Two-equation (k, ϵ) turbulence computations by the use of a finite element model

A finite element technique is presented and applied to some one- and two-dimensional turbulent flow problems. The basic equations are the Reynolds averaged momentum equations in conjunction with a two-equation (k, ?) turbulence model. The equations are written in time-dependent form and stationary problems are solved by a time iteration procedure. The advection parts of the equations are treated by the use of a method of characteristics, while the continuity requirement is satisfied by a penalty function approach. The general numerical formulation is based on Galerkin's method. Computational results are presented for one-dimensional steady-state and oscillatory channel flow problems and for steady-state flow over a two-dimensional backward-facing step.     

Numerical simulations of viscous flows using a meshless method

This paper uses the element‐free Galerkin (EFG) method to simulate 2D, viscous, incompressible flows. The control equations are discretized with the standard Galerkin method in space and a fractional step finite element scheme in time. Regular background cells are used for the quadrature. Several classical fluid mechanics problems were analyzed including flow in a pipe, flow past a step and flow in a driven cavity. The flow field computed with the EFG method compared well with those calculated using the finite element method (FEM) and finite difference method. The simulations show that although EFG is more expensive computationally than FEM, it is capable of dealing with cases where the nodes are poorly distributed or even overlap with each other; hence, it may be used to resolve remeshing problems in direct numerical simulations. Flows around a cylinder for different Reynolds numbers are also simulated to study the flow patterns for various conditions and the drag and lift forces exerted by the fluid on the cylinder. These forces are calculated by integrating the pressure and shear forces over the cylinder surface. The results show how the drag and lift forces oscillate for high Reynolds numbers. The calculated Strouhal number agrees well with previous results. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A coupled boundary element–finite difference model of surface wave motion over a wall turbulent flow

An effective numerical technique is presented to model turbulent motion of a standing surface wave in a tank. The equations of motion for turbulent boundary layers at the solid surfaces are coupled with the potential flow in the bulk of the fluid, and a mixed BEM–finite difference technique is used to model the wave motion and the corresponding boundary layer flow. A mixing‐length theory is used for turbulence modelling. The model results are in good agreement with previous physical and numerical experiments. Although the technique is presented for a standing surface wave, it can be easily applied to other free surface problems. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of unsteady multidimensional free surface motions by level set method

This paper presents a numerical method that couples the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with the level set method in a curvilinear co‐ordinate system for study of free surface flows. The finite volume method is used to discretize the governing equations on a non‐staggered grid with a four‐step fractional step method. The free surface flow problem is converted into a two‐phase flow system on a fixed grid in which the free surface is implicitly captured by the zero level set. We compare different numerical schemes for advection of the level set function in a generalized curvilinear format, including the third order quadratic upwind interpolation for convective kinematics (QUICK) scheme, and the second and third order essentially non‐oscillatory (ENO) schemes. The level set equations of evolution and reinitialization are validated with benchmark cases, e.g. a stationary circle, a rotating slotted disk and stretching of a circular fluid element. The coupled system is then applied to a travelling solitary wave, and two‐ and three‐dimensional dam breaking problems. Some interesting free surface phenomena are revealed by the computational results, such as, the large free surface vortices, air entrapment and splashing of the water surge front. The computational results are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions and experimental data, where they are available. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple and efficient BEM algorithm for planar cavity flows

This paper presents a boundary element formulation for solution of planar Riabouchinsky cavity flow problems. An iterative procedure for adjusting the free surface position is developed and shown to be stable and convergent. Numerical results are compared with finite difference and finite element solutions, showing the superior accuracy of the BEM models.     

A Cartesian cut cell free surface capturing method for 3D water impact problems

A Cartesian cut cell mesh generation procedure is developed together with a finite volume Euler solver for a two‐fluid system with a free surface. A fast and robust triangle to triangle overlap scheme is used to determine the intersection of a body‐surface with the background Cartesian mesh. Improvements to the cut cell routines include a new treatment for multiple cuts within a single cell and a surface trimming procedure to ensure a good quality mesh around solid boundaries. The formulae for calculating all necessary information about a cut cell are also presented. These are generic and can be used for arbitrarily irregular boundary elements. A collocated finite volume method with a high resolution Godunov‐type scheme in space is used for discretization of the governing flow equations. By computing in both the air and water regions simultaneously in a consistent manner, the free surface is automatically captured as a contact discontinuity in the density field without the need for any special free surface tracking method. The algorithm incorporates the artificial compressibility method with a dual time stepping strategy to maintain a divergence free velocity field. The mathematical formulation including its numerical implementation of the method is reviewed and results for a number of test cases are also presented. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parallel finite element simulation of mooring forces on floating objects

The coupling between the equations governing the free‐surface flows, the six degrees of freedom non‐linear rigid body dynamics, the linear elasticity equations for mesh‐moving and the cables has resulted in a fluid‐structure interaction technology capable of simulating mooring forces on floating objects. The finite element solution strategy is based on a combination approach derived from fixed‐mesh and moving‐mesh techniques. Here, the free‐surface flow simulations are based on the Navier–Stokes equations written for two incompressible fluids where the impact of one fluid on the other one is extremely small. An interface function with two distinct values is used to locate the position of the free‐surface. The stabilized finite element formulations are written and integrated in an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian domain. This allows us to handle the motion of the time dependent geometries. Forces and momentums exerted on the floating object by both water and hawsers are calculated and used to update the position of the floating object in time. In the mesh moving scheme, we assume that the computational domain is made of elastic materials. The linear elasticity equations are solved to obtain the displacements for each computational node. The non‐linear rigid body dynamics equations are coupled with the governing equations of fluid flow and are solved simultaneously to update the position of the floating object. The numerical examples includes a 3D simulation of water waves impacting on a moored floating box and a model boat and simulation of floating object under water constrained with a cable. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fractional four-step finite element method for analysis of thermally coupled fluid-solid interaction problems

An integrated fluid-thermal-structural analysis approach is presented. In this approach, the heat conduction in a solid is coupled with the heat convection in the viscous flow of the fluid resulting in the thermal stress in the solid. The fractional four-step finite element method and the streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) method are used to analyze the viscous thermal flow in the fluid. Analyses of the heat transfer and the thermal stress in the solid are performed by the Galerkin method. The second-order semiimplicit Crank-Nicolson scheme is used for the time integration. The resulting nonlinear equations are linearized to improve the computational efficiency. The integrated analysis method uses a three-node triangular element with equal-order interpolation functions for the fluid velocity components, the pressure, the temperature, and the solid displacements to simplify the overall finite element formulation. The main advantage of the present method is to consistently couple the heat transfer along the fluid-solid interface. Results of several tested problems show effiectiveness of the present finite element method, which provides insight into the integrated fluid-thermal-structural interaction phenomena.     

贮腔类三维自由液面动力学问题数值研究

讨论了贮腔类三维自由液面动力学问题的数值研究,将任意的拉格朗日-欧拉运动学描述关系引入到系统的控制方程中,采用任意的拉格朗日-欧拉描述跟踪自由液面,推导了自由面上结点的法向矢量计算公式。采用Galerkin余量法推导了Navier-Stokes方程的空间离散有限元方程,采用三维自由液面上微分几何理论推导了表面张力计算公式。数值研究中考虑了接触角效应,最后进行了三维数值算例分析。     

A Quasilinear Based Procedure for Saturated/Unsaturated Water Movement in Soils

The quasilinear form of Richards equation for one-dimensional unsaturated flow in soils can be readily solved for a wide variety of conditions. However, it cannot explain saturated/unsaturated flow and the constant diffusivity assumption, used to linearise the transient quasilinear equation, can introduce significant error. This paper presents a quasi-analytical solution to transient saturated/unsaturated flow based on the quasilinear equation, with saturated flow explained by a transformed Darcy's equation. The procedure presented is based on the modified finite analytic method. With this approach, the problem domain is divided into elements, with the element equations being solutions to a constant coefficient form of the governing partial differential equation. While the element equations are based on a constant diffusivity assumption, transient diffusivity behaviour is incorporated by time stepping. Profile heterogeneity can be incorporated into the procedure by allowing flow properties to vary from element to element. Two procedures are presented for the temporal solution; a Laplace transform procedure and a finite difference scheme. An advantage of the Laplace transform procedure is the ability to incorporate transient boundary condition behaviour directly into the analytical solutions. The scheme is shown to work well for two different flow problems, for three soil types. The technique presented can yield results of high accuracy if the spatial discretisation is sufficient, or alternatively can produce approximate solutions with low computational overheads by using large sized elements. Error was shown to be stable, linearly related to element size.     

Three‐dimensional finite element analysis of transient fluid flow with free‐surface using marker surface method and adaptive grid refinement

For three‐dimensional finite element analysis of transient fluid flow with free‐surface, a new marker surface method is proposed, in which the fluid flow is represented by the marker surface composed of marker elements instead of marker particles used in the marker particle method. This also involves an adaptive grid that is created under a new criterion of element categorization of filling states and the locations in the total region at each time step. The marker surface is used in order to represent the free‐surface accurately, as well as to decrease the memory and computation time, and to effectively display the predicted three‐dimensional free‐surface. By using the adaptive grid in which the elements, finer than those in internal and external regions, are distributed in the surface region through refinement and coarsening procedures, the analysis of three‐dimensional transient fluid flow with free‐surface is achieved more efficiently. Through three‐dimensional analysis of two kinds of problems using several grids, the efficiency of the proposed marker surface method and the adaptive grid are verified. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

AN EULERIAN FINITE ELEMENT METHOD FOR TIME-DEPENDENT FREE SURFACE PROBLEMS IN HYDRODYNAMICS

A numerical method based on the finite element method is presented for simulating the two-dimensional transient motion of a viscous liquid with free surfaces. For ease of numerical treatment of the free surface expressed by a multiple-valued function, the marker particle method is employed. Numerous virtual particles are spread over all regions occupied by liquid. They move about on a fixed finite element mesh with the liquid velocity at their positions. These particles contribute nothing to the dynamics of the liquid and only serve as markers of liquid regions. The velocity field within liquid regions is calculated by solving the Navier– Stokes equations and the equation of continuity by the finite element method based on quadrilateral elements. A detailed discussion is given of the methodological problems arising in the implementation of the marker particle method on an unstructured finite element mesh and of the solutions to these problems. The proposed method is demonstrated on three sample problems: the broken dam problem, the impact of a falling liquid drop on a still liquid and the entry of a rigid block into water. Good agreement has been obtained in the comparison of the present numerical results with available experimental data.     

A simple method for simulating viscoelastic fluid flows in slit channel

A low-cost semi-analysis finite element technique, named the finite piece method (FPM) is presented in this article. It aims to solve three-dimensional (3D) viscoelastic slit flows. The viscoelastic stress of the fluid is modelled using an K-BKZ integral constitutive equation of the Wagner type. Picard iteration is used to solve non-linear equations. The FPM is tested on flow problems in both planar and contraction channels. The accuracy of the method is assessed by comparing flow distributions and pressure with results obtained by 3D finite element method (FEM). It shows that the solution accuracy is excellent and a substantial amount of computing time and memory requirement can be saved.     

The surface marker and micro cell method

A new method is presented for the simulation of two-dimensional, incompressible, free surface fluid flow problems. The surface marker and micro cell (SMMC) method is capable of simulating transient free surface fluid flow problems that include multivalued free surfaces, impact of free surfaces with solid obstacles and converging fluid fronts (including wave breaking). New approaches are presented for the advection of the free surface, the calculation of the tentative velocity, final velocity and pressure fields and the use of multivalued velocities to treat converging fluid fronts. Simulation results are compared with experimental results for water sloshing in a tank to demonstrate the validity of the new method. Convergence of the new method is demonstrated by a grid refinement study. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of free‐surface flow using the level‐set method with global mass correction

A new numerical method that couples the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with the global mass correction level‐set method for simulating fluid problems with free surfaces and interfaces is presented in this paper. The finite volume method is used to discretize Navier–Stokes equations with the two‐step projection method on a staggered Cartesian grid. The free‐surface flow problem is solved on a fixed grid in which the free surface is captured by the zero level set. Mass conservation is improved significantly by applying a global mass correction scheme, in a novel combination with third‐order essentially non‐oscillatory schemes and a five stage Runge–Kutta method, to accomplish advection and re‐distancing of the level‐set function. The coupled solver is applied to simulate interface change and flow field in four benchmark test cases: (1) shear flow; (2) dam break; (3) travelling and reflection of solitary wave and (4) solitary wave over a submerged object. The computational results are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions, experimental data and previous numerical simulations using a RANS‐VOF method. The simulations reveal some interesting free‐surface phenomena such as the free‐surface vortices, air entrapment and wave deformation over a submerged object. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A computationally efficient 3D finite‐volume scheme for violent liquid–gas sloshing

We describe a semi‐implicit volume‐of‐fluid free‐surface‐modelling methodology for flow problems involving violent free‐surface motion. For efficient computation, a hybrid‐unstructured edge‐based vertex‐centred finite volume discretisation is employed, while the solution methodology is entirely matrix free. Pressures are solved using a matrix‐free preconditioned generalised minimum residual algorithm and explicit time‐stepping is employed for the momentum and interface‐tracking equations. The high resolution artificial compressive (HiRAC) volume‐of‐fluid method is used for accurate capturing of the free surface in violent flow regimes while allowing natural applicability to hybrid‐unstructured meshes. The code is parallelised for solution on distributed‐memory architectures and evaluated against 2D and 3D benchmark problems. Good parallel scaling is demonstrated, with almost linear speed‐up down to 6000 cells per core. Finally, the code is applied to an industrial‐type problem involving resonant excitation of a fuel tank, and a comparison with experimental results is made in this violent sloshing regime. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Hybrid Boundary/Finite Element Method for Simulating Viscous Flows and Shapes of Droplets in Electric Fields

A mixed boundary element and finite element numerical algorithm for the simultaneous prediction of the electric fields, viscous flow fields, thermal fields and surface deformation of electrically conducting droplets in an electrostatic field is described in this paper. The boundary element method is used for the computation of the electric potential distribution. This allows the boundary conditions at infinity to be directly incorporated into the boundary integral formulation, thereby obviating the need for discretization at infinity. The surface deformation is determined by solving the normal stress balance equation using the weighted residuals method. The fluid flow and thermal fields are calculated using the mixed finite element method. The computational algorithm for the simultaneous prediction of surface deformation and fluid flow involves two iterative loops, one for the electric field and surface deformation and the other for the surface tension driven viscous flows. The two loops are coupled through the droplet surface shapes for viscous fluid flow calculations and viscous stresses for updating the droplet shapes. Computing the surface deformation in a separate loop permits the freedom of applying different types of elements without complicating procedures for the internal flow and thermal calculations. Tests indicate that the quadratic, cubic spline and spectral boundary elements all give approximately the same accuracy for free surface calculations; however, the quadratic elements are preferred as they are easier to implement and also require less computing time. Linear elements, however, are less accurate. Numerical simulations are carried out for the simultaneous solution of free surface shapes and internal fluid flow and temperature distributions in droplets in electric fields under both microgravity and earthbound conditions. Results show that laser heating may induce a non-uniform temperature distribution in the droplets. This non-uniform thermal field results in a variation of surface tension along the surface of the droplet, which in turn produces a recirculating fluid flow in the droplet. The viscous stresses cause additional surface deformation by squeezing the surface areas above and below the equator plane.     

AN ALGORITHM FOR SIMULATION OF STEADY FREE SURFACE FLOWS

An algorithm to simulate steady, viscous free surface flows is presented in this paper. A Picard-type approach wherein the flow and free surface updates are performed alternately is utilized to iterate for a solution. The procedure is intended for large-scale two- or three-dimensional problems. A surface-intrinsic co-ordinate system which facilities representation of general free surface shapes is used. Using a Galerkin finite element method (GFEM), two free surface updates, namely kinematic and normal stress updates are formulated. It is shown that the effects of surface tension, surface tension gradients and imposition of contact angles can be simulated elegantly within the framework of the GFEM. A novel feature of the updates is that the deformations are sought in a direction normal to the current iterate free surface shape, with the result that the method is ideally suited when used in conjunction with an automatic mesh generator. With the normal stress update a volume constraint can also be imposed. A segregated method is utilized to solve iteratively one degree of freedom at a time for the solution of the flow variables. As a result, the memory and disc space requirements are minimal. Sample problems in extrusion, coating and crystal growth are presented to clearly illustrate the convergence behaviour and accuracy of the algorithm.