adaptation algorithm for 3‐D unsteady flows

An unstructured dynamic mesh adaptation and load balancing algorithm has been developed for the efficient simulation of three‐dimensional unsteady inviscid flows on parallel machines. The numerical scheme was based on a cell‐centred finite‐volume method and the Roe's flux‐difference splitting. Second‐order accuracy was achieved in time by using an implicit Jacobi/Gauss–Seidel iteration. The resolution of time‐dependent solutions was enhanced by adopting an h‐refinement/coarsening algorithm. Parallelization and load balancing were concurrently achieved on the adaptive dynamic meshes for computational speed‐up and efficient memory redistribution. A new tree data structure for boundary faces was developed for the continuous transfer of the communication data across the parallel subdomain boundary. The parallel efficiency was validated by applying the present method to an unsteady shock‐tube problem. The flows around oscillating NACA0012 wing and F‐5 wing were also calculated for the numerical verification of the present dynamic mesh adaptation and load balancing algorithm. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The direct simulation Monte Carlo method using unstructured adaptive mesh and its application

The implementation of an adaptive mesh‐embedding (h‐refinement) scheme using unstructured grid in two‐dimensional direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is reported. In this technique, local isotropic refinement is used to introduce new mesh where the local cell Knudsen number is less than some preset value. This simple scheme, however, has several severe consequences affecting the performance of the DSMC method. Thus, we have applied a technique to remove the hanging node, by introducing the an‐isotropic refinement in the interfacial cells between refined and non‐refined cells. Not only does this remedy increase a negligible amount of work, but it also removes all the difficulties presented in the originals scheme. We have tested the proposed scheme for argon gas in a high‐speed driven cavity flow. The results show an improved flow resolution as compared with that of un‐adaptive mesh. Finally, we have used triangular adaptive mesh to compute a near‐continuum gas flow, a hypersonic flow over a cylinder. The results show fairly good agreement with previous studies. In summary, the proposed simple mesh adaptation is very useful in computing rarefied gas flows, which involve both complicated geometry and highly non‐uniform density variations throughout the flow field. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Feature‐based adaptive mesh refinement for wingtip vortices

Feature‐based solution‐adaptive mesh refinement is an attractive strategy when it is known a priori that the resolution of certain key features is critical to achieving the objectives of a simulation. In this paper, we apply vortex characterization techniques, which are typically employed to visualize vortices, to identify regions of the computational domain for mesh refinement. We investigate different refinement strategies that are facilitated by these vortex characterization techniques to simulate the flow past a wing in a wind tunnel. Our results, which we compare with experimental data, indicate that it is necessary to refine the region within and near the vortex extent surface to obtain an accurate prediction. Application of the identified mesh refinement strategy also produced observed improvement in the results predicted for a spinning missile with deflected canards. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adaptive thermo-fluid moving boundary computations for interfacial dynamics

In this study,we present adaptive moving boundary computation technique with parallel implementation on a distributed memory multi-processor system for large scale thermo-fluid and interfacial flow computations.The solver utilizes Eulerian-Lagrangian method to track moving(Lagrangian) interfaces explicitly on the stationary(Eulerian) Cartesian grid where the flow fields are computed.We address the domain decomposition strategies of Eulerian-Lagrangian method by illustrating its intricate complexity of the computation involved on two different spaces interactively and consequently,and then propose a trade-off approach aiming for parallel scalability.Spatial domain decomposition is adopted for both Eulerian and Lagrangian domain due to easy load balancing and data locality for minimum communication between processors.In addition,parallel cell-based unstructured adaptive mesh refinement(AMR) technique is implemented for the flexible local refinement and even-distributed computational workload among processors.Selected cases are presented to highlight the computational capabilities,including Faraday type interfacial waves with capillary and gravitational forcing,flows around varied geometric configurations and induced by boundary conditions and/or body forces,and thermo-fluid dynamics with phase change.With the aid of the present techniques,large scale challenging moving boundary problems can be effectively addressed.     

一种新的求解对流占优问题的自适应网格细化方法

在均匀网格上求解对流占优问题时,往往会产生数值震荡现象,因此需要局部加密网格来提高解的精度。针对对流占优问题,设计了一种新的自适应网格细化算法。该方法采用流线迎风SUPG(Petrov-Galerkin)格式求解对流占优问题,定义了网格尺寸并通过后验误差估计子修正来指导自适应网格细化,以泡泡型局部网格生成算法BLMG为网格生成器,通过模拟泡泡在区域中的运动得到了高质量的点集。与其他自适应网格细化方法相比,该方法可在同一框架内实现网格的细化和粗化,同时在所有细化层得到了高质量的网格。数值算例结果表明,该方法在求解对流占优问题时具有更高的数值精度和更好的收敛性。     

Parallel adaptive high-order CFD simulations characterising SOFIA cavity acoustics

ABSTRACT

This paper presents large-scale parallel computational fluid dynamics simulations for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). SOFIA is an airborne, 2.5-m infrared telescope mounted in an open cavity in the aft fuselage of a Boeing 747SP. These simulations focus on how the unsteady flow field inside and over the cavity interferes with the optical path and mounting structure of the telescope. A temporally fourth-order accurate Runge–Kutta, and a spatially fifth-order accurate WENO-5Z scheme were used to perform implicit large eddy simulations. An immersed boundary method provides automated gridding for complex geometries and natural coupling to a block-structured Cartesian adaptive mesh refinement framework. Strong scaling studies using NASA's Pleiades supercomputer with up to 32 k CPU cores and 4 billion computational cells show excellent scaling. Dynamic load balancing based on execution time on individual adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) blocks addresses irregular numerical cost associated with blocks containing boundaries. Limits to scaling beyond 32 k cores are identified, and targeted code optimisations are discussed.     

Evaluation of adaptive mesh refinement and coarsening for the computation of compressible flows on unstructured meshes

The compressible gas flows of interest to aerospace applications often involve situations where shock and expansion waves are present. Decreasing the characteristic dimension of the computational cells in the vicinity of shock waves improves the quality of the computed flows. This reduction in size may be accomplished by the use of mesh adaption procedures. In this paper an analysis is presented of an adaptive mesh scheme developed for an unstructured mesh finite volume upwind computer code. This scheme is tailored to refine or coarsen the computational mesh where gradients of the flow properties are respectively high or low. The refinement and coarsening procedures are applied to the classical gas dynamic problems of the stabilization of shock waves by solid bodies. In particular, situations where oblique shock waves interact with an expansion fan and where bow shocks arise around solid bodies are considered. The effectiveness of the scheme in reducing the computational time, while increasing the solution accuracy, is assessed. It is shown that the refinement procedure alone leads to a number of computational cells which is 20% larger than when alternate passes of refinement and coarsening are used. Accordingly, a reduction of computational time of the same order of magnitude is obtained. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitivity of mesh spacing on simulating macrosegregation during directional solidification of a superalloy

The sensitivity of mesh spacing on simulations of macrosegregation, particularly ‘freckles’, during vertical directional solidification of a superalloy in a rectangular mold was systematically analyzed to achieve accurate predictions in finite element calculations. It was observed that a coarser mesh spacing in the x‐direction horizontal tends to minimize the simulated macrosegregation, whereas a coarser mesh spacing in the y‐direction vertical artificially tends to make the system appear to have more macrosegregation. When solidification conditions either lead to a well‐established freckling case or to a well‐established non‐freckling case, the simulated results are not sensitive to the mesh spacing provided the elements are no larger than about 2d₁ by 2 D/V and 3d₁ by 4 D/V respectively, where d₁ is the primary dendrite arm spacing, D is the diffusivity of the alloy solute with the smallest diffusivity in the liquid, and V is the growth rate. However, when solidification conditions are very close to the transition between freckling and no freckling, the simulated results are sensitive to the mesh spacing, especially in the y‐direction. Based on the mesh sensitivity analysis from the two‐dimensional simulations of rectangular castings of René N5, the mesh with element dimensions no larger than 2d₁ in the x‐direction and 1.5 D/V in the y‐direction are recommended as the most stringent element size. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Impact of tetrahedralization on parallel conforming octree mesh generation

This work discusses the performance impact from the tetrahedralization of non‐conforming meshes generated by a parallel octree method capable of handling arbitrary immersed geometries. First, we review conforming techniques for meshes created from octrees. Then we implement a tetrahedralization scheme based on templates in a parallel meshing algorithm that uses a linear octree with 2:1 balancing constraint. Besides, we also propose a change on the partitioning strategy for the same meshing algorithm to improve the octree refinement load balancing. Scalability analyses show that the chosen tetrahedralization technique preserves algorithm performance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study on flow past two spheres in tandem arrangement using a local mesh refinement virtual boundary method

A local mesh refinement virtual boundary method based on a uniform grid is designed to study the transition between the flow patterns of two spheres in tandem arrangement for Re=250. For a small gap (L/D=1.5), the flow field is axisymmetric. As the spacing ratio increases to 2.0, the pressure gradient induces the circumferential fluid motion and a plane‐symmetric flow is constructed through a regular bifurcation. For L/D?2.5, the vortices are periodically shed from the right sphere, but the planar symmetry remains. The case for L/D=3.0 is picked up to give a detail investigation for the unsteady flow. The shedding frequency of vortical structure from the upper side of the right sphere is found to be double of the frequency of the lower side. With the flow spectra of various gaps given, the underlying competitive mechanism between the two shedding frequencies is studied and a critical spacing gap is revealed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A multigrid adaptive mesh refinement strategy for 3D aerodynamic design

Presently, improving the accuracy and reducing computational costs are still two major CFD objectives often considered incompatible. This paper proposes to solve this dilemma by developing an adaptive mesh refinement method in order to integrate the 3D Euler and Navier–Stokes equations on structured meshes, where a local multigrid method is used to accelerate convergence for steady compressible flows. The time integration method is a LU‐SGS method (AIAA J 1988; 26: 1025–1026) associated with a spatial Jameson‐type scheme (Numerical solutions of the Euler equations by finite volume methods using Runge–Kutta time‐stepping schemes. AIAA Paper, 81‐1259, 1981). Computations of turbulent flows are handled by the standard k–ω model of Wilcox (AIAA J 1994; 32: 247–255). A coarse grid correction, based on composite residuals, has been devised in order to enforce the coupling between the different grid levels and to accelerate the convergence. The efficiency of the method is evaluated on standard 2D and 3D aerodynamic configurations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parallel Implementation of DSMC Using Unstructured Mesh

The parallel implementation of the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method on memory-distributed machines using unstructured mesh is reported. Physical domain decomposition is used to distribute the workload among multiple processors. A high-speed driven cavity flow is used as the benchmark problem for the validation of the parallel implementation. Three static partitioning techniques including simple coordinate partitioning, two-step partitioning (JOSTLE) and multi-level partitioning (METIS) are used for static domain decomposition, respectively. A cell renumbering technique is used to improve the memory management efficiency. Results of parallel efficiency show that two-step partitioning using JOSTLE performs the best, with 63% up to 25 processors, due to better load balancing among the processors. The powerful computational capability of the parallel implementation is demonstrated by computing a 2-D, near-continuum, hypersonic flow over a cylinder as well as a 3-D hypersonic flow over a sphere, respectively, both using 25 processors. Results compare reasonably well with previous simulated and experimental studies.     

Adaptive mesh refinement for two-phase slug flows with an a priori indicator

The purpose of this paper is to present a novel adaptive mesh refinement AMR technique for computing unstable one dimensional two-phase flows in pipelines. In multiphase flows, the prediction and localisation of inter-facial waves, slugs and instabilities related to flow conditions under study require high levels of accuracy. This is more apparent in systems at industrial scales, where flow lines possess highly distorted regions and irregular topologies.Uniform fine meshes for these long devices are costly and in general situations the optimum space discretisation could not be determined a priori.Adaptive mesh refinement AMR procedure provides a remedy to this problem by refining the mesh locally, allowing to capture regions where sharp discontinuities and steep gradients are present. With appropriate algorithm and data organisation, AMR helps to reduce CPU time and speeds up simulations of flows in long pipes. The effectiveness of AMR methods relies on estimators that determine where refinement is required. We show in this work that for transient flows combining gradient-based error estimator with Kelvin–Helmholtz stability condition can improve the acceleration of computation and locate regions where refinements are required. The Kelvin–Helmholtz is a local condition and is an a priori indicator for the refinement.     

On the performance of adaptive mesh refinement computation

A finite difference scheme for the unsteady Euler equations using an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) algorithm was applied to the time-dependent flowfield of shock diffraction problems. The effectiveness of the AMR algorithm was evaluated against a uniform mesh algorithm. Computational results showed that to obtain solutions with equivalent resolution, the AMR algorithm requires much less processing time, when compared with a uniform mesh algorithm.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1.0 and the AMS fonts, developed by the American Mathematical Society.     

面向复杂几何模型的并行四面体网格生成方法

面向大规模工程计算等数值模拟领域,提出了一种支持复杂几何模型的大规模四面体网格并行生成方法。该方法以复杂几何模型作为输入,首先采用串行网格生成方法生成初始四面体网格,然后通过两级区域分解方法将初始网格分解为多个子网格并分配到相应的进程中,进程间并行地提取出子网格的表面网格,并基于几何模型对面网格进行贴体加密,最后对加密后的面网格采用Delaunay方法重新生成四面体网格,该方法可以更好地适应高性能计算机体系结构,较好地克服了并行方法中并行性能和网格质量不能兼顾的问题。对三峡大坝模型进行测试和验证,证明该方法具有良好的并行效率和可扩展性,可以在数万处理器核上并行生成数十亿高质量四面体网格。     

基于二重网格的动网格松弛法改进

相比传统的弹簧法等方法,基于球松弛算法的动网格松弛法在复杂边界大变形条件下可以得到质量更高的边界网格以及更大的极限变形量,但该方法在时间效率上还有提升的空间.引入二重网格,采用动网格松弛法进行稀疏网格的网格变形,将边界位移传递到整个网格计算域;再利用二重网格映射,将稀疏网格位移映射到原有计算网格的节点上.算例表明,改进...     

Reordering and incomplete preconditioning in serial and parallel adaptive mesh refinement and coarsening flow solutions

The effects of reordering the unknowns on the convergence of incomplete factorization preconditioned Krylov subspace methods are investigated. Of particular interest is the resulting preconditioned iterative solver behavior when adaptive mesh refinement and coarsening (AMR/C) are utilized for serial or distributed parallel simulations. As representative schemes, we consider the familiar reverse Cuthill–McKee and quotient minimum degree algorithms applied with incomplete factorization preconditioners to CG and GMRES solvers. In the parallel distributed case, reordering is applied to local subdomains for block ILU preconditioning, and subdomains are repartitioned dynamically as mesh adaptation proceeds. Numerical studies for representative applications are conducted using the object‐oriented AMR/C software system libMesh linked to the PETSc solver library. Serial tests demonstrate that global unknown reordering and incomplete factorization preconditioning can reduce the number of iterations and improve serial CPU time in AMR/C computations. Parallel experiments indicate that local reordering for subdomain block preconditioning associated with dynamic repartitioning because of AMR/C leads to an overall reduction in processing time. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of compressible multifluid flows using an adaptive positivity-preserving RKDG-GFM approach

The Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin method together with a refined real-ghost fluid method is incorporated into an adaptive mesh refinement environment for solving compressible multifluid flows, where the level set method is used to capture the moving material interface. To ensure that the Riemann problem is exactly along the normal direction of the material interface, a simple and efficient modification is introduced into the original real-ghost fluid method for constructing the interfacial Riemann problem, and the initial conditions of the Riemann problem are obtained directly from the solution polynomials of the discontinuous Galerkin finite element space. In addition, a positivity-preserving limiter is introduced into the Runge-Kutta discontinuous Galerkin method to suppress the failure of preserving positivity of density or pressure for the problems involving strong shock wave or shock interaction with material interface. For interfacial cells in adaptive mesh refinement, the data transfer between different grid levels is achieved by using a L² projection approach along with the least squares fitting. Various numerical cases, including multifluid shock tubes, underwater explosions, and shock-induced collapse of a underwater air bubble, are computed to assess the capability of the present adaptive positivity-preserving RKDG-GFM approach, and the simulated results show that the present approach is quite robust and can provide relatively reasonable results across a wide variety of flow regimes, even for problems involving strong shock wave or shock wave impacting high acoustic impedance mismatch material interface.     

Adaptive mesh refinement techniques for high‐order shock capturing schemes for multi‐dimensional hydrodynamic simulations

The numerical simulation of physical phenomena represented by non‐linear hyperbolic systems of conservation laws presents specific difficulties mainly due to the presence of discontinuities in the solution. State of the art methods for the solution of such equations involve high resolution shock capturing schemes, which are able to produce sharp profiles at the discontinuities and high accuracy in smooth regions, together with some kind of grid adaption, which reduces the computational cost by using finer grids near the discontinuities and coarser grids in smooth regions. The combination of both techniques presents intrinsic numerical and programming difficulties. In this work we present a method obtained by the combination of a high‐order shock capturing scheme, built from Shu–Osher's conservative formulation (J. Comput. Phys. 1988; 77 :439–471; 1989; 83 :32–78), a fifth‐order weighted essentially non‐oscillatory (WENO) interpolatory technique (J. Comput. Phys. 1996; 126 :202–228) and Donat–Marquina's flux‐splitting method (J. Comput. Phys. 1996; 125 :42–58), with the adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) technique of Berger and collaborators (Adaptive mesh refinement for hyperbolic partial differential equations. Ph.D. Thesis, Computer Science Department, Stanford University, 1982; J. Comput. Phys. 1989; 82 :64–84; 1984; 53 :484–512). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.