Evaluation of well‐balanced bore‐capturing schemes for 2D wetting and drying processes

We consider numerical solutions of the two‐dimensional non‐linear shallow water equations with a bed slope source term. These equations are well‐suited for the study of many geophysical phenomena, including coastal engineering where wetting and drying processes are commonly observed. To accurately describe the evolution of moving shorelines over strongly varying topography, we first investigate two well‐balanced methods of Godunov‐type, relying on the resolution of non‐homogeneous Riemann problems. But even if these schemes were previously proved to be efficient in many simulations involving occurrences of dry zones, they fail to compute accurately moving shorelines. From this, we investigate a new model, called SURF_WB, especially designed for the simulation of wave transformations over strongly varying topography. This model relies on a recent reconstruction method for the treatment of the bed‐slope source term and is able to handle strong variations of topography and to preserve the steady states at rest. In addition, the use of the recent VFRoe‐ncv Riemann solver leads to a robust treatment of wetting and drying phenomena. An adapted ‘second order’ reconstruction generates accurate bore‐capturing abilities.This scheme is validated against several analytical solutions, involving varying topography, time dependent moving shorelines and convergences toward steady states. This model should have an impact in the prediction of 2D moving shorelines over strongly irregular topography. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An adaptive cut‐cell method for environmental fluid mechanics

In this work we present a numerical method for solving the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in an environmental fluid mechanics context. The method is designed for the study of environmental flows that are multiscale, incompressible, variable‐density, and within arbitrarily complex and possibly anisotropic domains. The method is new because in this context we couple the embedded‐boundary (or cut‐cell) method for complex geometry with block‐structured adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) while maintaining conservation and second‐order accuracy. The accurate simulation of variable‐density fluids necessitates special care in formulating projection methods. This variable‐density formulation is well known for incompressible flows in unit‐aspect ratio domains, without AMR, and without complex geometry, but here we carefully present a new method that addresses the intersection of these issues. The methodology is based on a second‐order‐accurate projection method with high‐order‐accurate Godunov finite‐differencing, including slope limiting and a stable differencing of the nonlinear convection terms. The finite‐volume AMR discretizations are based on two‐way flux matching at refinement boundaries to obtain a conservative method that is second‐order accurate in solution error. The control volumes are formed by the intersection of the irregular embedded boundary with Cartesian grid cells. Unlike typical discretization methods, these control volumes naturally fit within parallelizable, disjoint‐block data structures, and permit dynamic AMR coarsening and refinement as the simulation progresses. We present two‐ and three‐dimensional numerical examples to illustrate the accuracy of the method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exactly well‐balanced positivity preserving nonstaggered central scheme for open‐channel flows

In this paper, we construct and study an exactly well‐balanced positivity‐preserving nonstaggered central scheme for shallow water flows in open channels with irregular geometry and nonflat bottom topography. We introduce a novel discretization of the source term based on hydrostatic reconstruction to obtain the exactly well‐balanced property for the still water steady‐state solution even in the presence of wetting and drying transitions. The positivity‐preserving property of the cross‐sectional wet area is obtained by using a modified “draining" time‐step technique. The current scheme is also Riemann‐solver‐free. Several classical problems of open‐channel flows are used to test these properties. Numerical results confirm that the current scheme is robust, exactly well‐balanced and positivity‐preserving.     

Non‐oscillatory relaxation methods for the shallow‐water equations in one and two space dimensions

In this paper, a new family of high‐order relaxation methods is constructed. These methods combine general higher‐order reconstruction for spatial discretization and higher order implicit‐explicit schemes or TVD Runge–Kutta schemes for time integration of relaxing systems. The new methods retain all the attractive features of classical relaxation schemes such as neither Riemann solvers nor characteristic decomposition are needed. Numerical experiments with the shallow‐water equations in both one and two space dimensions on flat and non‐flat topography demonstrate the high resolution and the ability of our relaxation schemes to better resolve the solution in the presence of shocks and dry areas without using either Riemann solvers or front tracking techniques. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mono‐block and non‐matching multi‐block structured mesh adaptation based on aerodynamic functional total derivatives for RANS flow

An enhanced goal‐oriented mesh adaptation method is presented based on aerodynamic functional total derivatives with respect to mesh nodes in a Reynolds‐Averaged Navier‐Stokes (RANS) finite‐volume mono‐block and non‐matching multi‐block‐structured grid framework. This method falls under the category of methods involving the adjoint vector of the function of interest. The contribution of a Spalart–Allmaras turbulence model is taken into account through its linearization. Meshes are adapted accordingly to the proposed indicator. Applications to 2D RANS flow about a RAE2822 airfoil in transonic, and detached subsonic conditions are presented for the drag coefficient estimation. The asset of the proposed method is patent. The obtained 2D anisotropic mono‐block mesh well captures flow features as well as global aerodynamic functionals. Interestingly, the constraints imposed by structured grids may be relaxed by the use of non‐matching multi‐block approach that limits the outward propagation of local mesh refinement through all of the computational domain. The proposed method also leads to accurate results for these multi‐block meshes but at a fraction of the cost. Finally, the method is also successfully applied to a more complex geometry, namely, a mono‐block mesh in a 3D RANS transonic flow about an M6 wing. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A well‐balanced upstream flux‐splitting finite‐volume scheme for shallow‐water flow simulations with irregular bed topography

This study extends the upstream flux‐splitting finite‐volume (UFF) scheme to shallow water equations with source terms. Coupling the hydrostatic reconstruction method (HRM) with the UFF scheme achieves a resultant numerical scheme that adequately balances flux gradients and source terms. The proposed scheme is validated in three benchmark problems and applied to flood flows in the natural/irregular river with bridge pier obstructions. The results of the simulations are in satisfactory agreement with the available analytical solutions, experimental data and field measurements. Comparisons of the present results with those obtained by the surface gradient method (SGM) demonstrate the superior stability and higher accuracy of the HRM. The stability test results also show that the HRM requires less CPU time (up to 60%) than the SGM. The proposed well‐balanced UFF scheme is accurate, stable and efficient to solve flow problems involving irregular bed topography. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An unstructured finite volume model for dam‐break floods with wet/dry fronts over complex topography

A robust, well‐balanced, unstructured, Godunov‐type finite volume model has been developed in order to simulate two‐dimensional dam‐break floods over complex topography with wetting and drying. The model is based on the nonlinear shallow water equations in hyperbolic conservation form. The inviscid fluxes are calculated using the HLLC approximate Riemann solver and a second‐order spatial accuracy is achieved by implementing the MUSCL reconstruction technique. To prevent numerical oscillations near shocks, slope‐limiting techniques are used for controlling the total variation of the reconstructed field. The model utilizes an explicit two‐stage Runge–Kutta method for time stepping, whereas implicit treatments for friction source terms. The novelties of the model include the flux correction terms and the water depth reconstruction method both for partially and fully submerged cells, and the wet/dry front treatments. The proposed flux correction terms combined with the water depth reconstruction method are necessary to balance the bed slope terms and flux gradient in the hydrostatical steady flow condition. Especially, this well‐balanced property is also preserved in partially submerged cells. It is found that the developed wet/dry front treatments and implicit scheme for friction source terms are stable. The model is tested against benchmark problems, laboratory experimental data, and realistic application related to dam‐break flood wave propagation over arbitrary topography. Numerical results show that the model performs satisfactorily with respect to its effectiveness and robustness and thus has bright application prospects. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A robust and well‐balanced scheme for the 2D Saint‐Venant system on unstructured meshes with friction source term

In the following lines, we propose a numerical scheme for the shallow‐water system supplemented by topography and friction source terms, in a 2D unstructured context. This work proposes an improved version of the well‐balanced and robust numerical model recently introduced by Duran et al. (J. Comp. Phys., 235 , 565–586, 2013) for the pre‐balanced shallow‐water equations, accounting for varying topography. The present work aims at relaxing the robustness condition and includes a friction term. To this purpose, the scheme is modified using a recent method, entirely based on a modified Riemann solver. This approach preserves the robustness and well‐balanced properties of the original scheme and prevents unstable computations in the presence of low water depths. A series of numerical experiments are devoted to highlighting the performances of the resulting scheme. Simulations involving dry areas, complex geometry and topography are proposed to validate the stability of the numerical model in the neighbourhood of wet/dry transitions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel multidimensional solution reconstruction and edge‐based limiting procedure for unstructured cell‐centered finite volumes with application to shallow water dynamics

On unstructured meshes, the cell‐centered finite volume (CCFV) formulation, where the finite control volumes are the mesh elements themselves, is probably the most used formulation for numerically solving the two‐dimensional nonlinear shallow water equations and hyperbolic conservation laws in general. Within this CCFV framework, second‐order spatial accuracy is achieved with a Monotone Upstream‐centered Schemes for Conservation Laws‐type (MUSCL) linear reconstruction technique, where a novel edge‐based multidimensional limiting procedure is derived for the control of the total variation of the reconstructed field. To this end, a relatively simple, but very effective modification to a reconstruction procedure for CCFV schemes, is introduced, which takes into account geometrical characteristics of computational triangular meshes. The proposed strategy is shown not to suffer from loss of accuracy on grids with poor connectivity. We apply this reconstruction in the development of a second‐order well‐balanced Godunov‐type scheme for the simulation of unsteady two‐dimensional flows over arbitrary topography with wetting and drying on triangular meshes. Although the proposed limited reconstruction is independent from the Riemann solver used, the well‐known approximate Riemann solver of Roe is utilized to compute the numerical fluxes, whereas the Green–Gauss divergence formulation for gradient computations is implemented. Two different stencils for the Green–Gauss gradient computations are implemented and critically tested, in conjunction with the proposed limiting strategy, on various grid types, for smooth and nonsmooth flow conditions. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Euler solutions using flux‐based wave decomposition

The Euler equations are solved for non‐hydrostatic atmospheric flow problems in two dimensions using a high‐resolution Godunov‐type scheme. The Riemann problem is solved using a flux‐based wave decomposition suggested by LeVeque. This paper describes in detail, the design and implementation of the Riemann solver used for computing the Godunov fluxes. The methodology is then validated against benchmark cases for non‐hydrostatic atmospheric flows. Comparisons are made with solutions obtained from the National Center for Atmospheric Research's state‐of‐the‐art numerical model. The method shows promise in simulating non‐hydrostatic flows, which are characterized by steep gradients on the meso‐, micro‐ and urban‐scales. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vorticity–velocity formulation of the 3D Navier–Stokes equations in cylindrical co‐ordinates

A finite difference method is presented for solving the 3D Navier–Stokes equations in vorticity–velocity form. The method involves solving the vorticity transport equations in ‘curl‐form’ along with a set of Cauchy–Riemann type equations for the velocity. The equations are formulated in cylindrical co‐ordinates and discretized using a staggered grid arrangement. The discretized Cauchy–Riemann type equations are overdetermined and their solution is accomplished by employing a conjugate gradient method on the normal equations. The vorticity transport equations are solved in time using a semi‐implicit Crank–Nicolson/Adams–Bashforth scheme combined with a second‐order accurate spatial discretization scheme. Special emphasis is put on the treatment of the polar singularity. Numerical results of axisymmetric as well as non‐axisymmetric flows in a pipe and in a closed cylinder are presented. Comparison with measurements are carried out for the axisymmetric flow cases. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Well‐balancing issues related to the RKDG2 scheme for the shallow water equations

Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) finite element methods have salient features that are mainly highlighted by their locality, their easiness in balancing the flux and source term gradients and their component‐wise structure. In the light of this, this paper aims to provide insights into the well‐balancing property of a second‐order Runge–Kutta Discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG2) method. For this purpose, a Godunov‐type RKDG2 method is presented for solving the shallow water equations. The scheme is based on local DG linear approximations and does not entail any special treatment of the source terms in order to achieve well‐balanced numerical results. The performance of the present RKDG2 scheme in reproducing conserved solutions for both free surface and discharge over strongly irregular topography is demonstrated by applying to several hydraulic benchmarks. Meanwhile, the effects of different slope limiting procedures on the well‐balancing property are investigated and discussed. This work may provide useful guidelines for developing a well‐balanced RKDG2 numerical scheme for shallow water flow simulation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Accurate and robust adaptive mesh refinement for aerodynamic simulation with multi‐block structured curvilinear mesh

A multi‐block curvilinear mesh‐based adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) method is developed to satisfy the competing objectives of improving accuracy and reducing cost. Body‐fitted curvilinear mesh‐based AMR is used to capture flow details of various length scales. A series of efforts are made to guarantee the accuracy and robustness of the AMR system. A physics‐based refinement function is proposed, which is proved to be able to detect both shock wave and vortical flow. The curvilinear mesh is refined with cubic interpolation, which guarantees the aspect ratio and smoothness. Furthermore, to enable its application in complex configurations, a sub‐block‐based refinement strategy is developed to avoid generating invalid mesh, which is the consequence of non‐smooth mesh lines or singular geometry features. A newfound problem of smaller wall distance, which negatively affects the stability and is never reported in the literature, is also discussed in detail, and an improved strategy is proposed. Together with the high‐accuracy numerical scheme, a multi‐block curvilinear mesh‐based AMR system is developed. With a series of test cases, the current method is verified to be accurate and robust and be able to automatically capture the flow details at great cost saving compared with the global refinement. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Riemann solver and upwind methods for a two‐phase flow model in non‐conservative form

We present a theoretical solution for the Riemann problem for the five‐equation two‐phase non‐conservative model of Saurel and Abgrall. This solution is then utilized in the construction of upwind non‐conservative methods to solve the general initial‐boundary value problem for the two‐phase flow model in non‐conservative form. The basic upwind scheme constructed is the non‐conservative analogue of the Godunov first‐order upwind method. Second‐order methods in space and time are then constructed via the MUSCL and ADER approaches. The methods are systematically assessed via a series of test problems with theoretical solutions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A robust high‐resolution finite volume scheme for the simulation of long waves over complex domains

The propagation, runup and rundown of long surface waves are numerically investigated, initially in one dimension, using a well‐balanced high‐resolution finite volume scheme. A conservative form of the nonlinear shallow water equations with source terms is solved numerically using a high‐resolution Godunov‐type explicit scheme coupled with Roe's approximate Riemann solver. The scheme is also extended to handle two‐dimensional complex domains. The numerical difficulties related to the presence of the topography source terms in the model equations along with the appearance of the wet/dry fronts are properly treated and extended. The resulting numerical model accurately describes breaking waves as bores or hydraulic jumps and conserves volume across flow discontinuities. Numerical results show very good agreement with previously presented analytical or asymptotic solutions as well as with experimental benchmark data. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A high‐resolution method for compressible two‐fluid flows and simulation of three‐dimensional shock–bubble interactions

A high‐resolution method is developed to capture the material interfaces of compressible two‐fluid flows in multiple dimensions. A fluid mixture model system with single velocity and pressure is used, and viscous effect can also be taken into account. A consistent thermodynamic law based on the assumption of pressure equilibrium is employed to describe the thermodynamic behaviors of the pure fluids and mixture of two components. The splitting and unsplit Eulerian formulations of piecewise parabolic method are extended to numerically integrate the hyperbolic part of the model system, whereas the system of diffusion equations is solved using an explicit, central difference scheme. The block‐structured adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) capability is built in the hydrodynamic code to locally improve grid resolution. The resulting method is verified to be at least second‐order accurate in space. Numerical results show that the discontinuities, particularly contact discontinuities, can be resolved sharply. The use of AMR allows flow features at disparate scales to be resolved sufficiently. In addition, three‐dimensional shock–bubble interactions are simulated to investigate effects of Mach number on bubble evolution. The flow structures including those peculiar to three‐dimensional bubble are resolved correctly, and some physical phenomena with increasing Mach number are reported. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A structured but non‐uniform Cartesian grid‐based model for the shallow water equations

In large‐scale shallow flow simulations, local high‐resolution predictions are often required in order to reduce the computational cost without losing the accuracy of the solution. This is normally achieved by solving the governing equations on grids refined only to those areas of interest. Grids with varying resolution can be generated by different approaches, e.g. nesting methods, patching algorithms and adaptive unstructured or quadtree gridding techniques. This work presents a new structured but non‐uniform Cartesian grid system as an alternative to the existing approaches to provide local high‐resolution mesh. On generating a structured but non‐uniform Cartesian grid, the whole computational domain is first discretized using a coarse background grid. Local refinement is then achieved by directly allocating a specific subdivision level to each background grid cell. The neighbour information is specified by simple mathematical relationships and no explicit storage is needed. Hence, the structured property of the uniform grid is maintained. After employing some simple interpolation formulae, the governing shallow water equations are solved using a second‐order finite volume Godunov‐type scheme in a similar way as that on a uniform grid. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A finite volume scheme for solving anisotropic diffusion on ALE‐AMR grids

In the context of High Energy Density Physics and more precisely in the field of laser plasma interaction, Lagrangian schemes are commonly used. The lack of robustness due to strong grid deformations requires the regularization of the mesh through the use of Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian methods. Theses methods usually add some diffusion and a loss of precision is observed. We propose to use Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) techniques to reduce this loss of accuracy. This work focuses on the resolution of the anisotropic diffusion operator on Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian‐AMR grids. In this paper, we describe a second‐order accurate cell‐centered finite volume method for solving anisotropic diffusion on AMR type grids. The scheme described here is based on local flux approximation which can be derived through the use of a finite difference approximation, leading to the CCLADNS scheme. We present here the 2D and 3D extension of the CCLADNS scheme to AMR meshes. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Schwarz domain decomposition for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in general co‐ordinates

This paper describes a domain decomposition method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in general co‐ordinates. Domain decomposition techniques are needed for solving flow problems in complicated geometries while retaining structured grids on each of the subdomains. This is the so‐called block‐structured approach. It enables the use of fast vectorized iterative methods on the subdomains. The Navier–Stokes equations are discretized on a staggered grid using finite volumes. The pressure‐correction technique is used to solve the momentum equations together with incompressibility conditions. Schwarz domain decomposition is used to solve the momentum and pressure equations on the composite domain. Convergence of domain decomposition is accelerated by a GMRES Krylov subspace method. Computations are presented for a variety of flows. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.