A NON–LINEAR ADAPTED TRI–TREE MULTIGRID SOLVER FOR FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION OF THE NAVIER–STOKES EQUATIONS

An iterative adaptive equation multigrid solver for solving the implicit Navier–Stokes equations simultaneously with tri-tree grid generation is developed. The tri-tree grid generator builds a hierarchical grid structur e which is mapped to a finite element grid at each hierarchical level. For each hierarchical finite element multigrid the Navier–Stokes equations are solved approximately. The solution at each level is projected onto the next finer grid and used as a start vector for the iterative equation solver at the finer level. When the finest grid is reached, the equation solver is iterated until a tolerated solution is reached. The iterative multigrid equation solver is preconditioned by incomplete LU factorization with coupled node fill-in. The non-linear Navier–Stokes equations are linearized by both the Newton method and grid adaption. The efficiency and behaviour of the present adaptive method are compared with those of the previously developed iterative equation solver which is preconditioned by incomplete LU factorization with coupled node fill-in.     

The three-dimensional prolonged adaptive unstructured finite element multigrid method for the Navier–Stokes equations

This paper presents the development of the three- dimensional prolonged adaptive finite element equation solver for the Navier–Stokes equations. The finite element used is the tetrahedron with quadratic approximation of the velocities and linear approximation of the pressure. The equation system is formulated in the basic variables. The grid is adapted to the solution by the element Reynolds number. An element in the grid is refined when the Reynolds number of the element exceeds a preset limit. The global Reynolds number in the investigation is increased by scaling the solution for a lower Reynolds number. The grid is refined according to the scaled solution and the prolonged solution for the lower Reynolds number constitutes the start vector for the higher Reynolds number. Since the Reynolds number is the ratio of convection to diffusion, the grid refinements act as linearization and symmetrization of the equation system. The linear equation system of the Newton formulation is solved by CGSTAB with coupled node fill-in preconditioner. The test problem considered is the three-dimensional driven cavity flow. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A NON-LINEAR ADAPTIVE FULL TRI-TREE MULTIGRID METHOD FOR THE MIXED FINITE ELEMENT FORMULATION OF THE NAVIER–STOKES EQUATIONS

The full adaptive multigrid method is based on the tri-tree grid generator. The solution of the Navier–Stokes equations is first found for a low Reynolds number. The velocity boundary conditions are then increased and the grid is adapted to the scaled solution. The scaled solution is then used as a start vector for the multigrid iterations. During the multigrid iterations the grid is first recoarsed a specified number of grid levels. The solution of the Navier–Stokes equations with the multigrid residual as right-hand side is smoothed in a fixed number of Newton iterations. The linear equation system in the Newton algorithm is solved iteratively by CGSTAB preconditioned by ILU factorization with coupled node fill-in. The full adaptive multigrid algorithm is demonstr ated for cavity flow. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Int. j. numer. methods fluids 24: 1037ndash;1047, 1997.     

ADAPTIVE LINEARIZATION AND GRID ITERATIONS WITH THE TRI-TREE MULTIGRID REFINEMENT–RECOARSEMENT ALGORITHM FOR THE NAVIER–STOKES EQUATIONS

The tri-tree algorithm for refinements and recoarsements of finite element grids is explored. The refinement–recoarsement algorithm not only provides an accurate solution in certain parts of the grid but also has a major influence on the finite element equation system itself. The refinements of the grid lead to a more symmetric and linear equation matrix. The recoarsements will ensure that the grid is not finer than is necessary for preventing divergence in an iterative solution procedure. The refinement–recoarsement algorithm is a dynamic procedure and the grid is adapted to the instant solution. In the tri-tree multigrid algorithm the solution from a coarser grid is scaled relatively to the increase in velocity boundary condition for the finer grid. In order to have a good start vector for the solution of the finer grid, the global Reynolds number or velocity boundary condition should not be subject to large changes. For each grid and velocity solution the element Reynolds number is computed and used as the grid adaption indicator during the refinement–recoarsement procedure. The iterative tri-tree multigrid method includes iterations with respect to the grid. At each Reynolds number the same boundary condition s are applied and the grid is adapted to the solution iteratively until the number of unknowns and elements in the grid becomes constant. In the present paper the following properties of the tri-tree algorithm are explored: the influence of the increase in boundary velocities and the size of the grid adaption indicator on the amount of work for solving the equations, the number of linear iterations and the solution error estimate between grid levels. The present work indicates that in addition to the linear and non-linear iterations, attention should also be given to grid adaption iterations. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A preconditioned alternating inner-outer iterative solution method for the mixed finite element formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations

In the present work a new iterative method for solving the Navier-Stokes equations is designed. In a previous paper a coupled node fill-in preconditioner for iterative solution of the Navier-Stokes equations proved to increase the convergence rate considerably compared with traditional preconditioners. The further development of the present iterative method is based on the same storage scheme for the equation matrix as for the coupled node fill-in preconditioner. This storage scheme separates the velocity, the pressure and the coupling of pressure and velocity coefficients in the equation matrix. The separation storage scheme allows for an ILU factorization of both the velocity and pressure unknowns. With the inner-outer solution scheme the velocity unknowns are eliminated before the resulting equation system for the pressures is solved iteratively. After the pressure unknown has been found, the pressures are substituted into the original equation system and the velocities are also found iteratively. The behaviour of the inner-outer iterative solution algorithm is investigated in order to find optimal convergence criteria for the inner iterations and compared with the solution algorithm for the original equation system. The results show that the coupled node fill-in preconditioner of the original equation system is more efficient than the coupled node fill-in preconditioner of the reduced equation system. However, the solution technique of the reduced equation system revals properties which may be advantageous in future solution algorithms.     

An ILU preconditioner with coupled node fill-in for iterative solution of the mixed finite element formulation of the 2D and 3D Navier-Stokes equations

In the present paper, preconditioning of iterative equation solvers for the Navier-Stokes equations is investigated. The Navier-Stokes equations are solved for the mixed finite element formulation. The linear equation solvers used are the orthomin and the Bi-CGSTAB algorithms. The storage structure of the equation matrix is given special attention in order to avoid swapping and thereby increase the speed of the preconditioner. The preconditioners considered are Jacobian, SSOR and incomplete LU preconditioning of the matrix associated with the velocities. A new incomplete LU preconditioning with fill-in for the pressure matrix at locations in the matrix where the corner nodes are coupled is designed. For all preconditioners, inner iterations are investigated for possible improvement of the preconditioning. Numerical experiments are executed both in two and three dimensions.     

Conjugate gradient methods and ILU preconditioning of non-symmetric matrix systems with arbitrary sparsity patterns

Preconditioning techniques based on incomplete Gaussian elimination for large, sparse, non-symmetric matrix systems are described. A certain level of fill-in may be specified in the incomplete factorizations. All methods considered may be applied to matrices with arbitrary sparsity patterns, for instance those associated with the general preprocessor algorithms or adaptive mesh techniques. The preconditioners have been combined with five conjugate gradient-like methods and tested on finite element discretized scalar convection-diffusion equations in 2D and 3D. It is found from numerical experiments that an amount of fill-in corresponding to about 50% of the number of original non-zero matrix entries is the optimal choice for this class of preconditioners. The preconditioners show almost no sensitivity to grid distortion. In problems with significantly variable coefficients or anisotropy the preconditioners stabilize the basic iterative schemes in addition to reducing the computational work substantially, mostly by more than 90%. The modified preconditioning technique, where fill-in is added on the main diagonal, performs in general better than the standard incomplete LU factorization, but is inferior to the latter in 3D problems and for matrix systems with complicated sparsity patterns.     

Development of new finite volume schemes on unstructured triangular grid for simulating the gas–liquid two‐phase flow

This paper presents a coupled finite volume inner doubly iterative efficient algorithm for linked equations (IDEAL) with level set method to simulate the incompressible gas–liquid two‐phase flows with moving interfaces on unstructured triangular grid. The finite volume IDEAL method on a collocated grid is employed to solve the incompressible two‐phase Navier–Stokes equations, and the level set method is used to capture the moving interfaces. For the sake of mass conservation, an effective second‐order accurate finite volume scheme is developed to solve the level set equation on triangular grid, which can be implemented much easier than the classical high‐order level set solvers. In this scheme, the value of level set function on the boundary of control volume is approximated using a linear combination of a high‐order Larangian interpolation and a second‐order upwind interpolation. By the rotating slotted disk and stretching and shrinking of a circular fluid element benchmark cases, the mass conservation and accuracy of the new scheme is verified. Then the coupled method is applied to two‐phase flows, including a 2D bubble rising problem and a 2D dam breaking problem. The computational results agree well with those reported in literatures and experimental data. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A preconditioned semi‐staggered dilation‐free finite volume method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations on all‐hexahedral elements

A new semi‐staggered finite volume method is presented for the solution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations on all‐quadrilateral (2D)/hexahedral (3D) meshes. The velocity components are defined at element node points while the pressure term is defined at element centroids. The continuity equation is satisfied exactly within each elements. The checkerboard pressure oscillations are prevented using a special filtering matrix as a preconditioner for the saddle‐point problem resulting from second‐order discretization of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The preconditioned saddle‐point problem is solved using block preconditioners with GMRES solver. In order to achieve higher performance FORTRAN source code is based on highly efficient PETSc and HYPRE libraries. As test cases the 2D/3D lid‐driven cavity flow problem and the 3D flow past array of circular cylinders are solved in order to verify the accuracy of the proposed method. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A moving grid method applied to one-dimensional non-stationary flame propagation

The paper presents applications of a moving grid method to the combined problem of ignition and premixed flame propagation in a closed vessel. This method belongs to the general class of adaptive grid techniques for the numerical integration of evolutionary partial differential equations and is based on the method of lines with variable node position. In the present case the motion of the grid and the solution of the partial differential equations are strongly coupled by an implicit formulation. The problem is reduced to an initial value problem for a stiff differential-algebraic system. The continuously moving grid is determined by the equidistribution of a positive function which depends on the solution of the partial differential equations. A differential-algebraic system solver is used for the time integration of the initial value problem. The numerical results of the test problems demonstrate the computational efficiency and the capability of the method to resolve the main features of the solution.     

A second look at the role of the fast Fourier transform as an elliptic solver

A fast cosine transform (FCT) is coupled with a tridiagonal solver for the purpose of solving the Poisson equation on irregular and non‐uniform rectangular staggered grids. This kind of solution is required for the pressure field during the simulation of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations when using the projection method. A new technique using the FCT–tridiagonal solver is derived for the cases where the boundaries of the flow regime do not coincide with the boundaries of the computational domain and for non‐uniform grids. The technique is based on an iterative procedure where a defect equation is solved in every iteration, followed by a relaxation procedure. The method is investigated analytically and numerically to show that the solution converges as a geometric series. The method is further investigated for the effects of the relative size of the rigid body, the grid stretching, size and aspect ratio. The new solver is incorporated with the direct numerical simulation (DNS) and large eddy simulation (LES) techniques to simulate the flows around a backward‐facing step and a 3D rectangular obstacle, yielding results that qualitatively compare well with known results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Iterative process acceleration of calculation of unsteady,viscous, compressible,and heat‐conductive gas flows

In this paper, extrapolation technique is introduced in the Semi‐Implicit Method for Pressure‐Linked Equations ‐ Time Step (SIMPLE‐TS) finite volume iterative algorithm for calculation of compressible Navier–Stokes–Fourier equations subject of slip and jump boundary conditions. The initial state, required by the iterative solver in simulation of unsteady flow problems, is approximated in time by Lagrange polynomial extrapolation in each node. The approach is applicable to a parallel code in a straightforward way due to algorithmic independence of the neighboring nodes in the computational grid. A criterion is proposed to determine the order of extrapolation polynomial and stop the extrapolation execution, when the local steady state is reached. The approach is tested on different microflow problems: Couette flow, flow past a square in a microchannel at subsonic and supersonic speeds, and convective Rayleigh–Bénard flow of a rarefied gas. The acceleration varies from 1.14‐fold to 2.8‐fold. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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

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

A control volume finite‐element method for numerical simulating incompressible fluid flows without pressure correction

This paper presents a numerical model to study the laminar flows induced in confined spaces by natural convection. A control volume finite‐element method (CVFEM) with equal‐order meshing is employed to discretize the governing equations in the pressure–velocity formulation. In the proposed model, unknown variables are calculated in the same grid system using different specific interpolation functions without pressure correction. To manage memory storage requirements, a data storage format is developed for generated sparse banded matrices. The performance of various Krylov techniques, including Bi‐CGSTAB (Bi‐Conjugate Gradient STABilized) with an incomplete LU (ILU) factorization preconditioner is verified by applying it to three well‐known test problems. The results are compared to those of independent numerical or theoretical solutions in literature. The iterative computer procedure is improved by using a coupled strategy, which consists of solving simultaneously the momentum and the continuity equation transformed in a pressure equation. Results show that the strategy provides useful benefits with respect to both reduction of storage requirements and central processing unit runtime. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance of algebraic multi‐grid solvers based on unsmoothed and smoothed aggregation schemes

A comparison is made of the performance of two algebraic multi‐grid (AMG0 and AMG1) solvers for the solution of discrete, coupled, elliptic field problems. In AMG0, the basis functions for each coarse grid/level approximation (CGA) are obtained directly by unsmoothed aggregation, an appropriate scaling being applied to each CGA to improve consistency. In AMG1 they are assembled using a smoothed aggregation with a constrained energy optimization method providing the smoothing. Although more costly, smoothed basis functions provide a better (more consistent) CGA. Thus, AMG1 might be viewed as a benchmark for the assessment of the simpler AMG0. Selected test problems for D'Arcy flow in pipe networks, Fick diffusion, plane strain elasticity and Navier–Stokes flow (in a Stokes approximation) are used in making the comparison. They are discretized on the basis of both structured and unstructured finite element meshes. The range of discrete equation sets covers both symmetric positive definite systems and systems that may be non‐symmetric and/or indefinite. Both global and local mesh refinements to at least one order of resolving power are examined. Some of these include anisotropic refinements involving elements of large aspect ratio; in some hydrodynamics cases, the anisotropy is extreme, with aspect ratios exceeding two orders. As expected, AMG1 delivers typical multi‐grid convergence rates, which for all practical purposes are independent of mesh bandwidth. AMG0 rates are slower. They may also be more discernibly mesh‐dependent. However, for the range of mesh bandwidths examined, the overall cost effectiveness of the two solvers is remarkably similar when a full convergence to machine accuracy is demanded. Thus, the shorter solution times for AMG1 do not necessarily compensate for the extra time required for its costly grid generation. This depends on the severity of the problem and the demanded level of convergence. For problems requiring few iterations, where grid generation costs represent a significant penalty, AMG0 has the advantage. For problems requiring a large investment in iterations, AMG1 has the edge. However, for the toughest problems addressed (vector and coupled vector–scalar fields discretized exclusively using finite elements of extreme aspect ratio) AMG1 is more robust: AMG0 has failed on some of these tests. However, but for this deficiency AMG0 would be the preferred linear approximation solver for Navier–Stokes solution algorithms in view of its much lower grid generation costs. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An all-at-once algebraic multigrid method for finite element discretizations of Stokes problem

We consider numerical solution of finite element discretizations of the Stokes problem. We focus on the transform-then-solve approach, which amounts to first apply a specific algebraic transformation to the linear system of equations arising from the discretization, and then solve the transformed system with an algebraic multigrid method. The approach has recently been applied to finite difference discretizations of the Stokes problem with constant viscosity, and has recommended itself as a robust and competitive solution method. In this work, we examine the extension of the approach to standard finite element discretizations of the Stokes problem, including problems with variable viscosity. The extension relies, on one hand, on the use of the successive over-relaxation method as a multigrid smoother for some finite element schemes. On the other hand, we present strategies that allow us to limit the complexity increase induced by the transformation. Numerical experiments show that for stationary problems our method is competitive compared to a reference solver based on a block diagonal preconditioner and MINRES, and suggest that the transform-then-solve approach is also more robust. In particular, for problems with variable viscosity, the transform-then-solve approach demonstrates significant speed-up with respect to the block diagonal preconditioner. The method is also particularly robust for time-dependent problems whatever the time step size.     

SIMPLE‐type preconditioners for cell‐centered,colocated finite volume discretization of incompressible Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations

This paper contains a comparison of four SIMPLE‐type methods used as solver and as preconditioner for the iterative solution of the (Reynolds‐averaged) Navier–Stokes equations, discretized with a finite volume method for cell‐centered, colocated variables on unstructured grids. A matrix‐free implementation is presented, and special attention is given to the treatment of the stabilization matrix to maintain a compact stencil suitable for unstructured grids. We find SIMPLER preconditioning to be robust and efficient for academic test cases and industrial test cases. Compared with the classical SIMPLE solver, SIMPLER preconditioning reduces the number of nonlinear iterations by a factor 5–20 and the CPU time by a factor 2–5 depending on the case. The flow around a ship hull at Reynolds number 2E9, for example, on a grid with cell aspect ratio up to 1:1E6, can be computed in 3 instead of 15 h.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A method for finite element parallel viscous compressible flow calculations

This paper presents the parallelization aspects of a solution method for the fully coupled 3D compressible Navier-Stokes equations. The algorithmic thrust of the approach, embedded in a finite element code NS3D, is the linearization of the governing equations through Newton methods, followed by a fully coupled solution of velocities and pressure at each non-linear iteration by preconditioned conjugate gradient-like iterative algorithms. For the matrix assembly, as well as for the linear equation solver, efficient coarse-grain parallel schemes have been developed for shared memory machines, as well as for networks of workstations, with a moderate number of processors. The parallel iterative schemes, in particular, circumvent some of the difficulties associated with domain decomposition methods, such as geometry bookkeeping and the sometimes drastic convergence slow-down of partitioned non-linear problems.     

A parallel solver based on the dual Schur decomposition of general finite element matrices

A parallel solver based on domain decomposition is presented for the solution of large algebraic systems arising in the finite element discretization of mechanical problems. It is hybrid in the sense that it combines a direct factorization of the local subdomain problems with an iterative treatment of the interface system by a parallel GMRES algorithm. An important feature of the proposed solver is the use of a set of Lagrange multipliers to enforce continuity of the finite element unknowns at the interface. A projection step and a preconditioner are proposed to control the conditioning of the interface matrix. The decomposition of the finite element mesh is formulated as a graph partitioning problem. A two-step approach is used where an initial decomposition is optimized by non-deterministic heuristics to increase the quality of the decomposition. Parallel simulations of a Navier–Stokes flow problem carried out on a Convex Exemplar SPP system with 16 processors show that the use of optimized decompositions and the preconditioning step are keys to obtaining high parallel efficiencies. Typical parallel efficiencies range above 80%. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modeling Variable Density Flow and Solute Transport in Porous Medium: 1. Numerical Model and Verification

A new numerical model for the resolution of density coupled flow and transport in porous media is presented. The model is based on the mixed hybrid finite elements (MHFE) and discontinuous finite elements (DFE) methods. MHFE is used to solve the flow equation and the dispersive part of the transport equation. This method is more accurate in the calculation of velocities and ensures continuity of fluxes from one element to the adjacent one. DFE is used to solve the convective part of the transport equation. Combined with a slope limiting procedure, it avoids numerical instabilities and creates a very limited numerical dispersion, even for high grid Peclet number.Flow and transport equations are coupled by a standard iterative scheme. Residual based criterion is used to stop the iterations. Simulations of an unstable equilibrium show the effects of the criteria used to stop the iterations and the stopping criterion in the solver. The effects are more important for finer grids than for coarser grids.The numerical model is verified by the simulation of standard benchmarks: the Henry and the Elder test cases. A good agreement is found between the revised semianalytical Henry solution and the numerical solution. The Elder test case was also studied. The simulations were similar to those presented in previous works but with significantly less unknowns (i.e. coarser grids). These results show the efficiency of the used numerical schemes.