Output-based space–time mesh adaptation for the compressible Navier–Stokes equations

This paper presents an output-based adaptive algorithm for unsteady simulations of convection-dominated flows. A space–time discontinuous Galerkin discretization is used in which the spatial meshes remain static in both position and resolution, and in which all elements advance by the same time step. Error estimates are computed using an adjoint-weighted residual, where the discrete adjoint is computed on a finer space obtained by order enrichment of the primal space. An iterative method based on an approximate factorization is used to solve both the forward and adjoint problems. The output error estimate drives a fixed-growth adaptive strategy that employs hanging-node refinement in the spatial domain and slab bisection in the temporal domain. Detection of space–time anisotropy in the localization of the output error is found to be important for efficiency of the adaptive algorithm, and two anisotropy measures are presented: one based on inter-element solution jumps, and one based on projection of the adjoint. Adaptive results are shown for several two-dimensional convection-dominated flows, including the compressible Navier–Stokes equations. For sufficiently-low accuracy levels, output-based adaptation is shown to be advantageous in terms of degrees of freedom when compared to uniform refinement and to adaptive indicators based on approximation error and the unweighted residual. Time integral quantities are used for the outputs of interest, but entire time histories of the integrands are also compared and found to converge rapidly under the proposed scheme. In addition, the final output-adapted space–time meshes are shown to be relatively insensitive to the starting mesh.     

h-Multigrid for space-time discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of the compressible Navier–Stokes equations

Being implicit in time, the space-time discontinuous Galerkin discretization of the compressible Navier–Stokes equations requires the solution of a non-linear system of algebraic equations at each time-step. The overall performance, therefore, highly depends on the efficiency of the solver. In this article, we solve the system of algebraic equations with a h-multigrid method using explicit Runge–Kutta relaxation. Two-level Fourier analysis of this method for the scalar advection–diffusion equation shows convergence factors between 0.5 and 0.75. This motivates its application to the 3D compressible Navier–Stokes equations where numerical experiments show that the computational effort is significantly reduced, up to a factor 10 w.r.t. single-grid iterations.     

A low numerical dissipation immersed interface method for the compressible Navier–Stokes equations

A numerical method to solve the compressible Navier–Stokes equations around objects of arbitrary shape using Cartesian grids is described. The approach considered here uses an embedded geometry representation of the objects and approximate the governing equations with a low numerical dissipation centered finite-difference discretization. The method is suitable for compressible flows without shocks and can be classified as an immersed interface method. The objects are sharply captured by the Cartesian mesh by appropriately adapting the discretization stencils around the irregular grid nodes, located around the boundary. In contrast with available methods, no jump conditions are used or explicitly derived from the boundary conditions, although a number of elements are adopted from previous immersed interface approaches. A new element in the present approach is the use of the summation-by-parts formalism to develop stable non-stiff first-order derivative approximations at the irregular grid points. Second-order derivative approximations, as those appearing in the transport terms, can be stiff when irregular grid points are located too close to the boundary. This is addressed using a semi-implicit time integration method. Moreover, it is shown that the resulting implicit equations can be solved explicitly in the case of constant transport properties. Convergence studies are performed for a rotating cylinder and vortex shedding behind objects of varying shapes at different Mach and Reynolds numbers.     

Uniformly stable numerical schemes for the Boltzmann equation preserving the compressible Navier–Stokes asymptotics

In this paper, we develop a numerical method to solve Boltzmann like equations of kinetic theory which is able to capture the compressible Navier–Stokes dynamics at small Knudsen numbers. Our approach is based on the micro/macro decomposition technique, which applies to general collision operators. This decomposition is performed in all the phase space and leads to an equivalent formulation of the Boltzmann (or BGK) equation that couples a kinetic equation with macroscopic ones. This new formulation is then discretized with a semi-implicit time scheme combined with a staggered grid space discretization. Finally, several numerical tests are presented in order to illustrate the efficiency of our approach. Incidentally, we also introduce in this paper a modification of a standard splitting method that allows to preserve the compressible Navier–Stokes asymptotics in the case of the simplified BGK model. Up to our knowledge, this property is not known for general collision operators.     

A reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin method for the compressible Navier–Stokes equations on arbitrary grids

A reconstruction-based discontinuous Galerkin (RDG) method is presented for the solution of the compressible Navier–Stokes equations on arbitrary grids. The RDG method, originally developed for the compressible Euler equations, is extended to discretize viscous and heat fluxes in the Navier–Stokes equations using a so-called inter-cell reconstruction, where a smooth solution is locally reconstructed using a least-squares method from the underlying discontinuous DG solution. Similar to the recovery-based DG (rDG) methods, this reconstructed DG method eliminates the introduction of ad hoc penalty or coupling terms commonly found in traditional DG methods. Unlike rDG methods, this RDG method does not need to judiciously choose a proper form of a recovered polynomial, thus is simple, flexible, and robust, and can be used on arbitrary grids. The developed RDG method is used to compute a variety of flow problems on arbitrary meshes to demonstrate its accuracy, efficiency, robustness, and versatility. The numerical results indicate that this RDG method is able to deliver the same accuracy as the well-known Bassi–Rebay II scheme, at a half of its computing costs for the discretization of the viscous fluxes in the Navier–Stokes equations, clearly demonstrating its superior performance over the existing DG methods for solving the compressible Navier–Stokes equations.     

A stable and conservative high order multi-block method for the compressible Navier–Stokes equations

A stable and conservative high order multi-block method for the time-dependent compressible Navier–Stokes equations has been developed. Stability and conservation are proved using summation-by-parts operators, weak interface conditions and the energy method. This development makes it possible to exploit the efficiency of the high order finite difference method for non-trivial geometries. The computational results corroborate the theoretical analysis.     

Comparison between lattice Boltzmann method and Navier–Stokes high order schemes for computational aeroacoustics

Computational aeroacoustic (CAA) simulation requires accurate schemes to capture the dynamics of acoustic fluctuations, which are weak compared with aerodynamic ones. In this paper, two kinds of schemes are studied and compared: the classical approach based on high order schemes for Navier–Stokes-like equations and the lattice Boltzmann method. The reference macroscopic equations are the 3D isothermal and compressible Navier–Stokes equations. A Von Neumann analysis of these linearized equations is carried out to obtain exact plane wave solutions. Three physical modes are recovered and the corresponding theoretical dispersion relations are obtained. Then the same analysis is made on the space and time discretization of the Navier–Stokes equations with the classical high order schemes to quantify the influence of both space and time discretization on the exact solutions. Different orders of discretization are considered, with and without a uniform mean flow. Three different lattice Boltzmann models are then presented and studied with the Von Neumann analysis. The theoretical dispersion relations of these models are obtained and the error terms of the model are identified and studied. It is shown that the dispersion error in the lattice Boltzmann models is only due to the space and time discretization and that the continuous discrete velocity Boltzmann equation yield the same exact dispersion as the Navier–Stokes equations. Finally, dispersion and dissipation errors of the different kind of schemes are quantitatively compared. It is found that the lattice Boltzmann method is less dissipative than high order schemes and less dispersive than a second order scheme in space with a 3-step Runge–Kutta scheme in time. The number of floating point operations at a given error level associated with these two kinds of schemes are then compared.     

A fourth-order adaptive mesh refinement algorithm for the multicomponent,reacting compressible Navier–Stokes equations

In this paper, we present a fourth-order in space and time block-structured adaptive mesh refinement algorithm for the compressible multicomponent reacting Navier–Stokes equations. The algorithm uses a finite-volume approach that incorporates a fourth-order discretisation of the convective terms. The time-stepping algorithm is based on a multi-level spectral deferred corrections method that enables explicit treatment of advection and diffusion coupled with an implicit treatment of reactions. The temporal scheme is embedded in a block-structured adaptive mesh refinement algorithm that includes subcycling in time with spectral deferred correction sweeps applied on levels. Here we present the details of the multi-level scheme paying particular attention to the treatment of coarse–fine boundaries required to maintain fourth-order accuracy in time. We then demonstrate the convergence properties of the algorithm on several test cases including both non-reacting and reacting flows. Finally we present simulations of a vitiated dimethyl ether jet in 2D and a turbulent hydrogen jet in 3D, both with detailed kinetics and transport.     

Reduced aliasing formulations of the convective terms within the Navier–Stokes equations for a compressible fluid

The effect on aliasing errors of different formulations describing the cubically nonlinear convective terms within the discretized Navier–Stokes equations is examined in the presence of a non-trivial density spectrum. Fourier analysis shows that the existing skew-symmetric forms of the convective term result in reduced aliasing errors relative to the conservation form. Several formulations of the convective term, including a new formulation proposed for cubically nonlinear terms, are tested in direct numerical simulation (DNS) of decaying compressible isotropic turbulence both in chemically inert (small density fluctuations) and reactive cases (large density fluctuations) and for different degrees of resolution. In the DNS of reactive turbulent flow, the new cubic skew-symmetric form gives the most accurate results, consistent with the spectral error analysis, and at the lowest cost. In marginally resolved DNS and LES (poorly resolved by definition) the new cubic skew-symmetric form represents a robust convective formulation which minimizes both aliasing and computational cost while also allowing a reduction in the use of computationally expensive high-order dissipative filters.     

Spectrally-accurate algorithm for moving boundary problems for the Navier–Stokes equations

A spectral algorithm based on the immersed boundary conditions (IBC) concept is developed for simulations of viscous flows with moving boundaries. The algorithm uses a fixed computational domain with flow domain immersed inside the computational domain. Boundary conditions along the edges of the time-dependent flow domain enter the algorithm in the form of internal constraints. Spectral spatial discretization uses Fourier expansions in the stream-wise direction and Chebyshev expansions in the normal-to-the-wall direction. Up to fourth-order implicit temporal discretization methods have been implemented. It has been demonstrated that the algorithm delivers the theoretically predicted accuracy in both time and space. Performances of various linear solvers employed in the solution process have been evaluated and a new class of solver that takes advantage of the structure of the coefficient matrix has been proposed. The new solver results in a significant acceleration of computations as well as in a substantial reduction in memory requirements.     

A spectral FC solver for the compressible Navier–Stokes equations in general domains I: Explicit time-stepping

We present a Fourier continuation (FC) algorithm for the solution of the fully nonlinear compressible Navier–Stokes equations in general spatial domains. The new scheme is based on the recently introduced accelerated FC method, which enables use of highly accurate Fourier expansions as the main building block of general-domain PDE solvers. Previous FC-based PDE solvers are restricted to linear scalar equations with constant coefficients. The FC methodology presented in this text thus constitutes a significant generalization of the previous FC schemes, as it yields general-domain FC solvers for nonlinear systems of PDEs. While not restricted to periodic boundary conditions and therefore applicable to general boundary value problems on arbitrary domains, the proposed algorithm inherits many of the highly desirable properties arising from rapidly convergent Fourier expansions, including high-order convergence, essentially spectrally accurate dispersion relations, and much milder CFL constraints than those imposed by polynomial-based spectral methods—since, for example, the spectral radius of the FC first derivative grows linearly with the number of spatial discretization points. We demonstrate the accuracy and optimal parallel efficiency of the algorithm in a variety of scientific and engineering contexts relevant to fluid-dynamics and nonlinear acoustics.     

Third order residual distribution schemes for the Navier–Stokes equations

We construct a third order multidimensional upwind residual distribution scheme for the system of the Navier–Stokes equations. The underlying approximation is obtained using standard P² Lagrange finite elements. To discretise the inviscid component of the equations, each element is divided in sub-elements over which we compute a high order residual defined as the integral of the inviscid fluxes on the boundary of the sub-element. The residuals are distributed to the nodes of each sub-element in a multi-dimensional upwind way. To obtain a discretisation of the viscous terms consistent with this multi-dimensional upwind approach, we make use of a Petrov–Galerkin analogy. The analogy allows to find a family of test functions which can be used to obtain a weak approximation of the viscous terms. The performance of this high-order method is tested on flows with high and low Reynolds number.     

An Asymptotic-Preserving all-speed scheme for the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations

We present an Asymptotic-Preserving ‘all-speed’ scheme for the simulation of compressible flows valid at all Mach-numbers ranging from very small to order unity. The scheme is based on a semi-implicit discretization which treats the acoustic part implicitly and the convective and diffusive parts explicitly. This discretization, which is the key to the Asymptotic-Preserving property, provides a consistent approximation of both the hyperbolic compressible regime and the elliptic incompressible regime. The divergence-free condition on the velocity in the incompressible regime is respected, and an the pressure is computed via an elliptic equation resulting from a suitable combination of the momentum and energy equations. The implicit treatment of the acoustic part allows the time-step to be independent of the Mach number. The scheme is conservative and applies to steady or unsteady flows and to general equations of state. One and two-dimensional numerical results provide a validation of the Asymptotic-Preserving ‘all-speed’ properties.     

A Relaxed Dimensional Factorization preconditioner for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

In this paper we introduce a Relaxed Dimensional Factorization (RDF) preconditioner for saddle point problems. Properties of the preconditioned matrix are analyzed and compared with those of the closely related Dimensional Splitting (DS) preconditioner recently introduced by Benzi and Guo [7]. Numerical results for a variety of finite element discretizations of both steady and unsteady incompressible flow problems indicate very good behavior of the RDF preconditioner with respect to both mesh size and viscosity.     

Stable Robin solid wall boundary conditions for the Navier–Stokes equations

In this paper we prove stability of Robin solid wall boundary conditions for the compressible Navier–Stokes equations. Applications include the no-slip boundary conditions with prescribed temperature or temperature gradient and the first order slip-flow boundary conditions. The formulation is uniform and the transitions between different boundary conditions are done by a change of parameters. We give different sharp energy estimates depending on the choice of parameters.     

Preconditioning methods for discontinuous Galerkin solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations

A Newton–Krylov method is developed for the solution of the steady compressible Navier–Stokes equations using a discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretization on unstructured meshes. Steady-state solutions are obtained using a Newton–Krylov approach where the linear system at each iteration is solved using a restarted GMRES algorithm. Several different preconditioners are examined to achieve fast convergence of the GMRES algorithm. An element Line-Jacobi preconditioner is presented which solves a block-tridiagonal system along lines of maximum coupling in the flow. An incomplete block-LU factorization (Block-ILU(0)) is also presented as a preconditioner, where the factorization is performed using a reordering of elements based upon the lines of maximum coupling. This reordering is shown to be superior to standard reordering techniques (Nested Dissection, One-way Dissection, Quotient Minimum Degree, Reverse Cuthill–Mckee) especially for viscous test cases. The Block-ILU(0) factorization is performed in-place and an algorithm is presented for the application of the linearization which reduces both the memory and CPU time over the traditional dual matrix storage format. Additionally, a linear p-multigrid preconditioner is also considered, where Block-Jacobi, Line-Jacobi and Block-ILU(0) are used as smoothers. The linear multigrid preconditioner is shown to significantly improve convergence in term of number of iterations and CPU time compared to a single-level Block-Jacobi or Line-Jacobi preconditioner. Similarly the linear multigrid preconditioner with Block-ILU smoothing is shown to reduce the number of linear iterations to achieve convergence over a single-level Block-ILU(0) preconditioner, though no appreciable improvement in CPU time is shown.     

On physics-based preconditioning of the Navier–Stokes equations

We develop a fully implicit scheme for the Navier–Stokes equations, in conservative form, for low to intermediate Mach number flows. Simulations in this range of flow regime produce stiff wave systems in which slow dynamical (advective) modes coexist with fast acoustic modes. Viscous and thermal diffusion effects in refined boundary layers can also produce stiffness. Implicit schemes allow one to step over the fast wave phenomena (or unresolved viscous time scales), while resolving advective time scales. In this study we employ the Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) method and develop a new physics-based preconditioner. To aid in overcoming numerical stiffness caused by the disparity between acoustic and advective modes, the governing equations are transformed into the primitive-variable form in a preconditioning step. The physics-based preconditioning incorporates traditional semi-implicit and physics-based splitting approaches without a loss of consistency between the original and preconditioned systems. The resulting algorithm is capable of solving low-speed natural circulation problems (M∼10^-4)$(M\sim {10}^{-4})$ with significant heat flux as well as intermediate speed (M∼1)$(M\sim 1)$ flows efficiently by following dynamical (advective) time scales of the problem.     

Beyond the Navier–Stokes equations: Burnett hydrodynamics

This work is mainly concerned with the extension of hydrodynamics beyond the Navier–Stokes equations, a regime known as Burnett hydrodynamics. The derivation of the Burnett equations is considered from several theoretical approaches. In particular we discuss the Chapman–Enskog, Grad’s method, and Truesdell’s approach for solving the Boltzmann equation. Also, their derivation using the macroscopic approach given by extended thermodynamics is mentioned. The problems and successes of these equations are discussed and some alternatives proposed to improve them are mentioned. Comparisons of the predictions coming from the Burnett equations with experiments and/or simulations are given in order to have the necessary elements to give a critical assessment of their validity and usefulness.     

Three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann method for simulating blood flow in aortic arch

The three-dimensional （3D） lattice Boltzmann models, 3DQ15, 3DQ19 and 3DQ27, under different wall boundary conditions and lattice resolutions have been investigated by simulating Poiseuille flow in a circular cylinder for a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The 3DQ19 model with improved Fillippova and Hanel （FH） curved boundary condition represents a good compromise between computational efficiency and reliability. Blood flow in an aortic arch is then simulated as a typical haemodynamic application. Axial and secondary fluid velocity and effective wall shear stress profiles in a 180° bend are obtained, and the results also demonstrate that the lattice Boltzmann method is suitable for simulating the flow in 3D large-curved vessels.     

A well-conditioned augmented system for solving Navier–Stokes equations in irregular domains

An augmented method based on a Cartesian grid is proposed for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in irregular domains. The irregular domain is embedded into a rectangular one so that a fast Poisson solver can be utilized in the projection method. Unlike several methods suggested in the literature that set the force strengths as unknowns, which often results in an ill-conditioned linear system, we set the jump in the normal derivative of the velocity as the augmented variable. The new approach improves the condition number of the system for the augmented variable significantly. Using the immersed interface method, we are able to achieve second order accuracy for the velocity. Numerical results and comparisons to benchmark tests are given to validate the new method. A lid-driven cavity flow with multiple obstacles and different geometries are also presented.