THE NO-SLIP BOUNDARY CONDITION IN FINITE DIFFERENCE APPROXIMATIONS

A finite difference method for the Navier–Stokes equations in vorticity –streamfunction formulation is proposed to resolve the difficulty of the lack of a vorticity boundary condition at a no-slip boundary. It is particularly suitable for flows in regions with complicated geometries. Convergence with second-order accuracy in vorticity and velocity is established. In numerical experiments the convergence rates agree with theoretical predictions. Test results for the two-dimensional driven cavity problem and for the flow in expansion and contraction channels are given.     

A Chebyshev collocation method for the Navier–Stokes equations with application to double-diffusive convection

A Chebyshev collocation method for solving the unsteady two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations in vorticity–streamfunction variables is presented and discussed. The discretization in time is obtained through a class of semi-implicit finite difference schemes. Thus at each time cycle the problem reduces to a Stokes-type problem which is solved by means of the influence matrix technique leading to the solution of Helmholtz-type equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Theoretical results on the stability of the method are given. Then a matrix diagonalization procedure for solving the algebraic system resulting from the Chebyshev collocation approximation of the Helmholtz equation is developed and its accuracy is tested. Numerical results are given for the Stokes and the Navier–Stokes equations. Finally the method is applied to a double-diffusive convection problem concerning the stability of a fluid stratified by salinity and heated from below.     

Finite element solution of the Navier–Stokes equations by a velocity–vorticity method

A velocity–vorticity formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations is presented as an alternative to the primitive variables approach. The velocity components and the vorticity are solved for in a fully coupled manner using a Newton method. No artificial viscosity is required in this formulation. The pressure is updated by a method allowing natural imposition of boundary conditions. Incompressible and subsonic results are presented for two-dimensional laminar internal flows up to high Reynolds numbers.     

Fundamental solutions of the streamfunction–vorticity formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations

A new boundary element procedure is developed for the solution of the streamfunction–vorticity formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations in two dimensions. The differential equations are stated in their transient version and then discretized via finite differences with respect to time. In this discretization, the non-linear inertial terms are evaluated in a previous time step, thus making the scheme explicit with respect to them. In the resulting discretized equations, fundamental solutions that take into account the coupling between the equations are developed by treating the non-linear terms as in homogeneities. The resulting boundary integral equations are solved by the regular boundary element method, in which the singular points are placed outside the solution domain.     

AN ARTIFICIAL BOUNDARY CONDITION FOR TWO-DIMENSIONAL INCOMPRESSIBLE VISCOUS FLOWS USING THE METHOD OF LINES

We design an artificial boundary condition for the steady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in streamfunction–vorticity formulation in a flat channel with slip boundary conditions on the wall. The new boundary condition is derived from the Oseen equations and the method of lines. A numerical experiment for the non-linear Navier–Stokes equations is presented. The artificial boundary condition is compared with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions for the flow past a rectangular cylinder in a flat channel. The numerical results show that our boundary condition is more accurate.     

Finite difference and finite element methods for mhd channel flows

A Galerkin finite element method and two finite difference techniques of the control volume variety have been used to study magnetohydrodynamic channel flows as a function of the Reynolds number, interaction parameter, electrode length and wall conductivity. The finite element and finite difference formulations use unequally spaced grids to accurately resolve the flow field near the channel wall and electrode edges where steep flow gradients are expected. It is shown that the axial velocity profiles are distorted into M-shapes by the applied electromagnetic field and that the distortion increases as the Reynolds number, interaction parameter and electrode length are increased. It is also shown that the finite element method predicts larger electromagnetic pinch effects at the electrode entrance and exit and larger pressure rises along the electrodes than the primitive-variable and streamfunction–vorticity finite difference formulations. However, the primitive-variable formulation predicts steeper axial velocity gradients at the channel walls and lower axial velocities at the channel centreline than the streamfunction–vorticity finite difference and the finite element methods. The differences between the results of the finite difference and finite element methods are attributed to the different grids used in the calculations and to the methods used to evaluate the pressure field. In particular, the computation of the velocity field from the streamfunction–vorticity formulation introduces computational noise, which is somewhat smoothed out when the pressure field is calculated by integrating the Navier–Stokes equations. It is also shown that the wall electric potential increases as the wall conductivity increases and that, at sufficiently high interaction parameters, recirculation zones may be created at the channel centreline, whereas the flow near the wall may show jet-like characteristics.     

Numerical simulations of inviscid and viscous free‐surface flows with application to nonlinear water waves

The purpose of the present study is to establish a numerical model appropriate for solving inviscid/viscous free‐surface flows related to nonlinear water wave propagation. The viscous model presented herein is based on the Navier–Stokes equations, and the free‐surface is calculated through an arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian streamfunction‐vorticity formulation. The streamfunction field is governed by the Poisson equation, and the vorticity is obtained on the basis of the vorticity transport equation. For computing the inviscid flow the Laplace streamfunction equation is used. These equations together with the respective (appropriate) fully nonlinear free‐surface boundary conditions are solved using a finite difference method. To demonstrate the model feasibility, in the present study we first simulate collision processes of two solitary waves of different amplitudes, and compute the phenomenon of overtaking of such solitary waves. The developed model is subsequently applied to calculate (both inviscid and the viscous) flow field, as induced by passing of a solitary wave over submerged rectangular structures and rigid ripple beds. Our study provides a reasonably good understanding of the behavior of (inviscid/viscous) free‐surface flows, within the framework of streamfunction‐vorticity formulation. The successful simulation of the above‐mentioned test cases seems to suggest that the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian/streamfunction‐vorticity formulation is a potentially powerful approach, capable of effectively solving the fully nonlinear inviscid/viscous free‐surface flow interactions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A spectral solver for the Navier–Stokes equations in the velocity–vorticity formulation

A numerical algorithm intended for the study of flows in a cylindrical container under laminar flow conditions is proposed. High resolution of the flow field, governed by the Navier–Stokes equations in velocity–vorticity formulation relative to a cylindrical frame of reference, is achieved through spatial discretisation by means of the spectral method. This method is based on a Fourier expansion in the azimuthal direction and an expansion in Chebyshev polynomials in the (nonperiodic) radial and axial directions. Several regularity constraints are used to take care of the coordinate singularity. These constraints are implemented, together with the boundary conditions at the top, bottom and mantle of the cylinder, via the tau method. The a priori unknown boundary values of the vorticity are evaluated by means of the influence-matrix technique. The compatibility between the mathematical and numerical formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations is established through a tau-correction procedure. The resolved flow field exhibits high-precision satisfaction of the incompressibility constraints for velocity and vorticity and the definition of the vorticity. The performance of the solver is illustrated by resolution of several configurations representative of generic three-dimensional laminar flows.     

A short note on the entrainment and exit boundary conditions

An attempt is made to find out the suitable entrainment and exit boundary conditions in laminar flow situations. Streamfunction vorticity formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations are solved by ADI method. Two‐dimensional laminar plane wall jet flow is used to test different forms of the boundary conditions. Results are compared with the experimental and similarity solution and the proper boundary condition is suggested. The Kind 1 boundary condition is recommended. It consists of zero first derivative condition for velocity variable and for streamfunction equation, mixed derivative at the entrainment and exit boundaries. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical solution of the steady incompressible Navier—Stokes equations for the flow past a sphere by a multigrid defect correction technique

A nested non-linear multigrid algorithm is developed to solve the Navier–Stokes equations which describe the steady incompressible flow past a sphere. The vorticity–streamfunction formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations is chosen. The continuous operators are discretized by an upwind finite difference scheme. Several algorithms are tested as smoothing steps. The multigrid method itself provides only a first-order-accurate solution. To obtain at least second-order accuracy, a defect correction iteration is used as outer iteration. Results are reported for Re = 50, 100, 400 and 1000.     

A new velocity–vorticity boundary integral formulation for Navier–Stokes equations

In the present work, an indirect boundary integral method for the numerical solution of Navier–Stokes equations formulated in velocity–vorticity dependent variables is proposed. This wholly integral approach, based on Helmholtz's decomposition, deals directly with the vorticity field and gives emphasis to the establishment of appropriate boundary conditions for the vorticity transport equation. The coupling between the vorticity and the vortical velocity fields is expressed by an iterative procedure. The present analysis shows the usefulness of an integral formulation not only in providing a potentially more efficient computational tool, but also in giving a better understanding to the physics of the phenomenon. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vorticity—velocity formulation in the computation of flows in multiconnected domains

The thermofluid dynamic fields in two-dimensional multiconnected domains are analysed by solving the Navier–Stokes equations with the Boussinesq approximation in the vorticity–velocity formulation. The need of an integral condition for the pressure to be single-valued on each independent irreducible loop, in analogy with the ω–Ψ formulation, is demonstrated. The field equations are discretized by a finite difference technique and solved at the steady state via an alternating direction implicit method of a scalar type. Two test cases at low Reynolds and Rayleigh numbers are considered: the multiconnected driven cavity and an annulus with isothermal walls and stationary or rotating inner cylinder.     

Finite element and implicit Runge–Kutta implementation of an acoustics–convection upstream resolution algorithm for the time‐dependent two‐dimensional Euler equations

The second of a two‐paper series, this paper details a solver for the characteristics‐bias system from the acoustics–convection upstream resolution algorithm for the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations. An integral formulation leads to several surface integrals that allow effective enforcement of boundary conditions. Also presented is a new multi‐dimensional procedure to enforce a pressure boundary condition at a subsonic outlet, a procedure that remains accurate and stable. A classical finite element Galerkin discretization of the integral formulation on any prescribed grid directly yields an optimal discretely conservative upstream approximation for the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations, an approximation that remains multi‐dimensional independently of the orientation of the reference axes and computational cells. The time‐dependent discrete equations are then integrated in time via an implicit Runge–Kutta procedure that in this paper is proven to remain absolutely non‐linearly stable for the spatially‐discrete Euler and Navier–Stokes equations and shown to converge rapidly to steady states, with maximum Courant number exceeding 100 for the linearized version. Even on relatively coarse grids, the acoustics–convection upstream resolution algorithm generates essentially non‐oscillatory solutions for subsonic, transonic and supersonic flows, encompassing oblique‐ and interacting‐shock fields that converge within 40 time steps and reflect reference exact solutions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations on non-orthogonal staggered grids using the velocity–vorticity formulation

This paper is concerned with the numerical resolution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in the velocity–vorticity form on non-orthogonal structured grids. The discretization is performed in such a way, that the discrete operators mimic the properties of the continuous ones. This allows the discrete equivalence between the primitive and velocity–vorticity formulations to be proved. This last formulation can thus be seen as a particular technique for solving the primitive equations. The difficulty associated with non-simply connected computational domains and with the implementation of the boundary conditions are discussed. One of the main drawback of the velocity–vorticity formulation, relative to the additional computational work required for solving the additional unknowns, is alleviated. Two- and three-dimensional numerical test cases validate the proposed method. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On Nonexistence for Stationary Solutions to the Navier–Stokes Equations with a Linear Strain

We consider stationary solutions to the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations for viscous incompressible flows in the presence of a linear strain. For certain class of strains we prove a Liouville type theorem under suitable decay conditions on vorticity fields.     

A comparison of primitive variables and streamfunction–vorticity for fem depth-averaged modelling of steady flow

The governing equations for depth-averaged turbulent flow are presented in both the primitive variable and streamfunction–vorticity forms. Finite element formulations are presented, with special emphasis on the handling of bottom stress terms and spatially varying eddy viscosity. The primitive variable formulation is found to be preferable because of its flexibility in handling spatial variation in viscosity, variability in water surface elevations, and inflow and outflow boundaries. The substantial reduction in computational effort afforded by the streamfunction–vorticity formulation is found not to be sufficient to recommend its use for general depth-averaged flows. For those flows in which the surface can be approximated as a fixed level surface, the streamfunction–vorticity form can produce results equivalent to the primitive variable form as long as turbulent viscosity can be estimated as a constant.     

Boundary domain integral method for transport phenomena in porous media

A boundary domain integral method (BDIM) for the solution of transport phenomena in porous media is presented. The complete, so‐called modified Navier–Stokes equations (Brinkman‐extended Darcy formulation with inertial term included) have been used to describe the fluid motion in porous media. Velocity–vorticity formulation (VVF) of the conservative equations is employed. In this paper, the proposed numerical scheme is tested on a particular case of natural convection and the results of flow and heat transfer characteristics of a fluid in a vertical porous cavity heated from the side and saturated with Newtonian fluid are presented in detail. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interactive vortex shedding from a pair of circular cylinders in a transverse arrangement

Interactive vortex shedding in the multiply connected domain formed by a pair of circular cylinders is analysed by the FEM–FDM blending technique. The vorticity–streamfunction formulation is used to solve the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations at Re = 100, with the time-dependent wall streamfunctions determined from the pressure constraint condition and the far-field streamfunctions from the integral series formula developed earlier by the authors. The standard Galerkin finite element method is used in the relatively small FEM subdomain and the finite difference method based on the general co-ordinate system in the rest of the flow domain. Symmetric, antisymmetric and asymmetric wake patterns are obtained confirming the earlier experimental findings. The bistable nature of the asymmetric vortex shedding as well as the intermittent drifting from one status to the other between symmetric and antisymmetric wake patterns are reported.     

Higher order spectral/hp finite element models of the Navier–Stokes equations

In this paper, we present higher order least-squares finite element formulations for viscous, incompressible, isothermal Navier–Stokes equations using spectral/hp basis functions. The second-order Navier–Stokes equations are recast as first-order system of equations using stresses as auxiliary variables. Both steady-state and transient problems are considered. For a better coupling of pressure and velocity, especially in transient flows, an iterative penalisation strategy is employed. The outflow-type boundary conditions are applied in a weak sense through the least-squares functional. The formulation is verified by solving various benchmark problems like the lid-driven cavity, backward-facing step and flow over cylinder problems using direct serial solver UMFPACK.     

A combined vortex and panel method for numerical simulations of viscous flows: a comparative study of a vortex particle method and a finite volume method

This paper describes and compares two vorticity‐based integral approaches for the solution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Either a Lagrangian vortex particle method or an Eulerian finite volume scheme is implemented to solve the vorticity transport equation with a vorticity boundary condition. The Biot–Savart integral is used to compute the velocity field from a vorticity distribution over a fluid domain. The vorticity boundary condition is improved by the use of an iteration scheme connected with the well‐established panel method. In the early stages of development of flows around an impulsively started circular cylinder, and past an impulsively started foil with varying angles of attack, the computational results obtained by the Lagrangian vortex method are compared with those obtained by the Eulerian finite volume method. The comparison is performed separately for the pressure fields as well. The results obtained by the two methods are in good agreement, and give a better understanding of the vorticity‐based methods. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.