An hybrid finite volume–finite element method for variable density incompressible flows

This paper is devoted to the numerical simulation of variable density incompressible flows, modeled by the Navier–Stokes system. We introduce an hybrid scheme which combines a finite volume approach for treating the mass conservation equation and a finite element method to deal with the momentum equation and the divergence free constraint. The breakthrough relies on the definition of a suitable footbridge between the two methods, through the design of compatibility condition. In turn, the method is very flexible and allows to deal with unstructured meshes. Several numerical tests are performed to show the scheme capabilities. In particular, the viscous Rayleigh–Taylor instability evolution is carefully investigated.     

A coupled solid–fluid method for modelling subduction

We present a novel dynamic approach for solid–fluid coupling by joining two different numerical methods: the boundary-element method (BEM) and the finite element method (FEM). The FEM results describe the thermomechanical evolution of the solid while the fluid is solved with the BEM. The bidirectional feedback between the two domains evolves along a Lagrangian interface where the FEM domain is embedded inside the BEM domain. The feedback between the two codes is based on the calculation of a specific drag tensor for each boundary on finite element. The approach is presented here to solve the complex problem of the descent of a cold subducting oceanic plate into a hot fluid-like mantle. The coupling technique is shown to maintain the proper energy dissipation caused by the important secondary induced mantle flow induced by the lateral migrating of the subducting plate. We show how the method can be successfully applied for modelling the feedback between deformation of the oceanic plate and the induced mantle flow. We find that the mantle flow drag is singular at the edge of the retreating plate causing a distinct hook shape. In nature, such hooks can be observed at the northern end of the Tonga trench and at the southern perimeter, of the South American trench.     

A volume penalization method for incompressible flows and scalar advection–diffusion with moving obstacles

A volume penalization method for imposing homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions in advection–diffusion equations is presented. Thus complex geometries which even may vary in time can be treated efficiently using discretizations on a Cartesian grid. A mathematical analysis of the method is conducted first for the one-dimensional heat equation which yields estimates of the penalization error. The results are then confirmed numerically in one and two space dimensions. Simulations of two-dimensional incompressible flows with passive scalars using a classical Fourier pseudo-spectral method validate the approach for moving obstacles. The potential of the method for real world applications is illustrated by simulating a simplified dynamical mixer where for the fluid flow and the scalar transport no-slip and no-flux boundary conditions are imposed, respectively.     

A 6th order staggered compact finite difference method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes and scalar transport equations

In a previous paper we have developed a staggered compact finite difference method for the compressible Navier–Stokes equations. In this paper we will extend this method to the case of incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. In an incompressible flow conservation of mass is ensured by the well known pressure correction method  and . The advection and diffusion terms are discretized with 6th order spatial accuracy. The discrete Poisson equation, which has to be solved in the pressure correction step, has the same spatial accuracy as the advection and diffusion operators. The equations are integrated in time with a third order Adams–Bashforth method. Results are presented for a 1D advection–diffusion equation, a 2D lid driven cavity at a Reynolds number of 1000 and 10,000 and finally a 3D fully developed turbulent duct flow at a bulk Reynolds number of 5400. In all cases the methods show excellent agreement with analytical and other numerical and experimental work.     

A nonconforming finite element method for the Cahn–Hilliard equation

This paper reports a fully discretized scheme for the Cahn–Hilliard equation. The method uses a convexity-splitting scheme to discretize in the temporal variable and a nonconforming finite element method to discretize in the spatial variable. And, the scheme can preserve the mass conservation and energy dissipation properties of the original problem. Some typical phase transition phenomena are also observed through the numerical examples.     

A direct-forcing embedded-boundary method with adaptive mesh refinement for fluid–structure interaction problems

In the present work we developed a structured adaptive mesh refinement (S-AMR) strategy for fluid–structure interaction problems in laminar and turbulent incompressible flows. The computational grid consists of a number of nested grid blocks at different refinement levels. The coarsest grid blocks always cover the entire computational domain, and local refinement is achieved by the bisection of selected blocks in every coordinate direction. The grid topology and data-structure is managed using the Paramesh toolkit. The filtered Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible flow are advanced in time using an explicit second-order projection scheme, where all spatial derivatives are approximated using second-order central differences on a staggered grid. For transitional and turbulent flow regimes the large-eddy simulation (LES) approach is used, where special attention is paid on the discontinuities introduced by the local refinement. For all the fluid–structure interaction problems reported in this study the complete set of equations governing the dynamics of the flow and the structure are simultaneously advanced in time using a predictor–corrector strategy. An embedded-boundary method is utilized to enforce the boundary conditions on a complex moving body which is not aligned with the grid lines. Several examples of increasing complexity are given to demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the proposed formulation.     

A Fourier spectral method for the Navier–Stokes equations with volume penalization for moving solid obstacles

An efficient numerical scheme to compute flows past rigid solid bodies moving through viscous incompressible fluid is presented. Solid obstacles of arbitrary shape are taken into account using the volume penalization method to impose no-slip boundary condition. The 2D Navier–Stokes equations, written in the vorticity-streamfunction formulation, are discretized using a Fourier pseudo-spectral scheme. Four different time discretization schemes of the penalization term are proposed and compared. The originality of the present work lies in the implementation of time-dependent penalization, which makes the above method capable of solving problems where the obstacle follows an arbitrary motion. Fluid–solid coupling for freely falling bodies is also implemented. The numerical method is validated for different test cases: the flow past a cylinder, Couette flow between rotating cylinders, sedimentation of a cylinder and a falling leaf with elliptical shape.     

A finite element method with mesh adaptivity for computing vortex states in fast-rotating Bose–Einstein condensates

Numerical computations of stationary states of fast-rotating Bose–Einstein condensates require high spatial resolution due to the presence of a large number of quantized vortices. In this paper we propose a low-order finite element method with mesh adaptivity by metric control, as an alternative approach to the commonly used high-order (finite difference or spectral) approximation methods. The mesh adaptivity is used with two different numerical algorithms to compute stationary vortex states: an imaginary time propagation method and a Sobolev gradient descent method. We first address the basic issue of the choice of the variable used to compute new metrics for the mesh adaptivity and show that refinement using simultaneously the real and imaginary part of the solution is successful. Mesh refinement using only the modulus of the solution as adaptivity variable fails for complicated test cases. Then we suggest an optimized algorithm for adapting the mesh during the evolution of the solution towards the equilibrium state. Considerable computational time saving is obtained compared to uniform mesh computations. The new method is applied to compute difficult cases relevant for physical experiments (large nonlinear interaction constant and high rotation rates).     

A multi-block ADI finite-volume method for incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in complex geometries

An efficient second-order accurate finite-volume method is developed for a solution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations on complex multi-block structured curvilinear grids. Unlike in the finite-volume or finite-difference-based alternating-direction-implicit (ADI) methods, where factorization of the coordinate transformed governing equations is performed along generalized coordinate directions, in the proposed method, the discretized Cartesian form Navier–Stokes equations are factored along curvilinear grid lines. The new ADI finite-volume method is also extended for simulations on multi-block structured curvilinear grids with which complex geometries can be efficiently resolved. The numerical method is first developed for an unsteady convection–diffusion equation, then is extended for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The order of accuracy and stability characteristics of the present method are analyzed in simulations of an unsteady convection–diffusion problem, decaying vortices, flow in a lid-driven cavity, flow over a circular cylinder, and turbulent flow through a planar channel. Numerical solutions predicted by the proposed ADI finite-volume method are found to be in good agreement with experimental and other numerical data, while the solutions are obtained at much lower computational cost than those required by other iterative methods without factorization. For a simulation on a grid with O(10⁵) cells, the computational time required by the present ADI-based method for a solution of momentum equations is found to be less than 20% of that required by a method employing a biconjugate-gradient-stabilized scheme.     

A full Eulerian finite difference approach for solving fluid–structure coupling problems

A new simulation method for solving fluid–structure coupling problems has been developed. All the basic equations are numerically solved on a fixed Cartesian grid using a finite difference scheme. A volume-of-fluid formulation [Hirt, Nichols, J. Comput. Phys. 39 (1981) 201], which has been widely used for multiphase flow simulations, is applied to describing the multi-component geometry. The temporal change in the solid deformation is described in the Eulerian frame by updating a left Cauchy-Green deformation tensor, which is used to express constitutive equations for nonlinear Mooney–Rivlin materials. In this paper, various verifications and validations of the present full Eulerian method, which solves the fluid and solid motions on a fixed grid, are demonstrated, and the numerical accuracy involved in the fluid–structure coupling problems is examined.     

Artificial compressibility method revisited: Asymptotic numerical method for incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

The artificial compressibility method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations is revived as a high order accurate numerical method (fourth order in space and second order in time). Similar to the lattice Boltzmann method, the mesh spacing is linked to the Mach number. An accuracy higher than that of the lattice Boltzmann method is achieved by exploiting the asymptotic behavior of the solution of the artificial compressibility equations for small Mach numbers and the simple lattice structure. An easy method for accelerating the decay of acoustic waves, which deteriorate the quality of the numerical solution, and a simple cure for the checkerboard instability are proposed. The high performance of the scheme is demonstrated not only for the periodic boundary condition but also for the Dirichlet-type boundary condition.     

A cell-centered adaptive projection method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in three dimensions

We present a method for computing incompressible viscous flows in three dimensions using block-structured local refinement in both space and time. This method uses a projection formulation based on a cell-centered approximate projection, combined with the systematic use of multilevel elliptic solvers to compute increments in the solution generated at boundaries between refinement levels due to refinement in time. We use an L₀-stable second-order semi-implicit scheme to evaluate the viscous terms. Results are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of this approach.     

Numerically stable fluid–structure interactions between compressible flow and solid structures

We propose a novel method to implicitly two-way couple Eulerian compressible flow to volumetric Lagrangian solids. The method works for both deformable and rigid solids and for arbitrary equations of state. The method exploits the formulation of [11] which solves compressible fluid in a semi-implicit manner, solving for the advection part explicitly and then correcting the intermediate state to time tⁿ⁺¹ using an implicit pressure, obtained by solving a modified Poisson system. Similar to previous fluid–structure interaction methods, we apply pressure forces to the solid and enforce a velocity boundary condition on the fluid in order to satisfy a no-slip constraint. Unlike previous methods, however, we apply these coupled interactions implicitly by adding the constraint to the pressure system and combining it with any implicit solid forces in order to obtain a strongly coupled, symmetric indefinite system (similar to [17], which only handles incompressible flow). We also show that, under a few reasonable assumptions, this system can be made symmetric positive-definite by following the methodology of [16]. Because our method handles the fluid–structure interactions implicitly, we avoid introducing any new time step restrictions and obtain stable results even for high density-to-mass ratios, where explicit methods struggle or fail. We exactly conserve momentum and kinetic energy (thermal fluid–structure interactions are not considered) at the fluid–structure interface, and hence naturally handle highly non-linear phenomenon such as shocks, contacts and rarefactions.     

A hybrid finite element–energy finite element method for mid-frequency vibrations of built-up structures under multi-distributed loadings

In this study, a hybrid method combining finite element analysis and energy finite element analysis is developed to predict the vibrations of built-up structures in mid-frequency, and the associated general formulations are derived. The interactions between the structural components are modeled using a global matrix of the system and the reverberant blocked force. To validate the proposed method, three examples of different built-up structural systems, subjected to different types of excitations, are analyzed and discussed. These types of excitations are single point, multipoint and distributed forces on stiff member or flexible member. The results predicted by the presented method show good agreements with the dense finite element model, and the detailed local energies of the whole system are acquired under the different regional loadings. These results indicate that the proposed method can be utilized for the prediction of vibrations in the mid-frequency range.     

A monotone finite volume method for advection–diffusion equations on unstructured polygonal meshes

We present a new second-order accurate monotone finite volume (FV) method for the steady-state advection–diffusion equation. The method uses a nonlinear approximation for both diffusive and advective fluxes and guarantees solution non-negativity. The interpolation-free approximation of the diffusive flux uses the nonlinear two-point stencil proposed in Lipnikov [23]. Approximation of the advective flux is based on the second-order upwind method with a specially designed minimal nonlinear correction. The second-order convergence rate and monotonicity are verified with numerical experiments.     

A novel pressure–velocity formulation and solution method for fluid–structure interaction problems

In the standard approach for simulating fluid–structure interaction problems the solution of the set of equations for solids provides the three displacement components while the solution of equations for fluids provides the three velocity components and pressure. In the present paper a novel reformulation of the elastodynamic equations for Hookean solids is proposed so that they contain the same unknowns as the Navier–Stokes equations, namely velocities and pressure. A separate equation for pressure correction is derived from the constitutive equation of the solid material. The system of equations for both media is discretised using the same method (finite volume on collocated grids) and the same iterative technique (SIMPLE algorithm) is employed for the pressure–velocity coupling. With this approach, the continuity of the velocity field at the interface is automatically satisfied. A special pressure correction procedure that enforces the compatibility of stresses at the interface is also developed. The new method is employed for the prediction of pressure wave propagation in an elastic tube. Computations were carried out with different meshes and time steps and compared with available analytic solutions as well as with numerical results obtained using the Flügge equations that describe the deformation of thin shells. For all cases examined the method showed very good performance.     

Weighted-density approaches for polymer structure at solid–polymer interfaces

Weighted-density approximations (WDAs), which are based on the weighting function for the second-order direct correlation functions (DCFs) of the uniform polymeric fluids, have been developed to investigate the structural and thermodynamic properties of polymer melts at interfaces. The advantage is the simplicity of calculation of the weighting functions and their accuracies in the applications. They were applied to study the local density distributions and adsorption isotherms of the freely jointed tangent hard-sphere chain, Yukawa chain, and hard-sphere chain mixture in slit pores. The polymer reference interaction model (PRISM) integral equation with the Percus–Yevick (PY) closure has been used to calculate the second-order DCF of the polymeric fluids required as inputs. The mean-field approximation (MFA) has been used to calculate the weighting function for the attractive contribution of a freely jointed tangent Yukawa chain fluid, having attraction among the beads. The calculated results show that (i) for the freely jointed tangent hard-sphere chain, the present theory is in excellent agreement with the computer simulations over a wide range of chain lengths and bulk densities, (ii) the WDA approach for the attraction provides an accurate method for the local density distributions of a freely jointed tangent Yukawa chain fluid, and that (iii) the present theory also yields a reasonably good result for the structural properties of the freely jointed hard-sphere chain mixtures composed of the chain and monomer.     

Space–time discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for two-fluid flows

A novel numerical method for two-fluid flow computations is presented, which combines the space–time discontinuous Galerkin finite element discretization with the level set method and cut-cell based interface tracking. The space–time discontinuous Galerkin (STDG) finite element method offers high accuracy, an inherent ability to handle discontinuities and a very local stencil, making it relatively easy to combine with local hp-refinement. The front tracking is incorporated via cut-cell mesh refinement to ensure a sharp interface between the fluids. To compute the interface dynamics the level set method (LSM) is used because of its ability to deal with merging and breakup. Also, the LSM is easy to extend to higher dimensions. Small cells arising from the cut-cell refinement are merged to improve the stability and performance. The interface conditions are incorporated in the numerical flux at the interface and the STDG discretization ensures that the scheme is conservative as long as the numerical fluxes are conservative. The numerical method is applied to one and two dimensional two-fluid test problems using the Euler equations.     

An interface treating technique for compressible multi-medium flow with Runge–Kutta discontinuous Galerkin method

The high-order accurate Runge–Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) method is applied to the simulation of compressible multi-medium flow, generalizing the interface treating method given in Chertock et al. (2008) [9]. In mixed cells, where the interface is located, Riemann problems are solved to define the states on both sides of the interface. The input states to the Riemann problem are obtained by extrapolation to the cell boundary from solution polynomials in the neighbors of the mixed cell. The level set equation is solved by using a high-order accurate RKDG method for Hamilton–Jacobi equations, resulting in a unified DG solver for the coupled problem. The method is conservative if we include the states in the mixed cells, which are however not used in the updating of the numerical solution in other cells. The states in the mixed cells are plotted to better evaluate the conservation errors, manifested by overshoots/undershoots when compared with states in neighboring cells. These overshoots/undershoots in mixed cells are problem dependent and change with time. Numerical examples show that the results of our scheme compare well with other methods for one and two-dimensional problems. In particular, the algorithm can capture well complex flow features of the one-dimensional shock entropy wave interaction problem and two-dimensional shock–bubble interaction problem.     

A front-tracking method with Catmull–Clark subdivision surfaces for studying liquid capsules enclosed by thin shells in shear flow

This paper presents a front-tracking method for studying the large deformation of a liquid capsule enclosed by a thin shell in a shear flow. The interaction between the fluid and the shell body is accomplished through an implicit immersed boundary method. An improved thin-shell model for computing the forces acting on the shell middle surface during the deformation is described in surface curvilinear coordinates and within the framework of the principle of virtual displacements. This thin-shell model takes full account of in-plane tensions and bending moments developing due to the shell thickness and a preferred three-dimensional membrane structure. The approximation of the shell middle surface is performed through the use of the Catmull–Clark subdivision surfaces. The resulting limit surface is C²-continuous everywhere except at a small number of extraordinary nodes where it retains C¹ continuity. The smoothness of the limit surface significantly improves the ability of our method in simulating capsules enclosed by hyperelastic thin shells with different shapes and physical properties. The present numerical technique has been validated by several examples including an inflation of a spherical shell and deformations of spherical, ellipsoidal and biconcave capsules in the shear flow. In addition, different types of motion such as tank-treading, swinging, tumbling and transition from tumbling to swinging have been studied over a range of shear rates, viscosity ratios and bending modulus.