| Abstract: | A hybrid conservative finite difference/finite element scheme is proposed for the solution of the unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Using velocity–pressure variables on a non-staggeredgrid system, the solution is obtained with a projection method basedon the resolution of a pressure Poisson equation. The new proposed scheme is derived from the finite element spatial discretization using the Galerkin method with piecewise bilinear polynomial basis functions defined on quadrilateral elements. It is applied to the pressure gradient term and to the non-linear convection term as in the so-called group finite element method. It ensures strong coupling between spatial directions, inhibiting the development of oscillations during long-term computations, as demonstrated by the validation studies. Two- and three-dimensional unsteady separated flows with open boundaries have been simulated with the proposed method using Cartesian uniform mesh grids. Several examples of calculations on the backward-facing step configuration are reported and the results obtained are compared with those given by other methods. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. j. numer. methods fluids 24: 833–861, 1997. |
