Computing axisymmetric,laminar internal flows

A simple computational scheme is developed to compute laminar flows inside axisymmetric ducts. It is based on the Keller box method where the equations are approximated at the centre of the downstream face of each computational box. The coupling between the pressure gradient and the velocities for internal flow has been observed to introduce stability problems for the Keller box method that are not present for external, boundary layer flow problems. The difference scheme for the velocities is coupled to an iterative scheme to solve for the pressure gradient at each axial step. Example results for developing flow in a pipe and in a 2° conical diffuser are presented.     

Semi-implicit finite difference methods for three-dimensional shallow water flow

A semi-implicit finite difference method for the numerical solution of three-dimensional shallow water flows is presented and discussed. The governing equations are the primitive three-dimensional turbulent mean flow equations where the pressure distribution in the vertical has been assumed to be hydrostatic. In the method of solution a minimal degree of implicitness has been adopted in such a fashion that the resulting algorithm is stable and gives a maximal computational efficiency at a minimal computational cost. At each time step the numerical method requires the solution of one large linear system which can be formally decomposed into a set of small three-diagonal systems coupled with one five-diagonal system. All these linear systems are symmetric and positive definite. Thus the existence and uniquencess of the numerical solution are assured. When only one vertical layer is specified, this method reduces as a special case to a semi-implicit scheme for solving the corresponding two-dimensional shallow water equations. The resulting two- and three-dimensional algorithm has been shown to be fast, accurate and mass-conservative and can also be applied to simulate flooding and drying of tidal mud-flats in conjunction with three-dimensional flows. Furthermore, the resulting algorithm is fully vectorizable for an efficient implementation on modern vector computers.     

Numerical investigation of hypersonic step-flows

Hypersonic aerospace vehicles are exposed to extreme flight conditions with heavy contour loads during their mission. Especially at ridges and sharp corners, the wall heat flux and pressure may cause serious damage to the body. Sometimes, the surface material cannot resist the high loading and fails completely. In this work the laminar hypersonic flow over forward and backward facing steps is investigated by CFD techniques and the results are compared with experimental data. The selected flow conditions correspond to cold hypersonic flow according to the availability of experimental data. The Navier-Stokes equations in the high temperature gas approximation of a thermally perfect gas in local equilibrium serve as the model for the physical problem. A multiblock finite-volume method is used to discretize consistently all spatial derivatives appearing in the balance equations. A second order in space Godunov-type method is utilized for the non-diffusive part of the governing equations whereas centered differences are used for the diffusive part. Time integration is performed by a second order implicit scheme. In each time step, the resulting nonlinear system of equations is solved by Newton's method employing a relaxation scheme based on conjugate gradients for the linear equation system. The results obtained permit a close insight into the physics of the flow problems under consideration and by this provide valuable information for construction concepts of hypersonic vehicles. Besides a careful comparison of the numerical results with experimental data, numerical aspects like the grid influence are addressed. Received 9 November 1998 / Accepted 2 December 1999     

非定常不可压N-S方程的最小二乘算子分裂有限元法数值求解

采用最小二乘算子分裂有限元法求解非定常不可压N-S(Navier-Stokes)方程,即在每个时间层上采用算子分裂法将N-S方程分裂成扩散项和对流项,这样既能考虑对流占优特点又能顾及方程的扩散性质。扩散项是一个抛物型方程,时间离散采用向后差分格式,空间离散采用标准Galerkin有限元法。对流项的时间项采用后向差分格式,非线性部分用牛顿法进行线性化处理,再用最小二乘有限元法进行空间离散,得到对称正定的代数方程组系数矩阵。采用Re=1000的方腔流对该算法的有效性进行检验,表明其具有较高的精度,能够很好地捕捉流场中的涡结构。同时,对圆柱层流绕流进行了数值研究,通过流线图、压力场、阻力系数、升力系数及斯特劳哈数等结果的分析与对比,表明本文算法对于模拟圆柱层流绕流是准确和可靠的。     

Low-rank solution of an optimal control problem constrained by random Navier-Stokes equations

We develop a low-rank tensor decomposition algorithm for the numerical solution of a distributed optimal control problem constrained by two-dimensional time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations with a stochastic inflow. The goal of optimization is to minimize the flow vorticity. The inflow boundary condition is assumed to be an infinite-dimensional random field, which is parametrized using a finite- (but high-) dimensional Fourier expansion and discretized using the stochastic Galerkin finite element method. This leads to a prohibitively large number of degrees of freedom in the discrete solution. Moreover, the optimality conditions in a time-dependent problem require solving a coupled saddle-point system of nonlinear equations on all time steps at once. For the resulting discrete problem, we approximate the solution by the tensor-train (TT) decomposition and propose a numerically efficient algorithm to solve the optimality equations directly in the TT representation. This algorithm is based on the alternating linear scheme (ALS), but in contrast to the basic ALS method, the new algorithm exploits and preserves the block structure of the optimality equations. We prove that this structure preservation renders the proposed block ALS method well posed, in the sense that each step requires the solution of a nonsingular reduced linear system, which might not be the case for the basic ALS. Finally, we present numerical experiments based on two benchmark problems of simulation of a flow around a von Kármán vortex and a backward step, each of which has uncertain inflow. The experiments demonstrate a significant complexity reduction achieved using the TT representation and the block ALS algorithm. Specifically, we observe that the high-dimensional stochastic time-dependent problem can be solved with the asymptotic complexity of the corresponding deterministic problem.     

Two-dimensional numerical calculation of the flow field about a scoop inlet by the piecewise linear method

The piecewise linear method (PLM) based on time operator splitting is used to solve the unsteady compressible Euler equations describing the two-dimensional flow around and through a straight wall inlet placed stationary in a rapidly rotating supersonic flow. The PLM scheme is formulated as a Lagrangian step followed by an Eulerian remap. The inhomogeneous terms in the Euler equations written in cylindrical coordinates are first removed by Sod's method and the resulting set of equations is further reduced to two sets of one-dimensional Lagrangian equations, using time operator splitting. The numerically generated flow fields are presented for different values of the back pressure imposed at the downstream exit of the inlet nozzle. An oblique shock wave is formed in front of the almost whole portion of the inlet entrance, the incoming streamlines being deflected towards the higher pressure side after passing through the oblique shock wave and then bending down to the lower pressure side. A reverse flow appears inside the inlet nozzle owing to the recovery pressure of the incoming streams being lower than the back pressure of the inlet nozzle.     

A spectral collocation method for compressible,non-similar boundary layers

An efficient and highly accurate algorithm based on a spectral collocation method is developed for numerical solution of the compressible, two-dimensional and axisymmetric boundary layer equations. The numerical method incorporates a fifth-order, fully implicit marching scheme in the streamwise (timelike) dimension and a spectral collocation method based on Chebyshev polynomial expansions in the wall-normal (spacelike) dimension. The discrete governing equations are cast in residual form and the residuals are minimized at each marching step by a preconditioned Richardson iteration scheme which fully couples energy, momentum and continuity equations. Preconditioning on the basis of the finite difference analogues of the governing equations results in a computationally efficient iteration with acceptable convergence properties. A practical application of the algorithm arises in the area of compressible linear stability theory, in the investigation of the effects of transverse curvature on the stability of flows over axisymmetric bodies. The spectral collocation algorithm is used to derive the non-similar mean velocity and temperature profiles in the boundary layer of a ‘fuselage’ (cylinder) in a high-speed (Mach 5) flow parallel to its axis. The stability of the flow is shown to be sensitive to the gradual streamwise evolution of the mean flow and it is concluded that the effects of transverse curvature on stability should not be ignored routinely.     

A high-order parallel Eulerian-Lagrangian algorithm for advection-diffusion problems on unstructured meshes

In this paper, we present a high-order discontinuous Galerkin Eulerian-Lagrangian method for the solution of advection-diffusion problems on staggered unstructured meshes in two and three space dimensions. The particle trajectories are tracked backward in time by means of a high-order representation of the velocity field and a linear mapping from the physical to a reference system, hence obtaining a very simple and efficient strategy that permits to follow the Lagrangian trajectories throughout the computational domain. The use of an Eulerian-Lagrangian discretization increases the overall computational efficiency of the scheme because it is the only explicit method for the discretization of convective terms that admits large time steps without imposing a Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy–type stability condition. This property is fully exploited in this work by relying on a semi-implicit discretization of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, in which the pressure is discretized implicitly; thus, the sound speed does not play any role in the restriction of the maximum admissible time step. The resulting mild Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy stability condition, which is based only on the fluid velocity, is here overcome by the adoption of the Eulerian-Lagrangian method for the advection terms and an implicit scheme for the diffusive part of the governing equations. As a consequence, the novel algorithm is able to run simulation with a time step that is defined by the user, depending on the desired efficiency and time scale of the physical phenomena under consideration. Finally, a complete Message Passing Interface parallelization of the code is presented, showing that our approach can reach up to 96% of scaling efficiency.     

Boundary integral/spectral element approaches to the Navier-Stokes equations

Numerical algorithms are presented which combine spectral expansions on elemental subdomains with boundary integral formulations for solving viscous flow problems. Three distinct algorithms are described. The first demonstrates the use of spectral elements for the classic boundary integral method for steady Stokes flow. The second extends this algorithm to include domain integrals for solution of the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations. The third algorithm explores the use of boundary integrals as a means of consolidating uncoupled elemental solutions in a domain decomposition approach. Numerical results demonstrating high-order convergence are presented in each case.     

A hybrid vertex-centered finite volume/element method for viscous incompressible flows on non-staggered unstructured meshes

This paper proposes a hybrid vertex-centered finite volume/finite element method for solution of the two dimensional (2D) incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured grids.An incremental pressure fractional step method is adopted to handle the velocity-pressure coupling.The velocity and the pressure are collocated at the node of the vertex-centered control volume which is formed by joining the centroid of cells sharing the common vertex.For the temporal integration of the momentum equations,an implicit second-order scheme is utilized to enhance the computational stability and eliminate the time step limit due to the diffusion term.The momentum equations are discretized by the vertex-centered finite volume method (FVM) and the pressure Poisson equation is solved by the Galerkin finite element method (FEM).The momentum interpolation is used to damp out the spurious pressure wiggles.The test case with analytical solutions demonstrates second-order accuracy of the current hybrid scheme in time and space for both velocity and pressure.The classic test cases,the lid-driven cavity flow,the skew cavity flow and the backward-facing step flow,show that numerical results are in good agreement with the published benchmark solutions.     

气体动理学格式研究进展

介绍了近年来气体动理学格式(gas-kinetic scheme, GKS, 亦简称BGK 格式) 的主要研究进展, 重点是高阶精度动理学格式及适合从连续流到稀薄流全流域的统一动理学格式. 通过对速度分布函数的高阶展开和对初值的高阶重构, 构造了时间和空间均为三阶精度的气体动理学格式. 研究表明, 相比于传统的基于Riemann 解的高阶格式, 新格式不仅考虑了网格单元界面上物理量的高阶重构, 而且在初始场的演化阶段耦合了流体的对流和黏性扩散, 也能够保证解的高阶精度. 该研究为高精度计算流体力学(computatial uiddymamics, CFD) 格式的建立提供了一条新的途径. 通过分子离散速度空间直接求解Boltzmann 模型方程,在每个时间步长内将宏观量的更新和微观气体分布函数的更新紧密地耦合在一起, 建立了适合任意Knudsen(kn) 数的统一格式, 相比于已有的直接离散格式具有更高的求解效率. 最后, 本文还讨论了合理的物理模型对数值方法的重要性. 气体动理学方法的良好性能来自于Boltzmann 模型方程对计算网格单元界面上初始间断的时间演化的准确描述. 气体自由运动与碰撞过程的耦合是十分必要的. 通过分析数值激波层内的耗散机制,我们认识到采用Euler 方程的精确Riemann 解作为现代可压缩CFD 方法的基础具有根本的缺陷, 高马赫数下的激波失稳现象不可避免. 气体动理学格式为构造数值激波结构提供了一个重要的可供参考的物理机制.      

Development of a hybrid finite volume/element solver for incompressible flows

In this paper, we report our development of an implicit hybrid flow solver for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The methodology is based on the pressure correction or projection method. A fractional step approach is used to obtain an intermediate velocity field by solving the original momentum equations with the matrix‐free implicit cell‐centred finite volume method. The Poisson equation derived from the fractional step approach is solved by the node‐based Galerkin finite element method for an auxiliary variable. The auxiliary variable is closely related to the real pressure and is used to update the velocity field and the pressure field. We store the velocity components at cell centres and the auxiliary variable at cell vertices, making the current solver a staggered‐mesh scheme. Numerical examples demonstrate the performance of the resulting hybrid scheme, such as the correct temporal convergence rates for both velocity and pressure, absence of unphysical pressure boundary layer, good convergence in steady‐state simulations and capability in predicting accurate drag, lift and Strouhal number in the flow around a circular cylinder. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative study of high‐order variable‐property segregated algorithms for unsteady low Mach number flows

In this paper, five different algorithms are presented for the simulation of low Mach flows with large temperature variations, based on second‐order central‐difference or fourth‐order compact spatial discretization and a pressure projection‐type method. A semi‐implicit three‐step Runge–Kutta/Crank–Nicolson or second‐order iterative scheme is used for time integration. The different algorithms solve the coupled set of governing scalar equations in a decoupled segregate manner. In the first algorithm, a temperature equation is solved and density is calculated from the equation of state, while the second algorithm advances the density using the differential form of the equation of state. The third algorithm solves the continuity equation and the fourth algorithm solves both the continuity and enthalpy equation in conservative form. An iterative decoupled algorithm is also proposed, which allows the computation of the fully coupled solution. All five algorithms solve the momentum equation in conservative form and use a constant‐ or variable‐coefficient Poisson equation for the pressure. The efficiency of the fourth‐order compact scheme and the performances of the decoupling algorithms are demonstrated in three flow problems with large temperature variations: non‐Boussinesq natural convection, channel flow instability, flame–vortex interaction. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations by the method of lines

The numerical method of lines (NUMOL) is a numerical technique used to solve efficiently partial differential equations. In this paper, the NUMOL is applied to the solution of the two‐dimensional unsteady Navier–Stokes equations for incompressible laminar flows in Cartesian coordinates. The Navier–Stokes equations are first discretized (in space) on a staggered grid as in the Marker and Cell scheme. The discretized Navier–Stokes equations form an index 2 system of differential algebraic equations, which are afterwards reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations (ODEs), using the discretized form of the continuity equation. The pressure field is computed solving a discrete pressure Poisson equation. Finally, the resulting ODEs are solved using the backward differentiation formulas. The proposed method is illustrated with Dirichlet boundary conditions through applications to the driven cavity flow and to the backward facing step flow. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A VORTICITY–STREAMFUNCTION FORMULATION FOR STEADY INCOMPRESSIBLE TWO-DIMENSIONAL FLOWS

A vorticity–streamfunction formulation for incompressible planar viscous flows is presented. The standard kinematic field equations are discretized using centred finite difference schemes and solved in a coupled way via a Newton-like linearization scheme. The linearized system of partial differential equations is handled through the restarting linear GMRES algorithm, preconditioned by means of an incomplete LU approximate factorization. The proposed solution technique constitutes a fast and robust algorithm for treating laminar flows at high Reynolds numbers. The pressure field is obtained at a subsequent step by solving a convection– diffusion equation in terms of the stagnation pressure, which presents certain advantages compared with the widely used static pressure Poisson equation. Results are shown for a wide variety of applications including internal and external flows.     

A Hybrid Domain Decomposition and Multigrid Method for the Acceleration of Compressible Viscous Flow Calculations on Unstructured Triangular Meshes

This paper is concerned with the formulation and the evaluation of a hybrid solution method that makes use of domain decomposition and multigrid principles for the calculation of two-dimensional compressible viscous flows on unstructured triangular meshes. More precisely, a non-overlapping additive domain decomposition method is used to coordinate concurrent subdomain solutions with a multigrid method. This hybrid method is developed in the context of a flow solver for the Navier-Stokes equations which is based on a combined finite element/finite volume formulation on unstructured triangular meshes. Time integration of the resulting semi-discrete equations is performed using a linearized backward Euler implicit scheme. As a result, each pseudo time step requires the solution of a sparse linear system. In this study, a non-overlapping domain decomposition algorithm is used for advancing the solution at each implicit time step. Algebraically, the Schwarz algorithm is equivalent to a Jacobi iteration on a linear system whose matrix has a block structure. A substructuring technique can be applied to this matrix in order to obtain a fully implicit scheme in terms of interface unknowns. In the present approach, the interface unknowns are numerical fluxes. The interface system is solved by means of a full GMRES method. Here, the local system solves that are induced by matrix-vector products with the interface operator, are performed using a multigrid by volume agglomeration method. The resulting hybrid domain decomposition and multigrid solver is applied to the computation of several steady flows around a geometry of NACA0012 airfoil.     

Direct numerical simulation of flow in channel with time-dependent wall geometry

A numerical scheme is developed to extend the scope of the spectral method without solving the covariant and contravariant forms of the Navier-Stokes equations in the curvilinear coordinates. The primitive variables are represented by the Fourier series and the Chebyshev polynomials in the computational space. The time advancement is accomplished by a high-order time-splitting method, and a corresponding high-order pressure condition at the wall is introduced to reduce the splitting error. Compared with the previous pseudo-spectral scheme, in which the Navier-Stokes equations are solved in the covariant and contravariant forms, the present scheme reduces the computational cost and, at the same time, keeps the spectral accuracy. The scheme is tested in the simulations of the turbulent flow in a channel with a static streamwise wavy wall and the turbulent flow over a flexible wall undergoing the streamwise traveling wave motion. The turbulent flow over an oscillating dimple is studied with the present numerical scheme, and the periodic generation of the vortical structures is analyzed.     

Using a segregated finite element scheme to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

In this paper, a segregated finite element scheme for the solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is proposed which is simpler in form than previously reported formulations. A pressure correction equation is derived from the momentum and continuity equations, and equal-order interpolation is used for both the velocity components and pressure. Algorithms such as this have been known to lead to checkerboard pressure oscillations; however, the pressure correction equation of this scheme should not produce these oscillations. The method is applied to several laminar flow situations, and details of the methods used to achieve converged solutions are given.     

UNSTEADY／STEADY NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL INCOMPRESSIBLE NAVIER-STOKES EQUATIONS ON ARTIFICIAL COMPRESSIBILITY

A mixed algorithm of central and upwind difference scheme for the solution of steady/unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is presented. The algorithm is based on the method of artificial compressibility and uses a third-order flux-difference splitting technique for the convective terms and the second-order central difference for the viscous terms. The numerical flux of semi-discrete equations is computed by using the Roe approximation. Time accuracy is obtained in the numerical solutions by subiterating the equations in pseudotime for each physical time step. The algebraic turbulence model of Baldwin-Lomax is ulsed in this work. As examples, the solutions of flow through two dimensional flat, airfoil, prolate spheroid and cerebral aneurysm are computed and the results are compared with experimental data. The results show that the coefficient of pressure and skin friction are agreement with experimental data, the largest discrepancy occur in the separation region where the lagebraic turbulence model of Baldwin-Lomax could not exactly predict the flow.     

Simulation of three-dimensional incompressible flows in generalized curvilinear coordinates using a high-order compact finite-difference lattice Boltzmann method

In the present study, a high-order compact finite-difference lattice Boltzmann method is applied for accurately computing 3-D incompressible flows in the generalized curvilinear coordinates to handle practical and realistic geometries with curved boundaries and nonuniform grids. The incompressible form of the 3-D nineteen discrete velocity lattice Boltzmann method is transformed into the generalized curvilinear coordinates. Herein, a fourth-order compact finite-difference scheme and a fourth-order Runge-Kutta scheme are used for the discretization of the spatial derivatives and the temporal term, respectively, in the resulting 3-D nineteen discrete velocity lattice Boltzmann equation to provide an accurate 3-D incompressible flow solver. A high-order spectral-type low-pass compact filtering technique is applied to have a stable solution. All boundary conditions are implemented based on the solution of the governing equations in the 3-D generalized curvilinear coordinates. Numerical solutions of different 3-D benchmark and practical incompressible flow problems are performed to demonstrate the accuracy and performance of the solution methodology presented. Herein, the 2-D cylindrical Couette flow, the decay of a 3-D double shear wave, the cubic lid-driven cavity flow with nonuniform grids, the flow through a square duct with 90° bend and the flow past a sphere at different flow conditions are considered for validating the present computations. Numerical results obtained show the accuracy and robustness of the present solution methodology based on the implementation of the high-order compact finite-difference lattice Boltzman method in the generalized curvilinear coordinates for solving 3-D incompressible flows over practical and realistic geometries.