A boundary element method for steady viscous fluid flow using penalty function formulation

A new boundary element method is presented for steady incompressible flow at moderate and high Reynolds numbers. The whole domain is discretized into a number of eight-noded cells, for each of which the governing boundary integral equation is formulated exclusively in terms of velocities and tractions. The kernels used in this paper are the fundamental solutions of the linearized Navier–Stokes equations with artificial compressibility. Significant attention is given to the numerical evaluation of the integrals over quadratic boundary elements as well as over quadratic quadrilateral volume cells in order to ensure a high accuracy level at high Reynolds numbers. As an illustration, square driven cavity flows are considered for Reynolds numbers up to 1000. Numerical results demonstrate both the high convergence rate, even when using simple (direct) iterations, and the appropriate level of accuracy of the proposed method. Although the method yields a high level of accuracy in the primary vortex region, the secondary vortices are not properly resolved. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An adaptive finite element method for forced convection

This paper presents an adaptive finite element method to solve forced convective heat transfer. Solutions are obtained in primitive variables using a high-order finite element approximation on unstructured grids. Two general-purpose error estimators are developed to analyse finite element solutions and to determine the characteristics of an improved mesh which is adaptively regenerated by the advancing front method. The adaptive methodology is validated on a problem with a known analytical solution. The methodology is then applied to heat transfer predictions for two cases of practical interest. Predictions of the Nusselt number compare well with measurements and constitute an improvement over previous results. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A finite volume method for viscous incompressible flows using a consistent flux reconstruction scheme

An incompressible Navier–Stokes solver using curvilinear body‐fitted collocated grid has been developed to solve unconfined flow past arbitrary two‐dimensional body geometries. In this solver, the full Navier–Stokes equations have been solved numerically in the physical plane itself without using any transformation to the computational plane. For the proper coupling of pressure and velocity field on collocated grid, a new scheme, designated ‘consistent flux reconstruction’ (CFR) scheme, has been developed. In this scheme, the cell face centre velocities are obtained explicitly by solving the momentum equations at the centre of the cell faces. The velocities at the cell centres are also updated explicitly by solving the momentum equations at the cell centres. By resorting to such a fully explicit treatment considerable simplification has been achieved compared to earlier approaches. In the present investigation the solver has been applied to unconfined flow past a square cylinder at zero and non‐zero incidence at low and moderate Reynolds numbers and reasonably good agreement has been obtained with results available from literature. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lagrangian finite element analysis applied to viscous free surface fluid flow

A new Lagrangian finite element formulation is presented for time-dependent incompressible free surface fluid flow problems described by the Navier-Stokes equations. The partial differential equations describing the continuum motion of the fluid are discretized using a Galerkin procedure in conjunction with the finite element approximation. Triangular finite elements are used to represent the dependent variables of the problem. An effective time integration procedure is introduced and provides a viable computational method for solving problems with equality of representation of the pressure and velocity fields. Its success has been attributed to the strict enforcement of the continuity constraint at every stage of the iterative process. The capabilities of the analysis procedure and the computer programs are demonstrated through the solution of several problems in viscous free surface fluid flow. Comparisons of results are presented with previous theoretical, numerical and experimental results.     

Parallel overlapping scheme for viscous incompressible flows

A 3D parallel overlapping scheme for viscous incompressible flow problems is presented that combines the finite element method, which is best suited for analysing flow in any arbitrarily shaped flow geometry, with the finite difference method, which is advantageous in terms of both computing time and computer storage. A modified ABMAC method is used as the solution algorithm, to which a sophisticated time integration scheme proposed by the present authors has been applied. Parallelization is based on the domain decomposition method. The RGB (recursive graph bisection) algorithm is used for the decomposition of the FEM mesh and simple slice decomposition is used for the FDM mesh. Some estimates of the parallel performance of FEM, FDM and overlapping computations are presented. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Convergence properties of high-Reynolds-number separated flow calculations

The convergence properties of an iterative solution technique for the Reduced Navier–Stokes equations are examined for two-dimensional steady subsonic flow over bump and trough geometries. Techniques for decreasing the sensitivity to the initial pressure approximation, for fine meshes in particular, are investigated. They are shown to improve the robustness of the relaxation process and to decrease the computational work required to obtain a converged solution. A semi-coarsening multigrid technique that has previously been found to be particularly advantageous for high-Reynolds-number (Re) flows with flow separation and with highly stretched surface-normal grids is applied herein to further accelerate convergence. Solutions are obtained for the laminar flow over a trough that is more severe than has been considered to date. Sufficient axial grid refinement in this case leads to a shock-like reattachment and, for sufficiently large Re, to a local ‘divergence’ of the numerical computations. This ‘laminar flow breakdown’ appears to be related to an instability associated with high-frequency fine-grid modes that are not resolvable with the present modelling. This behaviour may be indicative of dynamic stall or of incipient transition. The breakdown or instability is shown to be controllable by suitable introduction of transition turbulence models or by laminar flow control, i.e. small amounts of wall suction. This lends further support to the hypothesis that the instability is of a physical rather than numerical character and suggests that full three-dimensional analysis is required to properly capture the flow behaviour. Another inference drawn from this investigation is that there is a need for careful grid refinement studies in high-Re flow computations, since coarser grids may yield oscillation-free solutions that cannot be obtained on finer grids.     

A promising boundary element formulation for three‐dimensional viscous flow

In this paper, a new set of boundary‐domain integral equations is derived from the continuity and momentum equations for three‐dimensional viscous flows. The primary variables involved in these integral equations are velocity, traction, and pressure. The final system of equations entering the iteration procedure only involves velocities and tractions as unknowns. In the use of the continuity equation, a complex‐variable technique is used to compute the divergence of velocity for internal points, while the traction‐recovery method is adopted for boundary points. Although the derived equations are valid for steady, unsteady, compressible, and incompressible problems, the numerical implementation is only focused on steady incompressible flows. Two commonly cited numerical examples and one practical pipe flow problem are presented to validate the derived equations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parallel finite element computation of unsteady incompressible flows

A parallel semi-explicit iterative finite element computational procedure for modelling unsteady incompressible fluid flows is presented. During the procedure, element flux vectors are calculated in parallel and then assembled into global flux vectors. Equilibrium iterations which introduce some ‘local implicitness’ are performed at each time step. The number of equilibrium iterations is governed by an implicitness parameter. The present technique retains the advantages of purely explicit schemes, namely (i) the parallel speed-up is equal to the number of parallel processors if the small communication overhead associated with purely explicit schemes is ignored and (ii) the computation time as well as the core memory required is linearly proportional to the number of elements. The incompressibility condition is imposed by using the artificial compressibility technique. A pressure-averaging technique which allows the use of equal-order interpolations for both velocity and pressure, this simplifying the formulation, is employed. Using a standard Galerkin approximation, three benchmark steady and unsteady problems are solved to demonstrate the accuracy of the procedure. In all calculations the Reynolds number is less than 500. At these Reynolds numbers it was found that the physical dissipation is sufficient to stabilize the convective term with no need for additional upwind-type dissipation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A nodal‐based implementation of a stabilized finite element method for incompressible flow problems

The objective of this paper is twofold. First, a stabilized finite element method (FEM) for the incompressible Navier–Stokes is presented and several numerical experiments are conducted to check its performance. This method is capable of dealing with all the instabilities that the standard Galerkin method presents, namely the pressure instability, the instability arising in convection‐dominated situations and the less popular instabilities found when the Navier–Stokes equations have a dominant Coriolis force or when there is a dominant absorption term arising from the small permeability of the medium where the flow takes place. The second objective is to describe a nodal‐based implementation of the finite element formulation introduced. This implementation is based on an a priori calculation of the integrals appearing in the formulation and then the construction of the matrix and right‐hand side vector of the final algebraic system to be solved. After appropriate approximations, this matrix and this vector can be constructed directly for each nodal point, without the need to loop over the elements, thus making the calculations much faster. In order to be able to do this, all the variables have to be defined at the nodes of the finite element mesh, not on the elements. This is also so for the stabilization parameters of the formulation. However, doing this gives rise to questions regarding the consistency and the conservation properties of the final scheme, which are addressed in this paper. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A stabilized finite element method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations using a hierarchical basis

Stabilized finite element methods have been shown to yield robust, accurate numerical solutions to both the compressible and incompressible Navier–Stokes equations for laminar and turbulent flows. The present work focuses on the application of higher‐order, hierarchical basis functions to the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations using a stabilized finite element method. It is shown on a variety of problems that the most cost‐effective simulations (in terms of CPU time, memory, and disk storage) can be obtained using higher‐order basis functions when compared with the traditional linear basis. In addition, algorithms will be presented for the efficient implementation of these methods within the traditional finite element data structures. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of two‐dimensional channel flow with a partially compliant wall using finite volume–finite difference approach

This paper presents a numerical simulation of steady two‐dimensional channel flow with a partially compliant wall. Navier–Stokes equation is solved using an unstructured finite volume method (FVM). The deformation of the compliant wall is determined by solving a membrane equation using finite difference method (FDM). The membrane equation and Navier–Stokes equation are coupled iteratively to determine the shape of the membrane and the flow field. A spring analogy smoothing technique is applied to the deformed mesh to ensure good mesh quality throughout the computing procedure. Numerical results obtained in the present simulation match well with that in the literature. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parallel large eddy simulation of turbulent flow around MIRA model using linear equal‐order finite element method

A parallel large eddy simulation code that adopts domain decomposition method has been developed for large‐scale computation of turbulent flows around an arbitrarily shaped body. For the temporal integration of the unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes equation, fractional 4‐step splitting algorithm is adopted, and for the modelling of small eddies in turbulent flows, the Smagorinsky model is used. For the parallelization of the code, METIS and Message Passing Interface Libraries are used, respectively, to partition the computational domain and to communicate data between processors. To validate the parallel architecture and to estimate its performance, a three‐dimensional laminar driven cavity flow inside a cubical enclosure has been solved. To validate the turbulence calculation, the turbulent channel flows at Re_τ = 180 and 1050 are simulated and compared with previous results. Then, a backward facing step flow is solved and compared with a DNS result for overall code validation. Finally, the turbulent flow around MIRA model at Re = 2.6 × 10⁶ is simulated by using approximately 6.7 million nodes. Scalability curve obtained from this simulation shows that scalable results are obtained. The calculated drag coefficient agrees better with the experimental result than those previously obtained by using two‐equation turbulence models. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling solitons under the hydrostatic and Boussinesq approximations

An examination of solitary waves in 3D, time‐dependant hydrostatic and Boussinesq numerical models is presented. It is shown that waves in these models will deform and that only the acceleration term in the vertical momentum equation need be included to correct the wave propagation. Modelling of solitary waves propagating near the surface of a small to medium body of water, such as a lake, are used to illustrate the results. The results are also compared with experiments performed by other authors. Then as an improvement, an alternative numerical scheme is used which includes only the vertical acceleration term. Effects of horizontal and vertical diffusion on soliton wave structure is also discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of viscous flow interaction with an elastic membrane

A numerical fluid–structure interaction model is developed for the analysis of viscous flow over elastic membrane structures. The Navier–Stokes equations are discretized on a moving body‐fitted unstructured triangular grid using the finite volume method, taking into account grid non‐orthogonality, and implementing the SIMPLE algorithm for pressure solution, power law implicit differencing and Rhie–Chow explicit mass flux interpolations. The membrane is discretized as a set of links that coincide with a subset of the fluid mesh edges. A new model is introduced to distribute local and global elastic effects to aid stability of the structure model and damping effects are also included. A pseudo‐structural approach using a balance of mesh edge spring tensions and cell internal pressures controls the motion of fluid mesh nodes based on the displacements of the membrane. Following initial validation, the model is applied to the case of a two‐dimensional membrane pinned at both ends at an angle of attack of 4° to the oncoming flow, at a Reynolds number based on the chord length of 4 × 10³. A series of tests on membranes of different elastic stiffness investigates their unsteady movements over time. The membranes of higher elastic stiffness adopt a stable equilibrium shape, while the membrane of lowest elastic stiffness demonstrates unstable interactions between its inflated shape and the resulting unsteady wake. These unstable effects are shown to be significantly magnified by the flexible nature of the membrane compared with a rigid surface of the same average shape. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polygonal finite elements for incompressible fluid flow

We discuss the use of polygonal finite elements for analysis of incompressible flow problems. It is well‐known that the stability of mixed finite element discretizations is governed by the so‐called inf‐sup condition, which, in this case, depends on the choice of the discrete velocity and pressure spaces. We present a low‐order choice of these spaces defined over convex polygonal partitions of the domain that satisfies the inf‐sup condition and, as such, does not admit spurious pressure modes or exhibit locking. Within each element, the pressure field is constant while the velocity is represented by the usual isoparametric transformation of a linearly‐complete basis. Thus, from a practical point of view, the implementation of the method is classical and does not require any special treatment. We present numerical results for both incompressible Stokes and stationary Navier–Stokes problems to verify the theoretical results regarding stability and convergence of the method. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adaptive meshing techniques for viscous flow calculations on mixed element unstructured meshes

An adaptive refinement strategy based on hierarchical element subdivision is formulated and implemented for meshes containing arbitrary mixtures of tetrahedra, hexahedra, prisms, and pyramids. Special attention is given to keeping memory overheads as low as possible. This procedure is coupled with an algebraic multigrid flow solver, which operates on mixed element meshes. Inviscid flows, as well as viscous flows, are computed on adaptively refined tetrahedral, hexahedral, and hybrid meshes. The efficiency of the method is demonstrated by generating an adapted hexahedral mesh containing 3 million vertices on a relatively inexpensive workstation. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new stable space–time formulation for two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional incompressible viscous flow

A space–time finite element method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in a bounded domain in ?^d (with d=2 or 3) is presented. The method is based on the time‐discontinuous Galerkin method with the use of simplex‐type meshes together with the requirement that the space–time finite element discretization for the velocity and the pressure satisfy the inf–sup stability condition of Brezzi and Babu?ka. The finite element discretization for the pressure consists of piecewise linear functions, while piecewise linear functions enriched with a bubble function are used for the velocity. The stability proof and numerical results for some two‐dimensional problems are presented. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulation of free and forced convection incompressible flows using an adaptive parallel/vector finite element procedure

The numerical simulation of complex flows demands efficient algorithms and fast computer platforms. The use of adaptive techniques permits adjusting the discretisation according to the analysis requirements, but creates variable computational loads that are difficult to manage in a parallel/vector program. This paper describes the approach adopted to implement an adaptive finite element incompressible Navier–Stokes solver on the Cray J90 machine. Performance measurements for the simulation of free and forced convection incompressible flows indicate that the techniques employed result in a fast parallel/vector code. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A 3D incompressible Navier–Stokes velocity–vorticity weak form finite element algorithm

The velocity–vorticity formulation is selected to develop a time‐accurate CFD finite element algorithm for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in three dimensions.The finite element implementation uses equal order trilinear finite elements on a non‐staggered hexahedral mesh. A second order vorticity kinematic boundary condition is derived for the no slip wall boundary condition which also enforces the incompressibility constraint. A biconjugate gradient stabilized (BiCGSTAB) sparse iterative solver is utilized to solve the fully coupled system of equations as a Newton algorithm. The solver yields an efficient parallel solution algorithm on distributed‐memory machines, such as the IBM SP2. Three dimensional laminar flow solutions for a square channel, a lid‐driven cavity, and a thermal cavity are established and compared with available benchmark solutions. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.