A dimension split method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in three dimensions

In this paper, we describe a new method for the three‐dimensional steady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations, which is called the dimension split method (DSM). The basic idea of DSM is that the three‐dimensional space is split up into a cluster of two‐dimensional manifolds and then the three‐dimensional solution is approximated by the solutions on these two‐dimensional manifolds. Through introducing some technologies, such as SUPG stabilization, multigrid method, and such, we firstly make DSM feasible in the computation of real flow. Because of split property of DSM, all computation is carried out on these two‐dimensional manifolds, namely, a series of two‐dimensional problems only need to be solved in the computation of three‐dimensional problem, which greatly reduces the difficulty and the computational cost in the mesh generation. Moreover, these two‐dimensional problems can be computed simultaneously and a coarse‐grained parallel algorithm would be constructed, whereas the two‐dimensional manifold is considered as the computation unit. In the last, we explore the behavior and the accuracy of the proposed method in two numerical examples. Firstly, error estimates, performance of multigrid method, and parallel algorithm are well‐demonstrated by the known analytical solution case. Secondly, the computations of three‐dimensional lid‐driven cavity flows with different Reynolds numbers are compared with other numerical simulations. Results show that the present implementation is able to exhibit good stability and accuracy properties for real flows. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Higher order finite element methods and multigrid solvers in a benchmark problem for the 3D Navier–Stokes equations

This paper presents a numerical study of the 3D flow around a cylinder which was defined as a benchmark problem for the steady state Navier–Stokes equations within the DFG high‐priority research program flow simulation with high‐performance computers by Schafer and Turek (Vol. 52, Vieweg: Braunschweig, 1996). The first part of the study is a comparison of several finite element discretizations with respect to the accuracy of the computed benchmark parameters. It turns out that boundary fitted higher order finite element methods are in general most accurate. Our numerical study improves the hitherto existing reference values for the benchmark parameters considerably. The second part of the study deals with efficient and robust solvers for the discrete saddle point problems. All considered solvers are based on coupled multigrid methods. The flexible GMRES method with a multiple discretization multigrid method proves to be the best solver. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A complete boundary integral formulation for compressible Navier–Stokes equations

A complete boundary integral formulation for compressible Navier–Stokes equations with time discretization by operator splitting is developed using the fundamental solutions of the Helmholtz operator equation with different order. The numerical results for wall pressure and wall skin friction of two‐dimensional compressible laminar viscous flow around airfoils are in good agreement with field numerical methods. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pseudostress–velocity formulation for incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

This paper presents a numerical algorithm using the pseudostress–velocity formulation to solve incompressible Newtonian flows. The pseudostress–velocity formulation is a variation of the stress–velocity formulation, which does not require symmetric tensor spaces in the finite element discretization. Hence its discretization is greatly simplified. The discrete system is further decoupled into an H ( div ) problem for the pseudostress and a post‐process resolving the velocity. This can be done conveniently by using the penalty method for steady‐state flows or by using the time discretization for nonsteady‐state flows. We apply this formulation to the 2D lid‐driven cavity problem and study its grid convergence rate. Also, computational results of the time‐dependent‐driven cavity problem and the flow past rectangular problem are reported. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implicit weighted essentially non‐oscillatory schemes for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

A class of lower–upper/approximate factorization (LUAF) implicit weighted essentially non‐oscillatory (ENO; WENO) schemes for solving the two‐dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in a generalized co‐ordinate system is presented. The algorithm is based on the artificial compressibility formulation, and symmetric Gauss–Seidel relaxation is used for computing steady state solutions while symmetric successive overrelaxation is used for treating time‐dependent flows. WENO spatial operators are employed for inviscid fluxes and central differencing for viscous fluxes. Internal and external viscous flow test problems are presented to verify the numerical schemes. The use of a WENO spatial operator not only enhances the accuracy of solutions but also improves the convergence rate for the steady state computation as compared with using the ENO counterpart. It is found that the present solutions compare well with exact solutions, experimental data and other numerical results. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes solver for large eddy simulation of turbulent flows

An unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes solver that uses a dual time stepping method combined with spatially high‐order‐accurate finite differences, is developed for large eddy simulation (LES) of turbulent flows. The present solver uses a primitive variable formulation that is based on the artificial compressibility method and various convergence–acceleration techniques are incorporated to efficiently simulate unsteady flows. A localized dynamic subgrid model, which is formulated using the subgrid kinetic energy, is employed for subgrid turbulence modeling. To evaluate the accuracy and the efficiency of the new solver, a posteriori tests for various turbulent flows are carried out and the resulting turbulence statistics are compared with existing experimental and direct numerical simulation (DNS) data. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Chimera method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

The Chimera method was developed three decades ago as a meshing simplification tool. Different components are meshed independently and then glued together using a domain decomposition technique to couple the equations solved on each component. This coupling is achieved via transmission conditions (in the finite element context) or by imposing the continuity of fluxes (in the finite volume context). Historically, the method has then been used extensively to treat moving objects, as the independent meshes are free to move with respect to the others. At each time step, the main task consists in recomputing the interpolation of the transmission conditions or fluxes. This paper presents a Chimera method applied to the Navier–Stokes equations. After an introduction on the Chimera method, we describe in two different sections the two independent steps of the method: the hole cutting to create the interfaces of the subdomains and the coupling of the subdomains. Then, we present the Navier–Stokes solver considered in this work. Implementation aspects are then detailed in order to apply efficiently the method to this specific parallel Navier–Stokes solver. We conclude with some examples to demonstrate the reliability and application of the proposed method. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitivity equation method for the Navier‐Stokes equations applied to uncertainty propagation

This works deals with sensitivity analysis (SA) for the Navier‐Stokes equations. The aim is to provide an estimate of the variance of the velocity field when some of the parameters are uncertain and then to use the variance to compute confidence intervals for the output of the model. First, we introduce the physical model and analyze its stability. The sensitivity equations are derived, and their stability analyzed as well. We propose a finite element‐volume numerical scheme for the state and the sensitivity, which is integrated into the open‐source industrial code TrioCFD. Finally, we present some numerical results: a steady and an unsteady test case for the channel flow problem are investigated. For the steady case, we compare the results to the Monte Carlo method and show how the SA technique succeeds in providing very accurate estimates of the variance. For the unsteady case, a new filtering procedure is proposed to deal with a sensitivity that grows in time. The filtered sensitivity is then used to compute the variance of the output and to provide confidence intervals.     

An improved projection scheme applied to pseudospectral methods for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

An improved projection scheme is proposed and applied to pseudospectral collocation-Chebyshev approximation for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. It consists of introducing a correct predictor for the pressure, one which is consistent with a divergence-free velocity field at each time step. The main objective is to allow a time variation of the pressure gradient at boundaries. From different test problems, it is shown that this method, associated with a multistep second-order time scheme, provides a time accuracy of the same order as the temporal scheme used for the pressure, and also improves the prediction of the velocity slip. Moreover, it does not exhibit any numerical boundary layer mentioned as a drawback of fractional steps algorithm, and does not require the use of staggered grids for the velocity and the pressure. Its effectiveness is validated by comparison with a previous time-splitting algorithm proposed by Goda (K. Goda, J. Comput. Phys., 30 , 76–95 (1979)) and implemented by Gresho (P. Gresho, Int. j. numer. methods fluids, 11 , 587–620 (1990)) to finite element approximations. Steady and unsteady solutions for the regularized driven cavity and the rotating cavity submitted to throughflow are also used to assess the efficiency of this algorithm. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implicit unfactored implementation of two-equation turbulence models in compressible Navier–Stokes methods

An implicit unfactored method for the coupled solution of the compressible Navier–Stokes equations with two-equation turbulence models is presented. Both fluid-flow and turbulence transport equations are discretized by a characteristics-based scheme. The implicit unfactored method combines Newton subiterations and point-by-point Gauss–Seidel subrelaxation. Implicit-coupled and -decoupled strategies are compared for their efficiency in the solution of the Navier–Stokes equations in conjunction with low-Re two-equation turbulence models. Computations have been carried out for the flow over an axisymmetric bump using the k–ϵ and k–ω models. Comparisons have been obtained with experimental data and other numerical solutions. The present study reveals that the implicit unfactored implementation of the two-equation turbulence models reduces the computing time and improves the robustness of the CFD code in turbulent compressible flows. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An adaptive multigrid finite-volume scheme for incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

An algorithm for the solutions of the two-dimensional incompressible Navier–Stokes equations is presented. The algorithm can be used to compute both steady-state and time-dependent flow problems. It is based on an artificial compressibility method and uses higher-order upwind finite-volume techniques for the convective terms and a second-order finite-volume technique for the viscous terms. Three upwind schemes for discretizing convective terms are proposed here. An interesting result is that the solutions computed by one of them is not sensitive to the value of the artificial compressibility parameter. A second-order, two-step Runge–Kutta integration coupling with an implicit residual smoothing and with a multigrid method is used for achieving fast convergence for both steady- and unsteady-state problems. The numerical results agree well with experimental and other numerical data. A comparison with an analytically exact solution is performed to verify the space and time accuracy of the algorithm.     

A stabilized incremental projection scheme for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

It is well known that any spatial discretization of the saddle‐point Stokes problem should satisfy the Ladyzhenskaya–Brezzi–Babuska (LBB) stability condition in order to prevent the appearance of spurious pressure modes. Particularly, if an equal‐order approximation is applied, the Schur complement (or, as called some times, the Uzawa matrix) of the pressure system has a non‐trivial null space that gives rise to such modes. An idea in the past was that all the schemes that solve a Poisson equation for the pressure rather than the Uzawa pressure equation (splitting/projection methods) should overcome this difficulty; this idea was wrong. There is numerical evidence that at least the so‐called incremental projection scheme still suffers from spurious pressure oscillations if an equal‐order approximation is applied. The present paper tries to distinguish which projection requires LBB‐compliant approximation and which does not. Moreover, a stabilized version of the incremental projection scheme is derived. Proper bounds for the stabilization parameter are also given. The numerical results show that the stabilized scheme does indeed achieve second‐order accuracy and does not produce spurious (node to node) pressure oscillations. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Continuation methods applied to the 2D Navier–Stokes equations at high Reynolds numbers

Nonlinearities arise in aerodynamic flows as a function of various parameters, such as angle of attack, Mach number and Reynolds number. These nonlinearities can cause the change from steady to unsteady flow or give rise to static hysteresis. Understanding these nonlinearities is important for safety validation and performance enhancement of modern aircraft. A continuation method has been developed to study nonlinear steady state solutions with respect to changes in parameters for two‐dimensional compressible turbulent flows at high Reynolds numbers. This is the first time that such flows have been analysed with this approach. Continuation methods allow the stable and unstable solutions to be traced as flow parameters are changed. Continuation has been carried out on two‐dimensional aerofoils for several parameters: angle of attack, Mach number, Reynolds number, aerofoil thickness and turbulent inflow as well as levels of dissipation applied to the models. A range of results are presented. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stretched Cartesian grids for solution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

Two Cartesian grid stretching functions are investigated for solving the unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations using the pressure–velocity formulation. The first function is developed for the Fourier method and is a generalization of earlier work. This function concentrates more points at the centre of the computational box while allowing the box to remain finite. The second stretching function is for the second‐order central finite difference scheme, which uses a staggered grid in the computational domain. This function is derived to allow a direct discretization of the Laplacian operator in the pressure equation while preserving the consistent behaviour exhibited by the uniform grid scheme. Both functions are analysed for their effects on the matrix of the discretized pressure equation. It is shown that while the second function does not spoil the matrix diagonal dominance, the first one can. Limits to stretching of the first method are derived for the cases of mappings in one and two directions. A limit is also derived for the second function in order to prevent a strong distortion of a sine wave. The performances of the two types of stretching are examined in simulations of periodic co‐flowing jets and a time developing boundary layer. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The fundamental solution method for incompressible Navier–Stokes equations

A complete boundary integral formulation for incompressible Navier–Stokes equations with time discretization by operator splitting is developed using the fundamental solutions of the Helmholtz operator equation with different order. The numerical results for the lift and the drag hysteresis associated with a NACA0012 aerofoil oscillating in pitch show good agreement with available experimental data. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards a transparent boundary condition for compressible Navier–Stokes equations

A new artificial boundary condition for two‐dimensional subsonic flows governed by the compressible Navier–Stokes equations is derived. It is based on the hyperbolic part of the equations, according to the way of propagation of the characteristic waves. A reference flow, as well as a convection velocity, is used to properly discretize the terms corresponding to the entering waves. Numerical tests on various classical model problems, whose solutions are known, and comparisons with other boundary conditions (BCs), show the efficiency of the BC. Direct numerical simulations of more complex flows over a dihedral plate are simulated, without creation of acoustic waves going back in the flow. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementation of a stabilized finite element formulation for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations based on a pressure gradient projection

We discuss in this paper some implementation aspects of a finite element formulation for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations which allows the use of equal order velocity–pressure interpolations. The method consists in introducing the projection of the pressure gradient and adding the difference between the pressure Laplacian and the divergence of this new field to the incompressibility equation, both multiplied by suitable algorithmic parameters. The main purpose of this paper is to discuss how to deal with the new variable in the implementation of the algorithm. Obviously, it could be treated as one extra unknown, either explicitly or as a condensed variable. However, we take for granted that the only way for the algorithm to be efficient is to uncouple it from the velocity–pressure calculation in one way or another. Here we discuss some iterative schemes to perform this uncoupling of the pressure gradient projection (PGP) from the calculation of the velocity and the pressure, both for the stationary and the transient Navier–Stokes equations. In the first case, the strategies analyzed refer to the interaction of the linearization loop and the iterative segregation of the PGP, whereas in the second the main dilemma concerns the explicit or implicit treatment of the PGP. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.