A POD reduced‐order 4D‐Var adaptive mesh ocean modelling approach

Inflow and outflow boundary conditions are essential for the application of computational fluid dynamics to many engineering scenarios. In this paper we present a new boundary condition implementation that enables the simulation of flow through permeable boundaries in the Lagrangian mesh‐free method, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). Each permeable boundary is associated with an inflow or outflow zone outside the domain, in which particles are created or removed as required. The analytic boundary condition is applied by prescribing the appropriate variables for particles in an inflow or outflow zone, and extrapolating other variables from within the domain. Characteristic‐based non‐reflecting boundary conditions, described in the literature for mesh‐based methods, can be implemented within this framework. Results are presented for simple one‐dimensional flows, quasi‐one‐dimensional compressible nozzle flow, and two‐dimensional flow around a cylinder at Reynolds numbers of 40 and 100 and a Mach number of 0.1. These results establish the capability of SPH to model flows through open domains, opening a broad new class of applications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using fully implicit conservative statements to close open boundaries passing through recirculations

The numerical solution of the fluid flow governing equations requires the implementation of certain boundary conditions at suitable places to make the problem well‐posed. Most of numerical strategies exhibit weak performance and obtain inaccurate solutions if the solution domain boundaries are not placed at adequate locations. Unfortunately, many practical fluid flow problems pose difficulty at their boundaries because the required information for solving the PDE's is not available there. On the other hand, large solution domains with known boundary conditions normally need a higher number of mesh nodes, which can increase the computational cost. Such difficulties have motivated the CFD workers to confine the solution domain and solve it using artificial boundaries with unknown flow conditions prevailing there. In this work, we develop a general strategy, which enables the control‐volume‐based methods to close the outflow boundary at arbitrary locations where the flow conditions are not known prior to the solution. In this regard, we extend suitable conservative statements at the outflow boundary. The derived statements gradually detect the correct boundary conditions at arbitrary boundaries via an implicit procedure using a finite element volume method. The extended statements are validated by solving the truncated benchmark backward‐facing step problem. The investigation shows that the downstream boundary can pass through a recirculation zone without deteriorating the accuracy of the solution either in the domain or at its boundaries. The results indicate that the extended formulation is robust enough to be employed in solution domains with unknown boundary conditions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of non‐reflective boundary conditions for a free‐rising turbulent axisymmetric plume

The stability and accuracy of radiation type non‐reflective outflow boundary conditions, as well as the standard Neumann boundary condition with zero normal derivative, have been compared for the numerical simulation of a turbulent axisymmetric plume with Reynolds number of 7700 and Prandtl number of 0.71. Comparison of the performance of the boundary conditions with respect to each other, and to the results obtained for an extended domain, shows that a one‐dimensional scheme in which advection and diffusion terms are included in the radiation equation is the optimum approach for the plume simulation. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Incompressible fluid flow simulations with flow rate as the sole information at synthetic inflow and outflow boundaries

In numerically simulating heat and mass transport processes in an unconfined domain involving synthetic open (inflow and/or outflow) boundaries, how to properly specify flow conditions at these boundaries can become a challenging issue. In this work, within the context of a pressure‐based finite volume method under an unstructured grid, a solution procedure without the need for explicit specification of flow profiles at any of these boundaries when simulating incompressible fluid flow is proposed and numerically examined. Within this methodology, the flow at any open boundary is not necessarily assumed to be unidirectional or fully developed; indeed, the sole information required is the mass flow rate crossing the boundary. As a result, one can select the specific region of interest to perform simulations, rather than having to artificially increase the flow domain so as to invoke fully developed flow at all open boundaries. This not only greatly reduces computational costs (both in terms of memory requirements and simulation run‐time) but provides the means to engage with flow problems, which otherwise cannot be solved with currently available methods for handling the flow conditions at open boundaries. The proposed methodology is demonstrated by simulating laminar flow of an incompressible fluid in a two‐dimensional planar channel with a 90° T‐branch, a known inflow rate, and flow splits for the two outflow channels. The results obtained by placing the entrance and the two exits at different locations show that the flow behavior predicted is completely unaffected by using a highly truncated domain. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessment of global linear stability analysis using a time‐stepping approach for compressible flows

Global linear stability analysis combined with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is considered useful for understanding the physics of fluid flows. However, the numerical techniques of global linear stability analysis for compressible flows have not been well established in comparison with those for incompressible flows. In this study, we develop and assess a set of appropriate numerical techniques required to conduct a global linear stability analysis for compressible flows. For the eigensystem analysis, the Arnoldi method combined with time integration is in effect to preserve the memory (RAM) size of the computer. The compact difference scheme is used for the CFD analysis from the viewpoints of computing accurate global modes and saving memory by reducing the number of grid points to obtain the necessary spatial resolution. To assess the proposed method, two‐dimensional compressible flow problems, including regularized cavity flow, flow around a square cylinder, and the compressible mixing layer, are analyzed, and it is confirmed that the proposed method can obtain accurate mode shapes, growth rate, and frequency of the corresponding global modes. In addition, influences and an appropriate formulation of the outflow boundary conditions are investigated. Results reveal that the outflow boundary causes spurious unstable modes in the global linear stability analysis, and the radiation and outflow boundary condition and the extension of the computational domain with grid stretching keep the spurious unstable modes to a minimum. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spectrally accurate method for analysis of stationary flows of second‐order fluids in rough micro‐channels

A spectral method for the analysis of stationary flows of second‐order fluids in rough micro‐channels is developed. The algorithm employs a fixed computational domain with the boundaries of the flow domain being located inside the computational domain. The physical boundary conditions are enforced using the immersed boundary conditions concept. The algorithm relies on the Fourier expansions in the flow direction and the Chebyshev expansions in the transverse direction. Various tests confirm spectral accuracy of the algorithm. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Computation of head–disk interface gap micro flowfields using DSMC and continuum–atomistic hybrid methods

This paper discusses computational modeling of micro flow in the head–disk interface (HDI) gap using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Modeling considerations are discussed in detail both for a stand‐alone DSMC computation and for the case of a hybrid continuum–atomistic simulation that couples the Navier–Stokes (NS) equation to a DSMC solver. The impact of the number of particles and number of cells on the accuracy of a DSMC simulation of the HDI gap is investigated both for two‐ and three‐dimensional configurations. An appropriate implicit boundary treatment method for modeling inflow and outflow boundaries is used in this work for a three‐dimensional DSMC micro flow simulation. As the flow outside the slider is in the continuum regime, a hybrid continuum–atomistic method based on the Schwarz alternating method is used to couple the DSMC model in the slider bearing region to the flow outside the slider modeled by NS equation. Schwarz coupling is done in two dimensions by taking overlap regions along two directions and the Chapman–Enskog distribution is employed for imposing the boundary condition from the continuum region to the DSMC region. Converged hybrid flow solutions are obtained in about five iterations and the hybrid DSMC–NS solutions show good agreement with the exact solutions in the entire domain considered. An investigation on the impact of the size of the overlap region on the convergence behavior of the Schwarz method indicates that the hybrid coupling by the Schwarz method is weakly dependent on the size of the overlap region. However, the use of a finite overlap region will facilitate the exchange of boundary conditions as the hybrid solution has been found to diverge in the absence of an overlap region for coupling the two models. Copyright © 2009 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.     

A Fourier–Chebyshev spectral collocation method for simulating flow past spheres and spheroids

An accurate Fourier–Chebyshev spectral collocation method has been developed for simulating flow past prolate spheroids. The incompressible Navier–Stokes equations are transformed to the prolate spheroidal co‐ordinate system and discretized on an orthogonal body fitted mesh. The infinite flow domain is truncated to a finite extent and a Chebyshev discretization is used in the wall‐normal direction. The azimuthal direction is periodic and a conventional Fourier expansion is used in this direction. The other wall‐tangential direction requires special treatment and a restricted Fourier expansion that satisfies the parity conditions across the poles is used. Issues including spatial and temporal discretization, efficient inversion of the pressure Poisson equation, outflow boundary condition and stability restriction at the pole are discussed. The solver has been validated primarily by simulating steady and unsteady flow past a sphere at various Reynolds numbers and comparing key quantities with corresponding data from experiments and other numerical simulations. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Algorithm for analysis of flows in ribbed annuli

Spectral methods for analyses of steady flows in annuli bounded by walls with either axi‐symmetric or longitudinal ribs are developed. The physical boundary conditions are enforced using the immersed boundary conditions concept. In the former case, the Stokes stream function is used to eliminate pressure and to reduce system of field equations to a single fourth‐order partial differential equation. The ribs are assumed to be periodic in the axial direction and this permits representation of the solution in terms of the Fourier expansion. In the latter case, the problem is reduced to the Laplace equations for the flow modifications that can be expressed in terms of the Fourier expansions. The modal functions, which are functions of the radial coordinate, are discretized using Chebyshev polynomials. The problem formulations are closed using either the fixed volume flow rate constraint or the fixed pressure gradient constraint. Various tests have been carried out in order to demonstrate the spectral accuracy of the discretizations, as well as the spectral accuracy of the enforcement of the flow boundary conditions at the ribbed walls using the immersed boundary conditions concept. Special linear solver that takes advantage of the matrix structure has been implemented in order to reduce computational time and memory requirements. It is shown that the algorithm has superior performance when one is interested in the analysis of a large number of geometries, as part of the coefficient matrix that corresponds to the field equation is always the same and one needs to change only the part of the matrix that corresponds to the boundary relations when changing geometry of the flow domain. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vorticity-streamfunction formulation of unsteady incompressible flow past a cylinder: Sensitivity of the computed flow field to the location of the outflow boundary

The influence of the location of the outflow computational boundary on the unsteady incompressible flow past a circular cylinder at Reynolds number 100 is examined. The vorticity-streamfunction formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations is used in all computations. Two types of outflow boundary conditions are subjected to a series of tests in which the domain length is gradually reduced. The traction-free condition performs well in most cases and allows the outflow boundary to be located as close as 6.5 cylinder diameters from the body. The other boundary condition type is not as forgiving, but has the advantage of being simpler to implement and can still provide reasonably accurate solutions. It is also observed that both condition types can influence the flow field strongly and globally when the boundary is brought closer than 2.5 diameters from the body. In such cases the temporal periodicity of the solution is lost.     

Outflow boundary conditions for one-dimensional finite element modeling of blood flow and pressure waves in arteries

Flow and pressure waves, originating due to the contraction of the heart, propagate along the deformable vessels and reflect due to tapering, branching, and other discontinuities. The size and complexity of the cardiovascular system necessitate a “multiscale” approach, with “upstream” regions of interest (large arteries) coupled to reduced-order models of “downstream” vessels. Previous efforts to couple upstream and downstream domains have included specifying resistance and impedance outflow boundary conditions for the nonlinear one-dimensional wave propagation equations and iterative coupling between three-dimensional and one-dimensional numerical methods. We have developed a new approach to solve the one-dimensional nonlinear equations of blood flow in elastic vessels utilizing a space-time finite element method with GLS-stabilization for the upstream domain, and a boundary term to couple to the downstream domain. The outflow boundary conditions are derived following an approach analogous to the Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DtN) method. In the downstream domain, we solve simplified zero/one-dimensional equations to derive relationships between pressure and flow accommodating periodic and transient phenomena with a consistent formulation for different boundary condition types. In this paper, we also present a new boundary condition that accommodates transient phenomena based on a Green’s function solution of the linear, damped wave equation in the downstream domain.     

3D free‐surface flow computation using a RANSE/Fourier–Kochin coupling

A coupling method for numerical calculations of steady free‐surface flows around a body is presented. The fluid domain in the neighbourhood of the hull is divided into two overlapping zones. Viscous effects are taken in account near the hull using Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANSE), whereas potential flow provides the flow away from the hull. In the internal domain, RANSE are solved by a fully coupled velocity, pressure and free‐surface elevation method. In the external domain, potential‐flow theory with linearized free‐surface condition is used to provide boundary conditions to the RANSE solver. The Fourier–Kochin method based on the Fourier–Kochin formulation, which defines the velocity field in a potential‐flow region in terms of the velocity distribution at a boundary surface, is used for that purpose. Moreover, the free‐surface Green function satisfying this linearized free‐surface condition is used. Calculations have been successfully performed for steady ship‐waves past a serie 60 and then have demonstrated abilities of the present coupling algorithm. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite analytic boundary condition for a higher‐order finite analytic scheme

A higher‐order finite analytic scheme based on one‐dimensional finite analytic solutions is used to discretize three‐dimensional equations governing turbulent incompressible free surface flow. In order to preserve the accuracy of the numerical scheme, a new, finite analytic boundary condition is proposed for an accurate numerical solution of the partial differential equation. This condition has higher‐order accuracy. Thus, the same order of accuracy is used for the boundary. Boundary conditions were formulated and derived for fluid inflow, outflow, impermeable surfaces and symmetry planes. The derived boundary conditions are treated implicitly and updated with the solution of the problem. The basic idea for the derivation of boundary conditions was to use the discretized form of the governing equations for the fluid flow simplified on the boundaries and flow information. To illustrate the influence of the higher‐order effects at the boundaries, another, lower‐order finite analytic boundary condition, is suggested. The simulations are performed to demonstrate the validity of the present scheme and boundary conditions for a Wigley hull advancing in calm water. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solution of three-dimensional viscous incompressible flows by a multi-grid method

The three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations for viscous incompressible fluids are discretized on staggered or non-staggered grids. The system of finite-difference equations is solved by a multi-grid method. The method and some possible sources of difficulties and their remedies are described. The numerical algorithm has been applied to the computations of flows in ducts for a range of Reynolds numbers up to 2000. As outflow boundary conditions, either the fully developed flow profile (Dirichlet condition) or parabolic conditions have been applied. The multi-grid method has a fast rate of convergence (with both types of boundary conditions), and it is not sensitive to the number of mesh points and the Reynolds number. The numerical solution, using parabolic boundary conditions, is insensitive to the location of the outflow boundary, even for large Reynolds numbers, in contrast to the solution with Dirichlet boundary conditions.     

Time‐domain BEM solution of convection–diffusion‐type MHD equations

The two‐dimensional convection–diffusion‐type equations are solved by using the boundary element method (BEM) based on the time‐dependent fundamental solution. The emphasis is given on the solution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) duct flow problems with arbitrary wall conductivity. The boundary and time integrals in the BEM formulation are computed numerically assuming constant variations of the unknowns on both the boundary elements and the time intervals. Then, the solution is advanced to the steady‐state iteratively. Thus, it is possible to use quite large time increments and stability problems are not encountered. The time‐domain BEM solution procedure is tested on some convection–diffusion problems and the MHD duct flow problem with insulated walls to establish the validity of the approach. The numerical results for these sample problems compare very well to analytical results. Then, the BEM formulation of the MHD duct flow problem with arbitrary wall conductivity is obtained for the first time in such a way that the equations are solved together with the coupled boundary conditions. The use of time‐dependent fundamental solution enables us to obtain numerical solutions for this problem for the Hartmann number values up to 300 and for several values of conductivity parameter. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiscale block spectral solution for unsteady flows

Many problems of interest are characterized by 2 distinctive and disparate scales and a huge multiplicity of similar small‐scale elements. The corresponding scale‐dependent solvability manifests itself in the high gradient flow around each element needing a fine mesh locally and the similar flow patterns among all elements globally. In a block spectral approach making use of the scale‐dependent solvability, the global domain is decomposed into a large number of similar small blocks. The mesh‐pointwise block spectra will establish the block‐block variation, for which only a small set of blocks need to be solved with a fine mesh resolution. The solution can then be very efficiently obtained by coupling the local fine mesh solution and the global coarse mesh solution through a block spectral mapping. Previously, the block spectral method has only been developed for steady flows. The present work extends the methodology to unsteady flows of short temporal and spatial scales (eg, those due to self‐excited unsteady vortices and turbulence disturbances). A source term–based approach is adopted to facilitate a two‐way coupling in terms of time‐averaged flow solutions. The global coarse base mesh solution provides an appropriate environment and boundary condition to the local fine mesh blocks, while the local fine mesh solution provides the source terms (propagated through the block spectral mapping) to the global coarse mesh domain. The computational method will be presented with several numerical examples and sensitivity studies. The results consistently demonstrate the validity and potential of the proposed approach.     

Direct numerical simulation of decaying two‐dimensional turbulence in a no‐slip square box using smoothed particle hydrodynamics

This paper explores the application of SPH to a DNS of decaying turbulence in a two‐dimensional no‐slip wall‐bounded domain. In this bounded domain, the inverse energy cascade, and a net torque exerted by the boundary, results in a spontaneous spin‐up of the fluid, leading to a typical end state of a large monopole vortex that fills the domain. The SPH simulations were compared against published results using a high‐accuracy pseudo‐spectral code. Ensemble averages of the kinetic energy, enstrophy and average vortex wavenumber compared well against the pseudo‐spectral results, as did the evolution of the total angular momentum of the fluid. However, although the pseudo‐spectral results emphasised the importance of the no‐slip boundaries as generators of long‐lived coherent vortices in the flow, no such generation was seen in the SPH results. Vorticity filaments produced at the boundary were always dissipated by the flow shortly after separating from the boundary layer. The kinetic energy spectrum of the SPH results was calculated using an SPH Fourier transform that operates directly on the disordered particles. The ensemble kinetic energy spectrum showed the expected k^?3 scaling over most of the inertial range. However, the spectrum flattened at smaller length scales (initially less than 7.5 particle spacings and growing in size over time), indicating an excess of small‐scale kinetic energy.Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.