Least-squares finite-element method for shallow-water equations with source terms

Numerical solution of shallow-water equations （SWE） has been a challenging task because of its nonlinear hyperbolic nature, admitting discontinuous solution, and the need to satisfy the C-property. The presence of source terms in momentum equations, such as the bottom slope and friction of bed, compounds the difficulties further. In this paper, a least-squares finite-element method for the space discretization and θ-method for the time integration is developed for the 2D non-conservative SWE including the source terms. Advantages of the method include： the source terms can be approximated easily with interpolation functions, no upwind scheme is needed, as well as the resulting system equations is symmetric and positive-definite, therefore, can be solved efficiently with the conjugate gradient method. The method is applied to steady and unsteady flows, subcritical and transcritical flow over a bump, 1D and 2D circular dam-break, wave past a circular cylinder, as well as wave past a hump. Computed results show good C-property, conservation property and compare well with exact solutions and other numerical results for flows with weak and mild gradient changes, but lead to inaccurate predictions for flows with strong gradient changes and discontinuities.     

An SPH model for free surface flows with moving rigid objects

This paper presents a computational model for free surface flows interacting with moving rigid bodies. The model is based on the SPH method, which is a popular meshfree, Lagrangian particle method and can naturally treat large flow deformation and moving features without any interface/surface capture or tracking algorithm. Fluid particles are used to model the free surface flows which are governed by Navier–Stokes equations, and solid particles are used to model the dynamic movement (translation and rotation) of moving rigid objects. The interaction of the neighboring fluid and solid particles renders the fluid–solid interaction and the non‐slip solid boundary conditions. The SPH method is improved with corrections on the SPH kernel and kernel gradients, enhancement of solid boundary condition, and implementation of Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes turbulence model. Three numerical examples including the water exit of a cylinder, the sinking of a submerged cylinder and the complicated motion of an elliptical cylinder near free surface are provided. The obtained numerical results show good agreement with results from other sources and clearly demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented meshfree particle model in modeling free surface flows with moving objects. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An immersed boundary finite difference method for LES of flow around bluff shapes

A three‐dimensional numerical model using large eddy simulation (LES) technique and incorporating the immersed boundary (IMB) concept has been developed to compute flow around bluff shapes. A fractional step finite differences method with rectilinear non‐uniform collocated grid is employed to solve the governing equations. Bluff shapes are treated in the IMB method by introducing artificial force terms into the momentum equations. Second‐order accurate interpolation schemes for all sorts of grid points adjacent to the immersed boundary have been developed to determine the velocities and pressure at these points. To enforce continuity, the methods of imposition of pressure boundary condition and addition of mass source/sink terms are tested. It has been found that imposing suitable pressure boundary condition (zero normal gradient) can effectively reproduce the correct pressure distribution and enforce mass conservation around a bluff shape. The present model has been verified and applied to simulate flow around bluff shapes: (1) a square cylinder and (2) the Tsing Ma suspension bridge deck section model. Complex flow phenomena such as flow separation and vortex shedding are reproduced and the drag coefficient, lift coefficient, and pressure coefficient are calculated and analyzed. Good agreement between the numerical results and the experimental data are obtained. The model is proven to be an efficient tool for flow simulation around bluff bodies in time varying flows. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulation of high‐Reynolds number flow around circular cylinders by a three‐step FEM–BEM model

An innovative computational model, developed to simulate high‐Reynolds number flow past circular cylinders in two‐dimensional incompressible viscous flows in external flow fields is described in this paper. The model, based on transient Navier–Stokes equations, can solve the infinite boundary value problems by extracting the boundary effects on a specified finite computational domain, using the projection method. The pressure is assumed to be zero at infinite boundary and the external flow field is simulated using a direct boundary element method (BEM) by solving a pressure Poisson equation. A three‐step finite element method (FEM) is used to solve the momentum equations of the flow. The present model is applied to simulate high‐Reynolds number flow past a single circular cylinder and flow past two cylinders in which one acts as a control cylinder. The simulation results are compared with experimental data and other numerical models and are found to be feasible and satisfactory. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Free-convection flow through an annular porous medium

This study addresses the Brinkman-extended Darcy model (Brinkman flow) of a laminar free-convective flow in an annular porous region. Closed form expressions for Velocity field, Temperature field, Skin-friction and Mass flow rate are given, under a thermal boundary condition of mixed kind at the outer surface of the inner cylinder while the inner surface of the outer cylinder is isothermal. The governing independent parameters are identified to be Darcy number (Da) and ratio of outer to inner radii (R). It is hoped that the study of such flows gives limiting conditions for developing flows and provides an analytical check on numerical solutions for more complex problems dealing with non-Darcian free-convection flow in an annular region.     

Thermocapillary convection stability in a cylindrically-symmetric two-phase system

Thermocapillary flows in an infinitely long liquid cylinder surrounded by a coaxial gas layer with a controlled flow rate and the stability of such flows are investigated. In the layers a constant axial temperature gradient is maintained. An exact solution of the equations of motion describing the steady-state flow in this two-phase system is derived. Possible flow regimes and their stability in the linear approximation are studied. It is shown that in the liquid phase the thermocapillary flow can be completely stopped by the gas flow at the expense of the interaction between mechanical stresses at the interface. The results obtained indicate the possibility of controlling thermocapillary flows and their stability by means of gas flows.     

Numerical investigation from rarefied flow to continuum by solving the Boltzmann model equation

Based on the Bhatnagar–Gross–Krook (BGK) Boltzmann model equation, the unified simplified velocity distribution function equation adapted to various flow regimes can be presented. The reduced velocity distribution functions and the discrete velocity ordinate method are developed and applied to remove the velocity space dependency of the distribution function, and then the distribution function equations will be cast into hyperbolic conservation laws form with non‐linear source terms. Based on the unsteady time‐splitting technique and the non‐oscillatory, containing no free parameters, and dissipative (NND) finite‐difference method, the gas kinetic finite‐difference second‐order scheme is constructed for the computation of the discrete velocity distribution functions. The discrete velocity numerical quadrature methods are developed to evaluate the macroscopic flow parameters at each point in the physical space. As a result, a unified simplified gas kinetic algorithm for the gas dynamical problems from various flow regimes is developed. To test the reliability of the present numerical method, the one‐dimensional shock‐tube problems and the flows past two‐dimensional circular cylinder with various Knudsen numbers are simulated. The computations of the related flows indicate that both high resolution of the flow fields and good qualitative agreement with the theoretical, DSMC and experimental results can be obtained. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Karhunen–Loève Galerkin method with decimated sampling technique for the simulation of complex fluids defined in the phase space

In complex fluids, solute molecules with structural length scales much larger than atomic are dispersed in solvents of simple fluids such as water. The rheological properties of complex fluids are determined by dynamics of solute molecules which can be modeled by the Fokker–Planck equation defined in a six-dimensional phase space. In the present investigation, we devise a method of efficient simulation of complex fluid flows employing the Karhunen–Loève Galerkin (KLG) method. Adopting the decimated sampling of solvent flow fields, a reduced-order model for the Fokker–Planck equation is obtained, which can be employed for the the simulation of complex fluids with a decent computer time. As a specific example, we consider a flow of dilute polymeric liquids over a cylinder, whose constitutive equation is the FENE (finitely extensible nonlinear elastic) model. It is found that the KLG method with the decimated sampling technique yields accurate results at a computational cost less than a hundredth of that for the numerical simulation using the Fokker–Planck equation. The KLG method supplemented by the decimated sampling technique is an efficient method of coarse-graining for equations of complex fluids defined in the phase space.     

Numerical modelling of 3D stratified free surface flows: a case study of sediment dumping

A three‐dimensional numerical model has been developed to simulate stratified flows with free surfaces. The model is based on the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with variable fluid density. The equations are solved in a transformed σ‐coordinate system with the use of operator‐splitting method (Int. J. Numer. Meth. Fluids 2002; 38 :1045–1068). The numerical model is validated against the one‐dimensional diffusion problem and the two‐dimensional density‐gradient flow. Excellent agreements are obtained between numerical results and analytical solutions. The model is then used to study transport phenomena of dumped sediments into a water body, which has been modelled as a strongly stratified flow. For the two‐dimensional problem, the numerical results compare well with experimental data in terms of mean particle falling velocity and spreading rate of the sediment cloud for both coarse and medium‐size sediments. The model is also employed to study the dumping of sediments in a three‐dimensional environment with the presence of free surface. It is found that during the descending process an annulus‐like cloud is formed for fine sediments whereas a plate‐like cloud for medium‐size sediments. The model is proven to be a good tool to simulate strongly stratified free surface flows. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fully-developed conjugate heat transfer in porous media with uniform heating

We propose a computational method for approximating the heat transfer coefficient of fully-developed flow in porous media. For a representative elementary volume of the porous medium we develop a transport model subject to periodic boundary conditions that describes incompressible fluid flow through a uniformly heated porous solid. The transport model uses a pair of pore-scale energy equations to describe conjugate heat transfer. With this approach, the effect of solid and fluid material properties, such as volumetric heat capacity and thermal conductivity, on the overall heat transfer coefficient can be investigated. To cope with geometrically complex domains we develop a numerical method for solving the transport equations on a Cartesian grid. The computational method provides a means for approximating the heat transfer coefficient of porous media where the heat generated in the solid varies “slowly” with respect to the space and time scales of the developing fluid. We validate the proposed method by computing the Nusselt number for fully developed laminar flow in tubes of rectangular cross section with uniform wall heat flux. Detailed results on the variation of the Nusselt number with system parameters are presented for two structured models of porous media: an inline and a staggered arrangement of square rods. For these configurations a comparison is made with literature on fully-developed flows with isothermal walls.     

Non-Newtonian effect on natural convection flow over cylinder of elliptic cross section

The non-Newtonian effect in the boundary layer flow over a horizontal elliptical cylinder is investigated numerically. A modified power-law viscosity model is used to correlate the non-Newtonian characteristics of the fluid flow. For natural convectionflows, the surface of the cylinder is maintained by the uniform surface temperature(UST)or the uniform heat flux(UHF) condition. The governing equations corresponding to theflow are first transformed into a dimensionless non-similar form using suit...     

幂律流体圆柱绕流的格子波尔兹曼模拟

基于插值补充格子波尔兹曼方法和幂律流体的本构方程,建立了贴体坐标系下适用于幂律流体的格子波尔兹曼模型,模拟了幂律流体的圆柱绕流问题,采用非平衡外推格式处理圆柱表面的速度无滑移边界,利用应力积分法确定曳力系数和升力系数,并与基于标准的格子波尔兹曼方法和有限容积法获得的数值数据进行对比,吻合良好. 进行了网格无关性验证之后,分析了稳态流动时,不同雷诺数下幂律指数对于尾迹长度、分离角、圆柱表面黏度分布、表面压力系数及曳力系数的影响,以及非定常流动中,幂律指数对于流场、曳力系数、升力系数和斯特劳哈尔数的影响. 获得的变化规律与基于其他数值模拟方法得到的结果相一致,充分验证了模型的有效性和正确性. 结果表明:插值补充格子波尔兹曼方法可以用来模拟幂律流体在具有复杂边界流场内的流动问题,通过引入不同的非牛顿流体本构方程,该方法还可以进一步应用于其他类型的非牛顿流体研究中.      

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.     

稀薄流到连续流的气体运动论模型方程算法研究

通过引入碰撞松弛参数和当地平衡态分布函数对BGK模型方程进行修正，确定含流态控制参数可描述不同流域气体流动特性的气体分子速度分布函数的简化控制方程。发展和应用离散速度坐标法于气体分子速度空间，利用一套在物理空间和时间上连续而速度空间离散的分布函数来代替原分布函数对速度空间的连续依赖性。基于非定常时间分裂数值计算方法和无波动、无自由参数的NND耗散差分格式，建立直接求解气体分子速度分布函数的气体运动论有限差分数值方法。推广应用改进的Gauss-Hermite无穷积分法和华罗庚－王元提出的以单和逼近重积分的黄金分割数论积分方法等，对离散速度空间进行宏观取矩获取物理空间各点的气体流动参数，由此发展一套从稀薄流到连续流各流域统一的气体运动论数值算法。通过对不同Knudsen数下一维激波管问题、二维圆柱绕流和三维球体绕流的初步数值实验表明文中发展的数值算法是可行的。     

Viscoelastic flow past confined objects using a micro–macro approach

This paper is concerned with the numerical prediction of viscoelastic flow past a cylinder in a channel and a sphere in a cylinder using molecular-based models. The basis of the numerical method employed is a micro–macro model in which the polymer dynamics is described by the evolution of an ensemble of Brownian configuration fields. The spectral element method is used to discretize the equations in space. Comparisons are made between the macroscopic simulations based on the Oldroyd B constitutive model and microscopic simulations based on Hookean dumbbells, and excellent agreement is found. The micro–macro approach can be used to simulate models, such as the finitely extensible nonlinear elastic (FENE) dumbbell model, which do not possess a closed-form constitutive equation. Numerical simulations are performed for the FENE model. The influence of the model parameters on the flow is described and, in particular, the dependence of the drag as a function of the Weissenberg number.     

幂律流体圆柱绕流的格子波尔兹曼模拟简

基于插值补充格子波尔兹曼方法和幂律流体的本构方程,建立了贴体坐标系下适用于幂律流体的格子波尔兹曼模型,模拟了幂律流体的圆柱绕流问题,采用非平衡外推格式处理圆柱表面的速度无滑移边界,利用应力积分法确定曳力系数和升力系数,并与基于标准的格子波尔兹曼方法和有限容积法获得的数值数据进行对比,吻合良好. 进行了网格无关性验证之后,分析了稳态流动时,不同雷诺数下幂律指数对于尾迹长度、分离角、圆柱表面黏度分布、表面压力系数及曳力系数的影响,以及非定常流动中,幂律指数对于流场、曳力系数、升力系数和斯特劳哈尔数的影响. 获得的变化规律与基于其他数值模拟方法得到的结果相一致,充分验证了模型的有效性和正确性. 结果表明：插值补充格子波尔兹曼方法可以用来模拟幂律流体在具有复杂边界流场内的流动问题,通过引入不同的非牛顿流体本构方程,该方法还可以进一步应用于其他类型的非牛顿流体研究中.     

Numerical simulation of an axisymmetric separated and reattached flow over a longitudinal blunt circular cylinder

This article presents a numerical investigation of turbulent flow in an axisymmetric separated and reattached flow over a longitudinal blunt circular cylinder. The governing equations were discretized by the finite-volume method and SIMPLER method was applied to solve the equations on a staggered grid. The turbulent flow was numerically simulated using the standard k–ε, Abe–Kondoh–Nagano (AKN) and Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence models. The comparisons made between numerical results and experimental measurements showed that the SST model is superior to other models in the present calculation.Computations were performed for three different Reynolds numbers of 6000, 10 000 and 20 000 based on the cylinder diameter. To our knowledge, this study represents the first numerical investigation of the present flow configuration. The computational results were validated with the available experimental data of reattachment length, mean velocity distribution and wall static pressure coefficient in the turbulent blunt circular cylinder flows. Further, other characteristics of the flow, such as turbulent kinetic energy, pressure, streamlines, and the velocity vectors are discussed.The results show that the main characteristics of the turbulence flow in the separation region, such as reattachment length or velocity profiles, are nearly independent of the Reynolds number. The obtained results showed that a secondary separation bubble may appear in the main separation bubble near the leading edge. Furthermore, it was found that the turbulent kinetic energy has a large effect on the formation of the secondary bubble.     

Surface tension driven flows in micro-gravity conditions

The importance of convective flows generated by surface tension gradients, in comparison with the ones generated by other driving forces, has been investigated in connection with space technological applications involving fluid processes. A theoretical model of the boundary conditions at the interface, considered free and diffusive, has been derived in general tensor form to allow for the use of non orthogonal curvilinear co-ordinates. For the study of flow fields contained in enclosures, these co-ordinates are more suitable to fit all teh boundaries, in particular near the contact angle between the interface and the solid walls, thus giving more accurate numerical solutions. A computational procedure to solve the complete set of bulk and surface equations is proposed and applied to a simplified two dimensional flow in a rectangular enclosure with a temperature gradient between the lateral walls. The numerical results show the importance of considering the interface to be deformable and diffusive for an accurate evaluation of the convective flow in the fluid bulk.     

A spatial laminar boundary layer on a streamline in conical external flow of a uniform gas in the absence of sources and sinks

Theoretical study of a three-dimensional laminar boundary layer is a complex problem, but it can be substantially simplified in certain particular cases and even reduced to the solution of ordinary differential equations.One such particular case is the flow of a compressible gas on a streamline in conical external flow. The case is of considerable practical importance because the local heat fluxes may take extremal values on such lines.Such flow, except for the conical case, has been examined [1–4], and an approximate method has been given [1] on the basis of integral relationships and a special form for the approximating functions. A numerical solution has been given [2, 3] for such flow around an infinite cylinder. It was assumed in [1–3] that the Prandtl number and the specific heats were constant, and that the dynamic viscosity was proportional to temperature. Heat transfer has been examined [4] near a cylinder exposed to a flow of dissociated air.Here we give results from numerical solution of a system of ordinary differential equations for the flow of a compressible gas in a laminar boundary layer on streamlines in conical external flow, with or without influx or withdrawal of a homogeneous gas. It is assumed that the gas is perfect and that the dynamic viscosity has a power-law temperature dependence.     

Method of fundamental solutions for multidimensional Stokes equations by the dual-potential formulation

A simple and accurate boundary-type meshless method of fundamental solutions (MFS) is applied to solve both 2D and 3D Stokes flows based on the dual-potential formulation of velocity potential and stream function vector. Using the dual-potential concept, the solutions of both 2D and 3D Stokes flows are obtained by combining the much simpler fundamental solutions of Laplace (potential) and bi-harmonic equations without using the complicated singular fundamental solutions such as Stokeslets and their derivatives as well as source doublet hypersingularity. The developed algorithm is used to test five numerical experiments for 2D flows: (1) circular cavity, (2) wave-shaped bottom cavity and (3) circular cavity with eccentric rotating cylinder; and for 3D flows: (4) a uniform flow passing a sphere and (5) a uniform flow passing a pair of spheres. Good results are obtained as comparing with solutions of analytical and numerical methods such as FEM, BEM and other meshfree schemes.