Computation of unsteady viscous incompressible flows in generalized non‐inertial co‐ordinate system using Godunov‐projection method and overlapping meshes

Time‐dependent incompressible Navier–Stokes equations are formulated in generalized non‐inertial co‐ordinate system and numerically solved by using a modified second‐order Godunov‐projection method on a system of overlapped body‐fitted structured grids. The projection method uses a second‐order fractional step scheme in which the momentum equation is solved to obtain the intermediate velocity field which is then projected on to the space of divergence‐free vector fields. The second‐order Godunov method is applied for numerically approximating the non‐linear convection terms in order to provide a robust discretization for simulating flows at high Reynolds number. In order to obtain the pressure field, the pressure Poisson equation is solved. Overlapping grids are used to discretize the flow domain so that the moving‐boundary problem can be solved economically. Numerical results are then presented to demonstrate the performance of this projection method for a variety of unsteady two‐ and three‐dimensional flow problems formulated in the non‐inertial co‐ordinate systems. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parallel computation of viscous incompressible flows using Godunov‐projection method on overlapping grids

The Godunov‐projection method is implemented on a system of overlapping structured grids for solving the time‐dependent incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. This projection method uses a second‐order fractional step scheme in which the momentum equation is solved to obtain the intermediate velocity field which is then projected on to the space of divergence‐free vector fields. The Godunov procedure is applied to estimate the non‐linear convective term in order to provide a robust discretization of this terms at high Reynolds number. In order to obtain the pressure field, a separate procedure is applied in this modified Godunov‐projection method, where the pressure Poisson equation is solved. Overlapping grids are used to discretize the flow domain, as they offer the flexibility of simplifying the grid generation around complex geometrical domains. This combination of projection method and overlapping grid is also parallelized and reasonable parallel efficiency is achieved. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the performance of this combination of the Godunov‐projection method and the overlapping grid. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A 3D second‐order accurate projection‐based Finite Volume code on non‐staggered,non‐uniform structured grids with continuity preserving properties: application to buoyancy‐driven flows

It is well known that exact projection methods (EPM) on non‐staggered grids suffer for the presence of non‐solenoidal spurious modes. Hence, a formulation for simulating time‐dependent incompressible flows while allowing the discrete continuity equation to be satisfied up to machine‐accuracy, by using a Finite Volume‐based second‐order accurate projection method on non‐staggered and non‐uniform 3D grids, is illustrated. The procedure exploits the Helmholtz–Hodge decomposition theorem for deriving an additional velocity field that enforces the discrete continuity without altering the vorticity field. This is accomplished by first solving an elliptic equation on a compact stencil that is by performing a standard approximate projection method (APM). In such a way, three sets of divergence‐free normal‐to‐face velocities can be computed. Then, a second elliptic equation for a scalar field is derived by prescribing that its additional discrete gradient ensures the continuity constraint based on the adopted linear interpolation of the velocity. Characteristics of the double projection method (DPM) are illustrated in details and stability and accuracy of the method are addressed. The resulting numerical scheme is then applied to laminar buoyancy‐driven flows and is proved to be stable and efficient. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Remarks on the links between low‐order DG methods and some finite‐difference schemes for the Stokes problem

In this paper we demonstrate that some well‐known finite‐difference schemes can be interpreted within the framework of the local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) methods using the low‐order piecewise solenoidal discrete spaces introduced in (SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 1990; 27 (6): 1466–1485). In particular, it appears that it is possible to derive the well‐known MAC scheme using a first‐order Nédélec approximation on rectangular cells. It has been recently interpreted within the framework of the Raviart–Thomas approximation by Kanschat (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids 2007; published online). The two approximations are algebraically equivalent to the MAC scheme, however, they have to be applied on grids that are staggered on a distance h/2 in each direction. This paper also demonstrates that both discretizations allow for the construction of a divergence‐free basis, which yields a linear system with a ‘biharmonic’ conditioning. Both this paper and Kanschat (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids 2007; published online) demonstrate that the LDG framework can be used to generalize some popular finite‐difference schemes to grids that are not parallel to the coordinate axes or that are unstructured. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Acoustic upwinding for sub‐ and super‐sonic turbulent channel flow at low Reynolds number

A recently developed asymmetric implicit fifth‐order scheme with acoustic upwinding for the spatial discretization for the characteristic waves is applied to the fully compressible, viscous and non‐stationary Navier–Stokes equations for sub‐ and super‐sonic, mildly turbulent, channel flow (Re_τ=360). For a Mach number of 0.1, results are presented for uniform (32³, 64³ and 128³) and non‐uniform (expanding wall‐normal, 32³ and 64³) grids and compared to the (incompressible) reference solution found in (J. Fluid. Mech. 1987; 177 :133–166). The results for uniform grids on 128³ and 64³ nodes show high resemblance with the reference solution. Expanding grids are applied on 64³‐ and 32³‐node grids. The capability of the proposed technique to solve compressible flow is first demonstrated by increasing the Mach number to 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 for isentropic flow on the uniform 64³‐grid. Next, the flow speed is increased to Ma=2. The results for the isothermal‐wall supersonic flows give very good agreement with known literature results. The velocity field, the temperature and their fluctuations are well resolved. This means that in all presented (sub‐ and super‐sonic) cases, the combination of acoustic upwinding and the asymmetric high‐order scheme provides sufficient high wave‐number damping and low wave‐number accuracy to give numerically stable and accurate results. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A non‐diffusive,divergence‐free,finite volume‐based double projection method on non‐staggered grids

Second‐order accurate projection methods for simulating time‐dependent incompressible flows on cell‐centred grids substantially belong to the class either of exact or approximate projections. In the exact method, the continuity constraint can be satisfied to machine‐accuracy but the divergence and Laplacian operators show a four‐dimension nullspace therefore spurious oscillating solutions can be introduced. In the approximate method, the continuity constraint is relaxed, the continuity equation being satisfied up to the magnitude of the local truncation error, but the compact Laplacian operator has only the constant mode. An original formulation for allowing the discrete continuity equation to be satisfied to machine‐accuracy, while using a finite volume based projection method, is illustrated. The procedure exploits the Helmholtz–Hodge decomposition theorem for deriving an additional velocity field that enforces the discrete continuity without altering the vorticity field. This is accomplished by solving a second elliptic field for a scalar field obtained by prescribing that its additional discrete gradients ensure discrete continuity based on the previously adopted linear interpolation of the velocity. The resulting numerical scheme is applied to several flow problems and is proved to be accurate, stable and efficient. This paper has to be considered as the companion of: 'F. M. Denaro, A 3D second‐order accurate projection‐based finite volume code on non‐staggered, non‐uniform structured grids with continuity preserving properties: application to buoyancy‐driven flows. IJNMF 2006; 52 (4):393–432. Now, we illustrate the details and the rigorous theoretical framework. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A locally conservative,discontinuous least‐squares finite element method for the Stokes equations

Conventional least‐squares finite element methods (LSFEMs) for incompressible flows conserve mass only approximately. For some problems, mass loss levels are large and result in unphysical solutions. In this paper we formulate a new, locally conservative LSFEM for the Stokes equations wherein a discrete velocity field is computed that is point‐wise divergence free on each element. The central idea is to allow discontinuous velocity approximations and then to define the velocity field on each element using a local stream‐function. The effect of the new LSFEM approach on improved local and global mass conservation is compared with a conventional LSFEM for the Stokes equations employing standard C⁰ Lagrangian elements. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A family of multi‐point flux approximation schemes for general element types in two and three dimensions with convergence performance

A family of flux‐continuous, locally conservative, control‐volume‐distributed multi‐point flux approximation (CVD‐MPFA) schemes has been developed for solving the general geometry‐permeability tensor pressure equation on structured and unstructured grids. These schemes are applicable to the full‐tensor pressure equation with generally discontinuous coefficients and remove the O(1) errors introduced by standard reservoir simulation schemes when applied to full‐tensor flow approximation. The family of flux‐continuous schemes is characterized by a quadrature parameterization. Improved numerical convergence for the family of CVD‐MPFA schemes using the quadrature parameterization has been observed for structured and unstructured grids in two dimensions. The CVD‐MPFA family cell‐vertex formulation is extended to classical general element types in 3‐D including prisms, pyramids, hexahedra and tetrahedra. A numerical convergence study of the CVD‐MPFA schemes on general unstructured grids comprising of triangular elements in 2‐D and prismatic, pyramidal, hexahedral and tetrahedral shape elements in 3‐D is presented. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effects of control‐volume distributed multi‐point flux approximation (CVD‐MPFA) on upscaling—A study using the CVD‐MPFA schemes

A family of flux‐continuous, locally conservative, finite‐volume schemes has been developed for solving the general geometry‐permeability tensor (petroleum reservoir‐simulation) pressure equation on structured and unstructured grids and are control‐volume distributed (textit Comput. Geo. 1998; 2 :259–290; Comput. Geo. 2002; 6 :433–452). The schemes are applicable to diagonal and full tensor pressure equation with generally discontinuous coefficients and remove the O(1) errors introduced by standard reservoir‐simulation schemes (two‐point flux approximation) when applied to full tensor flow approximation. The family of flux‐continuous schemes is quantified by a quadrature parameterization (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids 2006; 51 :1177–1203). Improved convergence (for two‐ and three‐dimensional formulation) using the quadrature parameterization has been observed for the family of flux‐continuous control‐volume distributed multi‐point flux approximation (CVD‐MPFA) schemes (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Wales, Swansea, U.K., 2007). In this paper family of flux‐continuous (CVD‐MPFA) schemes are used as a part of numerical upscaling procedure for upscaling the fine‐scale grid information (permeability) onto a coarse grid scale. A series of data‐sets (SPE, 2001) are tested where the upscaled permeability tensor is computed on a sequence of grid levels using the same fixed range of quadrature points in each case. The refinement studies presented involve:

• (i) Refinement comparison study: In this study, permeability distribution for cells at each grid level is obtained by upscaling directly from the fine‐scale permeability field as in standard simulation practice.
• (ii) Refinement study with renormalized permeability: In this refinement comparison, the local permeability is upscaled to the next grid level hierarchically, so that permeability values are renormalized to each coarser level. Hence, showing only the effect of increased grid resolution on upscaled permeability, compared with that obtained directly from the fine‐scale solution.
• (iii) Refinement study with invariant permeability distribution: In this study, a classical mathematical convergence test is performed. The same coarse‐scale underlying permeability map is preserved on all grid levels including the fine‐scale reference solution.

The study is carried out for the discretization of the scheme in physical space. The benefit of using specific quadrature points is demonstrated for upscaling in this study and superconvergence is observed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A discontinuous Galerkin‐based sharp‐interface method to simulate three‐dimensional compressible two‐phase flow

A numerical method for the simulation of compressible two‐phase flows is presented in this paper. The sharp‐interface approach consists of several components: a discontinuous Galerkin solver for compressible fluid flow, a level‐set tracking algorithm to follow the movement of the interface and a coupling of both by a ghost‐fluid approach with use of a local Riemann solver at the interface. There are several novel techniques used: the discontinuous Galerkin scheme allows locally a subcell resolution to enhance the interface resolution and an interior finite volume Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) approximation at the interface. The level‐set equation is solved by the same discontinuous Galerkin scheme. To obtain a very good approximation of the interface curvature, the accuracy of the level‐set field is improved and smoothed by an additional P_NP_M‐reconstruction. The capabilities of the method for the simulation of compressible two‐phase flow are demonstrated for a droplet at equilibrium, an oscillating ellipsoidal droplet, and a shock‐droplet interaction problem at Mach 3. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anisotropy favoring triangulation CVD(MPFA) finite‐volume approximations

A family of flux‐continuous, control‐volume distributed multi‐point flux approximation schemes CVD (MPFA) have been developed for solving the general geometry‐permeability tensor pressure equation on structured and unstructured grids (Comput. Geo. 1998; 2 : 259–290, Comput. Geo. 2002; 6 : 433–452). The locally conservative schemes are applicable to the diagonal and full‐tensor pressure equation with generally discontinuous coefficients and remove the O(1) errors introduced by standard reservoir simulation schemes when applied to full‐tensor flow approximation. The family of flux‐continuous schemes is quantified by a quadrature parameterization. Improved numerical convergence for the family of CVD(MPFA) schemes for specified quadrature points has been observed for lower anisotropy ratios for both structured and unstructured grids in two dimensions. However, for strong full‐tensor anisotropy fields the quadrilateral schemes can induce strong spurious oscillations in the numerical solution. This paper motivates and demonstrates the benefit of using anisotropy favoring triangulation for treating such cases. Test examples involving strong full‐tensor anisotropy fields are presented in 2‐D and 3‐D, which show that the family of schemes on anisotropy favoring triangulation (prisms in 3‐D) yield well‐resolved pressure fields with little or no spurious oscillations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Positive‐definite q‐families of continuous subcell Darcy‐flux CVD(MPFA) finite‐volume schemes and the mixed finite element method

A new family of locally conservative cell‐centred flux‐continuous schemes is presented for solving the porous media general‐tensor pressure equation. A general geometry‐permeability tensor approximation is introduced that is piecewise constant over the subcells of the control volumes and ensures that the local discrete general tensor is elliptic. A family of control‐volume distributed subcell flux‐continuous schemes are defined in terms of the quadrature parametrization q (Multigrid Methods. Birkhauser: Basel, 1993; Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on the Mathematics of Oil Recovery, Norway, June 1994; Comput. Geosci. 1998; 2 :259–290), where the local position of flux continuity defines the quadrature point and each particular scheme. The subcell tensor approximation ensures that a symmetric positive‐definite (SPD) discretization matrix is obtained for the base member (q=1) of the formulation. The physical‐space schemes are shown to be non‐symmetric for general quadrilateral cells. Conditions for discrete ellipticity of the non‐symmetric schemes are derived with respect to the local symmetric part of the tensor. The relationship with the mixed finite element method is given for both the physical‐space and subcell‐space q‐families of schemes. M‐matrix monotonicity conditions for these schemes are summarized. A numerical convergence study of the schemes shows that while the physical‐space schemes are the most accurate, the subcell tensor approximation reduces solution errors when compared with earlier cell‐wise constant tensor schemes and that subcell tensor approximation using the control‐volume face geometry yields the best SPD scheme results. A particular quadrature point is found to improve numerical convergence of the subcell schemes for the cases tested. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A non‐conforming least‐squares finite element method for incompressible fluid flow problems

In this paper, we develop least‐squares finite element methods (LSFEMs) for incompressible fluid flows with improved mass conservation. Specifically, we formulate a new locally conservative LSFEM for the velocity–vorticity–pressure Stokes system, which uses a piecewise divergence‐free basis for the velocity and standard C⁰ elements for the vorticity and the pressure. The new method, which we term dV‐VP improves upon our previous discontinuous stream‐function formulation in several ways. The use of a velocity basis, instead of a stream function, simplifies the imposition and implementation of the velocity boundary condition, and eliminates second‐order terms from the least‐squares functional. Moreover, the size of the resulting discrete problem is reduced because the piecewise solenoidal velocity element is approximately one‐half of the dimension of a stream‐function element of equal accuracy. In two dimensions, the discontinuous stream‐function LSFEM [1] motivates modification of our functional, which further improves the conservation of mass. We briefly discuss the extension of this modification to three dimensions. Computational studies demonstrate that the new formulation achieves optimal convergence rates and yields high conservation of mass. We also propose a simple diagonal preconditioner for the dV‐VP formulation, which significantly reduces the condition number of the LSFEM problem. Published 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Numerical solution of three‐dimensional velocity–vorticity Navier–Stokes equations by finite difference method

This paper describes the finite difference numerical procedure for solving velocity–vorticity form of the Navier–Stokes equations in three dimensions. The velocity Poisson equations are made parabolic using the false‐transient technique and are solved along with the vorticity transport equations. The parabolic velocity Poisson equations are advanced in time using the alternating direction implicit (ADI) procedure and are solved along with the continuity equation for velocities, thus ensuring a divergence‐free velocity field. The vorticity transport equations in conservative form are solved using the second‐order accurate Adams–Bashforth central difference scheme in order to assure divergence‐free vorticity field in three dimensions. The velocity and vorticity Cartesian components are discretized using a central difference scheme on a staggered grid for accuracy reasons. The application of the ADI procedure for the parabolic velocity Poisson equations along with the continuity equation results in diagonally dominant tri‐diagonal matrix equations. Thus the explicit method for the vorticity equations and the tri‐diagonal matrix algorithm for the Poisson equations combine to give a simplified numerical scheme for solving three‐dimensional problems, which otherwise requires enormous computational effort. For three‐dimensional‐driven cavity flow predictions, the present method is found to be efficient and accurate for the Reynolds number range 100?Re?2000. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new weighted upwind finite volume element method based on non‐standard covolume for time‐dependent convection–diffusion problems

In modern numerical simulation of problems in energy resources and environmental science, it is important to develop efficient numerical methods for time‐dependent convection–diffusion problems. On the basis of nonstandard covolume grids, we propose a new kind of high‐order upwind finite volume element method for the problems. We first prove the stability and mass conservation in the discrete forms of the scheme. Optimal second‐order error estimate in L₂‐norm in spatial step is then proved strictly. The scheme is effective for avoiding numerical diffusion and nonphysical oscillations and has second‐order accuracy. Numerical experiments are given to verify the performance of the scheme. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Hermite finite element method for incompressible fluid flow

We describe some Hermite stream function and velocity finite elements and a divergence‐free finite element method for the computation of incompressible flow. Divergence‐free velocity bases defined on (but not limited to) rectangles are presented, which produce pointwise divergence‐free flow fields (∇· u _h≡0). The discrete velocity satisfies a flow equation that does not involve pressure. The pressure can be recovered as a function of the velocity if needed. The method is formulated in primitive variables and applied to the stationary lid‐driven cavity and backward‐facing step test problems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐coupled air/water immersed boundary approach for curvilinear dynamic overset grids with application to ship hydrodynamics

For many problems in ship hydrodynamics, the effects of air flow on the water flow are negligible (the frequently called free surface conditions), but the air flow around the ship is still of interest. A method is presented where the water flow is decoupled from the air solution, but the air flow uses the unsteady water flow as a boundary condition. The authors call this a semi‐coupled air/water flow approach. The method can be divided into two steps. At each time step the free surface water flow is computed first with a single‐phase method assuming constant pressure and zero stress on the interface. The second step is to compute the air flow assuming the free surface as a moving immersed boundary (IB). The IB method developed for Cartesian grids (Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech. 2005; 37 :239–261) is extended to curvilinear grids, where no‐slip and continuity conditions are used to enforce velocity and pressure boundary conditions for the air flow. The forcing points close to the IB can be computed and corrected under a sharp interface condition, which makes the computation very stable. The overset implementation is similar to that of the single‐phase solver (Comput. Fluids 2007; 36 :1415–1433), with the difference that points in water are set as IB points even if they are fringe points. Pressure–velocity coupling through pressure implicit with splitting of operators or projection methods is used for water computations, and a projection method is used for the air. The method on each fluid is a single‐phase method, thus avoiding ill‐conditioned numerical systems caused by large differences of fluid properties between air and water. The computation is only slightly slower than the single‐phase version, with complete absence of spurious velocity oscillations near the free surface, frequently present in fully coupled approaches. Validations are performed for laminar Couette flow over a wavy boundary by comparing with the analytical solution, and for the surface combatant model David Taylor Model Basin (DTMB) 5512 by comparing with Experimental Fluid Dynamics (EFD) and the results of two‐phase level set computations. Complex flow computations are demonstrated for the ONR Tumblehome DTMB 5613 with superstructure subject to waves and wind, including 6DOF motions and broaching in SS7 irregular waves and wind. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Efficient preconditioning techniques for finite‐element quadratic discretization arising from linearized incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

We develop an efficient preconditioning techniques for the solution of large linearized stationary and non‐stationary incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. These equations are linearized by the Picard and Newton methods, and linear extrapolation schemes in the non‐stationary case. The time discretization procedure uses the Gear scheme and the second‐order Taylor–Hood element P₂?P₁ is used for the approximation of the velocity and the pressure. Our purpose is to develop an efficient preconditioner for saddle point systems. Our tools are the addition of stabilization (penalization) term r?(div(·)), and the use of triangular block matrix as global preconditioner. This preconditioner involves the solution of two subsystems associated, respectively, with the velocity and the pressure and have to be solved efficiently. Furthermore, we use the P₁?P₂ hierarchical preconditioner recently proposed by the authors, for the block matrix associated with the velocity and an additive approach for the Schur complement approximation. Finally, several numerical examples illustrating the good performance of the preconditioning techniques are presented. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An efficient and accurate fully discrete finite element method for unsteady incompressible Oldroyd fluids with large time step

This paper proposes a second‐order accuracy in time fully discrete finite element method for the Oldroyd fluids of order one. This new approach is based on a finite element approximation for the space discretization, the Crank–Nicolson/Adams–Bashforth scheme for the time discretization and the trapezoid rule for the integral term discretization. It reduces the nonlinear equations to almost unconditionally stable and convergent systems of linear equations that can be solved efficiently and accurately. Here, the numerical simulations for L², H¹ error estimates of the velocity and L² error estimates of the pressure at different values of viscoelastic viscosities α, different values of relaxation time λ₁, different values of null viscosity coefficient μ₀ are shown. In addition, two benchmark problems of Oldroyd fluids with different solvent viscosity μ and different relaxation time λ₁ are simulated. All numerical results perfectly match with the theoretical analysis and show that the developed approach gives a high accuracy to simulate the Oldroyd fluids under a large time step. Furthermore, the difference and the connection between the Newton fluids and the viscoelastic Oldroyd fluids are displayed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.