Unsteady three‐dimensional boundary layer flow due to a stretching surface in a micropolar fluid

In this paper, the unsteady three‐dimensional boundary layer flow due to a stretching surface in a viscous and incompressible micropolar fluid is considered. The partial differential equations governing the unsteady laminar boundary layer flow are solved numerically using an implicit finite‐difference scheme. The numerical solutions are obtained which are uniformly valid for all dimensionless time from initial unsteady‐state flow to final steady‐state flow in the whole spatial region. The equations for the initial unsteady‐state flow are also solved analytically. It is found that there is a smooth transition from the small‐time solution to the large‐time solution. The features of the flow for different values of the governing parameters are analyzed and discussed. The solutions of interest for the skin friction coefficient with various values of the stretching parameter c and material parameter K are presented. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An unsteady multiblock multigrid scheme for lifting forward flight rotor simulation

Numerical simulation of multi‐bladed lifting rotors in forward flight is considered. The flow‐solver presented is multiblock and unsteady, which is essential for forward flight, and also includes multigrid acceleration to reduce run‐times. A structured multiblock grid generator specifically for rotor blades has also been developed and is presented here. Previous work has shown that hovering lifting rotor flows are particularly expensive to simulate, since the capture of the vortical wake below the disc requires a long numerical integration time; more than 20 revolutions for an unsteady simulation, or more than 40000 time‐steps for a single grid steady simulation. It is demonstrated here that only two or three revolutions are required to obtain a converged solution for forward flight, since the wake is swept downstream. This requires less than 1.5 × the run‐time of a steady hovering simulation, for the same grid density around each blade, even though an unsteady simulation is required and the complete disk must be solved rather than one blade as in hover. It is demonstrated that very fine meshes are required to capture the unsteady tip vortex motion, and the effects on blade loading of blade‐vortex interaction and rotor shaft inclination are also considered. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unsteady boundary layer flow due to a stretching surface in a rotating fluid

The induced unsteady flow due to a stretching surface in a rotating fluid, where the unsteadiness is caused by the suddenly stretched surface is studied in this paper. After a similarity transformation, the unsteady Navier–Stokes equations have been solved numerically using the Keller-box method. Also, the perturbation solution for small times as well as the asymptotic solution for large times, when the flow becomes steady, has been obtained. It is found that there is a smooth transition from the small time solution to the large time or steady state solution.     

Convergence of steady and unsteady formulations for inviscid hovering rotor solutions

An upwind Euler solver is presented, and applied to multibladed lifting hovering rotor flow. These flows can be simulated as a steady case, in a blade‐fixed rotating co‐ordinate system. However, forward flight simulation will always require an unsteady solution. Hence, as a stepping stone in the development of a forward flight simulation tool, both explicit steady and implicit unsteady simulations of the same hovering case are presented. Convergence of the two approaches is examined and compared, in terms of residual history, cost, and solution evolution, as a means of both validating the unsteady formulation and considering implications for forward flight simulation. Consideration of the solution evolution and wake capturing shows that for hovering rotor cases, the unsteady and steady solutions are the same, but the unsteady solution is more expensive in terms of CPU time. It is also shown that for hover, the fewer real time‐steps taken per revolution the more efficient the implicit scheme is. However, this is a characteristic of the case, which results in smooth solution variation between time steps. It is also demonstrated that for rotary flow simulation, the global residual is not a useful quantity to assess convergence. The residual reaches a very low (constant in the implicit case) value while the solution is still evolving. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A high‐order compact finite‐difference lattice Boltzmann method for simulation of steady and unsteady incompressible flows

A high‐order compact finite‐difference lattice Boltzmann method (CFDLBM) is proposed and applied to accurately compute steady and unsteady incompressible flows. Herein, the spatial derivatives in the lattice Boltzmann equation are discretized by using the fourth‐order compact FD scheme, and the temporal term is discretized with the fourth‐order Runge–Kutta scheme to provide an accurate and efficient incompressible flow solver. A high‐order spectral‐type low‐pass compact filter is used to stabilize the numerical solution. An iterative initialization procedure is presented and applied to generate consistent initial conditions for the simulation of unsteady flows. A sensitivity study is also conducted to evaluate the effects of grid size, filtering, and procedure of boundary conditions implementation on accuracy and convergence rate of the solution. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed solution procedure based on the CFDLBM method are also examined by comparison with the classical LBM for different flow conditions. Two test cases considered herein for validating the results of the incompressible steady flows are a two‐dimensional (2‐D) backward‐facing step and a 2‐D cavity at different Reynolds numbers. Results of these steady solutions computed by the CFDLBM are thoroughly compared with those of a compact FD Navier–Stokes flow solver. Three other test cases, namely, a 2‐D Couette flow, the Taylor's vortex problem, and the doubly periodic shear layers, are simulated to investigate the accuracy of the proposed scheme in solving unsteady incompressible flows. Results obtained for these test cases are in good agreement with the analytical solutions and also with the available numerical and experimental results. The study shows that the present solution methodology is robust, efficient, and accurate for solving steady and unsteady incompressible flow problems even at high Reynolds numbers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A method for predicting unsteady potential flow about an aerofoil

A new model is presented for the calculation of the incompressible, inviscid flow around an arbitrary aerofoil undergoing unsteady motion. The technique was developed from the steady flow algorithm of Leishman and Galbraith¹ in which use was made of a linear distribution of panel vorticity. The procedure is in the same class as that of Basu and Hancock² but, because of the particular approach to the manner of specifying the shed vorticity, only a set of linear simultaneous equations needs be solved, unlike the method of Reference 2, complicated by the necessary solution of a quadratic. A brief history of unsteady flow modelling is given in the introduction, followed by the mathematical details of the current method. Results are presented and discussed for a number of cases which clearly illustrate relevant characteristics of unsteady flow.     

Finite element computations for unsteady fluid and elastic membrane interaction problems

The interaction between the hydrodynamic forces of a flow field and the elastic forces of adjacent deformable boundaries is described by elastohydrodynamics, a coupled fluid–elastic membrane problem. Direct numerical solution of the unsteady, highly non-linear equations requires that the dynamic evolution of both the flow field and the domain shape be determined as part of the solution, since neither is known a priori. This paper describes a numerical algorithm based on the deformable spatial domain space–time (DSD/ST) finite element method for the unsteady motion of an incompressible, viscous fluid with elastic membrane interaction. The unsteady Navier–Stoke and elastic membrane equations are solved separately using an iterative procedure by the GMRES technique with an incomplete lower-upper (ILU) decomposition at every time instant. One-dimensional, two-dimensional and deformable domain model problems are used to demonstrate the capabilities and accuracy of the present algorithm. Both steady state and transient problems are studied. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new computation model of fractured horizontal well coupling with reservoir

Based on Green's functions and Newman's product principle, pressure drop formula was derived for considering simultaneous production of fractures and horizontal wellbore in unsteady state. A reservoir/fractured horizontal well coupling model is developed for finite conductivity condition that can be solved by the combination of quasi‐Newton method and PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) algorithm. The solution of a practical example shows that lots of factors can affect the productivity of the fractured horizontal well. The number of the fractures has an optimizing range. Different fractures have different flow rates and the production in the central fracture is the lowest. The distribution of production rate in the wellbore has a wave‐like shape due to the influence of fractures. The closer fractures are the lower flow rate in well segments. Considering the horizontal wellbore production, the production rates in the fractures are asymmetric and the corresponding pressure drop curve is smoother. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implicit application of non‐reflective boundary conditions for Navier–Stokes equations in generalized coordinates

The non‐reflective boundary conditions (NRBC) for Navier–Stokes equations originally suggested by Poinsot and Lele (J. Comput. Phys. 1992; 101 :104–129) in Cartesian coordinates are extended to generalized coordinates. The characteristic form Navier–Stokes equations in conservative variables are given. In this characteristic‐based method, the NRBC is implicitly coupled with the Navier–Stokes flow solver and are solved simultaneously with the flow solver. The calculations are conducted for a subsonic vortex propagating flow and the steady and unsteady transonic inlet‐diffuser flows. The results indicate that the present method is accurate and robust, and the NRBC are essential for unsteady flow calculations. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An overlapping control volume method for the Navier–Stokes equations on non‐staggered grids

An algorithm, based on the overlapping control volume (OCV) method, for the solution of the steady and unsteady two‐dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in complex geometry is presented. The primitive variable formulation is solved on a non‐staggered grid arrangement. The problem of pressure–velocity decoupling is circumvented by using momentum interpolation. The accuracy and effectiveness of the method is established by solving five steady state and one unsteady test problems. The numerical solutions obtained using the technique are in good agreement with the analytical and benchmark solutions available in the literature. On uniform grids, the method gives second‐order accuracy for both diffusion‐ and convection‐dominated flows. There is little loss of accuracy on grids that are moderately non‐orthogonal. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cascade aerodynamic gust response including steady loading effects

To predict the unsteady convected gust aerodynamic response of a cascade comprised of arbitrary thick and cambered aerofoils in an incompressible, inviscid, flow field, a complete first-order model is formulated. The flow is analysed by considering a periodic flow channel. The velocity potential is separated into steady and unsteady harmonic components, each described by a Laplace equation. The strong dependence of the unsteady aerodynamics on the steady effects of aerofoil and cascade geometry and incidence angle is manifested in the coupling of the unsteady and steady flow fields through the unsteady boundary conditions. Analytical solutions in individual grid elements of a body-fitted computational grid are then determined, with the complete solution obtained by assembly of these local solutions. The validity and capabilities of this model and solution technique are then demonstrated by analysing the steady and unsteady aerodynamics of both theoretical and experimental cascade configurations.     

Nouvelle approche numerique des solutions de la couche limite laminaire incompressible en regime non-stationnaire autour d'une paroi cylindrique elliptique mise en impulsion brutale

The equations of the unsteady incompressible laminar boundary layers about circular and elliptic cylinders started impulsively from rest are solved, after an original coordinate transformation, with the help of a semi-implicit difference scheme linearly stable without conditions. The knowledge of the phenomenon results only from that of the flow characteristics at the initial time; this makes mandatory the use of an analytical method of the Blasius type. When the ratio of the semi-axes of the elliptic cylinder becomes infinite, the present method gives the solution of the stagnation flow.When the flow presents a separation point in the steady state (circular cylinder), a criterion for stopping computation is proposed. It may be noted that to obtain the stagnation flow, we can continue the computations as far as possible and a steady solution is found with excellent accuracy.     

Computation of unsteady transonic flow over a fighter wing using a zonal Navier–Stokes/full‐potential method

An improved hybrid method for computing unsteady compressible viscous flows is presented. This method divides the computational domain into two zones. In the inner zone, the Navier–Stokes equations are solved using a diagonal form of an alternating‐direction implicit (ADI) approximate factorisation procedure. In the outer zone, the unsteady full‐potential equation (FPE) is solved. The two zones are tightly coupled so that steady and unsteady flows may be efficiently solved. Characteristic‐based viscous/inviscid interface boundary conditions are employed to avoid spurious reflections at that interface. The resulting CPU times are about 60% of the full Navier–Stokes CPU times for unsteady flows in non‐vector processing machines. Applications of the method are presented for a F‐5 wing in steady and unsteady transonic flows. Steady surface pressures are in very good agreement with experimental data and are essentially identical to the full Navier–Stokes predictions. Density contours show that shocks cross the viscous/inviscid interface smoothly, so that the accuracy of full Navier–Stokes equations can be retained with significant savings in computational time. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A finite volume unstructured multigrid method for efficient computation of unsteady incompressible viscous flows

An unstructured non‐nested multigrid method is presented for efficient simulation of unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes flows. The Navier–Stokes solver is based on the artificial compressibility approach and a higher‐order characteristics‐based finite‐volume scheme on unstructured grids. Unsteady flow is calculated with an implicit dual time stepping scheme. For efficient computation of unsteady viscous flows over complex geometries, an unstructured multigrid method is developed to speed up the convergence rate of the dual time stepping calculation. The multigrid method is used to simulate the steady and unsteady incompressible viscous flows over a circular cylinder for validation and performance evaluation purposes. It is found that the multigrid method with three levels of grids results in a 75% reduction in CPU time for the steady flow calculation and 55% reduction for the unsteady flow calculation, compared with its single grid counterparts. The results obtained are compared with numerical solutions obtained by other researchers as well as experimental measurements wherever available and good agreements are obtained. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prediction of oscillating thick cambered aerofoil aerodynamics by a locally analytic method

A complete first-order model and locally analytic solution method are developed to analyse the effects of mean flow incidence and aerofoil camber and thickness on the incompressible aerodynamics of an oscillating aerofoil. This method incorporates analytic solutions, with the discrete algebraic equations which represent the differential flow field equations obtained from analytic solutions in individual grid elements. The velocity potential is separated into steady and unsteady harmonic parts, with the unsteady potential further decomposed into circulatory and non-circulatory components. These velocity potentials are individually described by Laplace equations. The steady velocity potential is independent of the unsteady flow field. However, the unsteady flow is coupled to the steady flow field through the boundary conditions on the oscillating aerofoil. A body-fitted computational grid is then utilized. Solutions for both the steady and the coupled unsteady flow fields are obtained by a locally analytic numerical method in which locally analytic solutions in individual grid elements are determined. The complete flow field solution is obtained by assembling these locally analytic solutions. This model and solution method are shown to accurately predict the Theodorsen oscillating flat plate classical solution. Locally analytic solutions for a series of Joukowski aerofoils demonstrate the strong coupling between the aerofoil unsteady and steady flow fields, i.e. the strong dependence of the oscillating aerofoil aerodynamics on the steady flow effects of mean flow incidence angle and aerofoil camber and thickness.     

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.     

Unsteady flows of a viscoplastic medium in channels

We numerically study the nonstationary Poiseuille problem for a Bingham-Il’yushin viscoplastic medium in ducts of various cross-sections. The medium acceleration and deceleration problems are solved by using the Duvaut-Lions variational setting and the finite-difference scheme proposed by the authors. The dependence of the stopping time on internal parameters such as density, viscosity, yield stress, and the cross-section geometry is studied. The obtained results are in good agreement with the well-known theoretical estimates of the stopping time. The numerical solution revealed a peculiar characteristic of the stagnant zone location, which is specific to unsteady flows. In the annulus, disk, and square, the stagnant zones arising shortly before the flow cessation surround the entire boundary contour; but for other domains, the stagnant zones go outside the critical curves surrounding the stagnant zones in the steady flow. The steady and unsteady flows are studied in some domains of complicated shape.     

Three‐dimensional flow of an elastico‐viscous fluid with mass transfer

This paper looks at the unsteady three‐dimensional MHD flow of an elastico‐viscous fluid over a stretching surface. The analysis of mass transfer is also analyzed. The governing boundary layer equations are reduced into partial differential equations with three dependent variables through similarity transformations. The transformed system of equations is solved analytically by employing homotopy analysis method (HAM). Plots for various interesting parameters are presented and discussed. Numerical data for surface shear stresses and surface mass transfer in steady case are also tabulated. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unsteady rotor flow analysis using a diagonally implicit harmonic balance method and an overset mesh topology

The diagonally implicit harmonic balance method is developed in an overset mesh topology and applied to unsteady rotor flows analysis. Its efficiency is by reducing the complexity of a fully implicit harmonic balance method which becomes more flexible in handling the higher harmonics of the flow solutions. Applied to the overset mesh topology, the efficiency of the method becomes greater by reducing the number of solution interpolations required during the entire solution procedure as the method reduces the unsteady computation into periodic steady state. To verify the accuracy and efficiency of the method, both hovering and unsteady forward flight of Caradonna and Tung and AH-1G rotors are solved. Compared with wind-tunnel experiments, the numerical results demonstrate good agreements at computational cost an order of magnitude more efficient than the conventional time-accurate computation method. The proposed method has great potential in other engineering applications, including flapping wing vehicles, turbo-machinery, wind-turbines, etc.     

The (9,5) HOC formulation for the transient Navier–Stokes equations in primitive variable

We recently proposed an improved (9,5) higher order compact (HOC) scheme for the unsteady two‐dimensional (2‐D) convection–diffusion equations. Because of using only five points at the current time level in the discretization procedure, the scheme was seen to be computationally more efficient than its predecessors. It was also seen to capture very accurately the solution of the unsteady 2‐D Navier–Stokes (N–S) equations for incompressible viscous flows in the stream function–vorticity (ψ – ω) formulation. In this paper, we extend the scope of the scheme for solving the unsteady incompressible N–S equations based on primitive variable formulation on a collocated grid. The parabolic momentum equations are solved for the velocity field by a time‐marching strategy and the pressure is obtained by discretizing the elliptic pressure Poisson equation by the steady‐state form of the (9,5) scheme with the Neumann boundary conditions. In particular, for pressure, we adopt a strategy on the collocated grid in conjunction with ideas borrowed from the staggered grid approach in finite volume. We first apply this extension to a problem having analytical solution and then to the famous lid‐driven square cavity problem. We also apply our formulation to the backward‐facing step problem to see how the method performs for external flow problems. The results are presented and are compared with established numerical results. This new approach is seen to produce excellent comparison in all the cases. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.