A Free-Lagrange method for unsteady compressible flow: simulation of a confined cylindrical blast wave

A Free-Lagrange numerical procedure for the simulation of two-dimensional inviscid compressible flow is described in detail. The unsteady Euler equations are solved on an unstructured Lagrangian grid based on a density-weighted Voronoi mesh. The flow solver is of the Godunov type, utilising either the HLLE (2 wave) approximate Riemann solver or the more recent HLLC (3 wave) variant, each adapted to the Lagrangian frame. Within each mesh cell, conserved properties are treated as piece-wise linear, and a slope limiter of the MUSCL type is used to give non-oscillatory behaviour with nominal second order accuracy in space. The solver is first order accurate in time. Modifications to the slope limiter to minimise grid and coordinate dependent effects are described. The performances of the HLLE and HLLC solvers are compared for two test problems; a one-dimensional shock tube and a two-dimensional blast wave confined within a rigid cylinder. The blast wave is initiated by impulsive heating of a gas column whose centreline is parallel to, and one half of the cylinder radius from, the axis of the cylinder. For the shock tube problem, both solvers predict shock and expansion waves in good agreement with theory. For the HLLE solver, contact resolution is poor, especially in the blast wave problem. The HLLC solver achieves near-exact contact capture in both problems. Received May 25, 1995 / Accepted September 11, 1995