A hybrid finite volume/finite element method for incompressible generalized Newtonian fluid flows on unstructured triangular meshes

This paper presents a hybrid finite volume/finite element method for the incompressible generalized Newtonian fluid flow （Power-Law model）. The collocated （i.e. non-staggered） arrangement of variables is used on the unstructured triangular grids, and a fractional step projection method is applied for the velocity-pressure coupling. The cell-centered finite volume method is employed to discretize the momentum equation and the vertex-based finite element for the pressure Poisson equation. The momentum interpolation method is used to suppress unphysical pressure wiggles. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the current hybrid scheme has second order accuracy in both space and time. Results on flows in the lid-driven cavity and between parallel walls for Newtonian and Power-Law models are also in good agreement with the published solutions.     

Computation of viscous incompressible flow using pressure correction method on unstructured Chimera grid

In this paper, a pressure correction algorithm for computing incompressible flows is modified and implemented on unstructured Chimera grid. Schwarz method is used to couple the solutions of different sub-domains. A new interpolation to ensure consistency between primary variables and auxiliary variables is proposed. Other important issues such as global mass conservation and order of accuracy in the interpolations are also discussed. Two numerical simulations are successfully performed. They include one steady case, the lid-driven cavity and one unsteady case, the flow around a circular cylinder. The results demonstrate a very good performance of the proposed scheme on unstructured Chimera grids. It prevents the decoupling of pressure field in the overlapping region and requires only little modification to the existing unstructured Navier–Stokes (NS) solver. The numerical experiments show the reliability and potential of this method in applying to practical problems.     

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.     

Gauge finite element method for incompressible flows

A finite element method for computing viscous incompressible flows based on the gauge formulation introduced in [Weinan E, Liu J‐G. Gauge method for viscous incompressible flows. Journal of Computational Physics (submitted)] is presented. This formulation replaces the pressure by a gauge variable. This new gauge variable is a numerical tool and differs from the standard gauge variable that arises from decomposing a compressible velocity field. It has the advantage that an additional boundary condition can be assigned to the gauge variable, thus eliminating the issue of a pressure boundary condition associated with the original primitive variable formulation. The computational task is then reduced to solving standard heat and Poisson equations, which are approximated by straightforward, piecewise linear (or higher‐order) finite elements. This method can achieve high‐order accuracy at a cost comparable with that of solving standard heat and Poisson equations. It is naturally adapted to complex geometry and it is much simpler than traditional finite element methods for incompressible flows. Several numerical examples on both structured and unstructured grids are presented. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a hybrid finite volume/element solver for incompressible flows

In this paper, we report our development of an implicit hybrid flow solver for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. The methodology is based on the pressure correction or projection method. A fractional step approach is used to obtain an intermediate velocity field by solving the original momentum equations with the matrix‐free implicit cell‐centred finite volume method. The Poisson equation derived from the fractional step approach is solved by the node‐based Galerkin finite element method for an auxiliary variable. The auxiliary variable is closely related to the real pressure and is used to update the velocity field and the pressure field. We store the velocity components at cell centres and the auxiliary variable at cell vertices, making the current solver a staggered‐mesh scheme. Numerical examples demonstrate the performance of the resulting hybrid scheme, such as the correct temporal convergence rates for both velocity and pressure, absence of unphysical pressure boundary layer, good convergence in steady‐state simulations and capability in predicting accurate drag, lift and Strouhal number in the flow around a circular cylinder. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multivariant finite elements for three-dimensional simulation of viscous incompressible flows

Within multivariant elements, which have restricted degrees of freedom at some nodes, different velocity components have different variations. Shape functions for the multivariant elements Q P_o and R P_o are developed. With such shape functions the value of a velocity component within a multivariant element is shown to depend upon all the independent components of velocity at the nodes of the element. The use of the Q₁ P₀ element to simulate flows with discontinuous boundary conditions generated disturbance throughout the flow domain, giving erroneous pressure and velocity distributions. The Q P_o element restricted the disturbance due to such discontinuities to a small region near the singular points, whereas the P P_o element completely eliminated the fluctuations. Flows with discontinuous boundary conditions were simulated with reasonable accuracy by partially relaxing the no-slip condition on the Q₁ P_o elements near the singular points.     

Hybrid finite element/volume method for 3D incompressible flows with heat transfer

An implicit hybrid finite element (FE)/volume solver has been extended to incompressible flows coupled with the energy equation. The solver is based on the segregated pressure correction or projection method on staggered unstructured hybrid meshes. An intermediate velocity field is first obtained by solving the momentum equations with the matrix-free implicit cell-centred finite volume (FV) method. The pressure Poisson equation is solved by the node-based Galerkin FE method for an auxiliary variable. The auxiliary variable is used to update the velocity field and the pressure field. The pressure field is carefully updated by taking into account the velocity divergence field. Our current staggered-mesh scheme is distinct from other conventional ones in that we store the velocity components at cell centres and the auxiliary variable at vertices. The Generalized Minimal Residual (GMRES) matrix-free strategy is adapted to solve the governing equations in both FE and FV methods. The presented 2D and 3D numerical examples show the robustness and accuracy of the numerical method.     

Development of an optimal hybrid finite volume/element method for viscoelastic flows

A cell‐vertex hybrid finite volume/element method is investigated that is implemented on triangles and applied to the numerical solution of Oldroyd model fluids in contraction flows. Particular attention is paid to establishing high‐order accuracy, whilst retaining favourable stability properties. Elevated levels of elasticity are sought. The main impact of this study reveals that switching from quadratic to linear finite volume stress representation with discontinuous stress gradients, and incorporating local reduced quadrature at the re‐entrant corner, provide enhance stability properties. Solution smoothness is achieved by adopting the non‐conservative flux form with area integration, by appealing to quadratic recovered velocity‐gradients, and through consistency considerations in the treatment of the time term in the constitutive equation. In this manner, high‐order accuracy is maintained, stability is ensured, and the finer features of the flow are confirmed via mesh refinement. Lip vortices are observed for We>1, and a trailing‐edge vortex is also apparent. Loss of evolution and solution asymptotic behaviour towards the re‐entrant corner are also discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calculation of quasi-three-dimensional incompressible viscous flows by the finite element method

This paper discusses the calculation of quasi-three-dimensional incompressible viscous flow by FEM. The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations are solved in curvilinear co-ordinates by the reduced integration and penalty method (RIP). Streamline upwind artificial viscosity (SUAV) and the Baldwin-Lomax algebraic model of turbulence are used. Time discretization is by the general implicit θ-method.     

An implementation of the Spalart–Allmaras DES model in an implicit unstructured hybrid finite volume/element solver for incompressible turbulent flow

In this paper, we describe an implicit hybrid finite volume (FV)/element (FE) incompressible Navier–Stokes solver for turbulent flows based on the Spalart–Allmaras detached eddy simulation (SA‐DES). The hybrid FV/FE solver is based on the segregated pressure correction or projection method. The intermediate velocity field is first obtained by solving the original momentum equations with the matrix‐free implicit cell‐centered FV method. The pressure Poisson equation is solved by the node‐based Galerkin FE method for an auxiliary variable. The auxiliary variable is closely related to the real pressure and is used to update the velocity field and the pressure field. We store the velocity components at cell centers and the auxiliary variable at vertices, making the current solver a staggered‐mesh scheme. The SA‐DES turbulence equation is solved after the velocity and the pressure fields have been updated at the end of each time step. The same matrix‐free FV method as the one used for momentum equations is used to solve the turbulence equation. The turbulence equation provides the eddy viscosity, which is added to the molecular viscosity when solving the momentum equation. In our implementation, we focus on the accuracy, efficiency and robustness of the SA‐DES model in a hybrid flow solver. This paper will address important implementation issues for high‐Reynolds number flows where highly stretched elements are typically used. In addition, some aspects of implementing the SA‐DES model will be described to ensure the robustness of the turbulence model. Several numerical examples including a turbulent flow past a flat plate and a high‐Reynolds number flow around a high angle‐of‐attack NACA0015 airfoil will be presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our current implementation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A hybrid scheme based on finite element/volume methods for two immiscible fluid flows

We have successfully extended our implicit hybrid finite element/volume (FE/FV) solver to flows involving two immiscible fluids. The solver is based on the segregated pressure correction or projection method on staggered unstructured hybrid meshes. An intermediate velocity field is first obtained by solving the momentum equations with the matrix‐free implicit cell‐centered FV method. The pressure Poisson equation is solved by the node‐based Galerkin FE method for an auxiliary variable. The auxiliary variable is used to update the velocity field and the pressure field. The pressure field is carefully updated by taking into account the velocity divergence field. This updating strategy can be rigorously proven to be able to eliminate the unphysical pressure boundary layer and is crucial for the correct temporal convergence rate. Our current staggered‐mesh scheme is distinct from other conventional ones in that we store the velocity components at cell centers and the auxiliary variable at vertices. The fluid interface is captured by solving an advection equation for the volume fraction of one of the fluids. The same matrix‐free FV method, as the one used for momentum equations, is used to solve the advection equation. We will focus on the interface sharpening strategy to minimize the smearing of the interface over time. We have developed and implemented a global mass conservation algorithm that enforces the conservation of the mass for each fluid. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A least-squares finite element method for time-dependent incompressible flows with thermal convection

The time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations and the energy balance equation for an incompressible, constant property fluid in the Boussinesq approximation are solved by a least-squares finite element method based on a velocity–pressure–vorticity–temperature–heat-flux ( u –P–ω–T– q ) formulation discretized by backward finite differencing in time. The discretization scheme leads to the minimization of the residual in the l²-norm for each time step. Isoparametric bilinear quadrilateral elements and reduced integration are employed. Three examples, thermally driven cavity flow at Rayleigh numbers up to 10⁶, lid-driven cavity flow at Reynolds numbers up to 10⁴ and flow over a square obstacle at Reynolds number 200, are presented to validate the method.     

A finite volume method for viscous incompressible flows using a consistent flux reconstruction scheme

An incompressible Navier–Stokes solver using curvilinear body‐fitted collocated grid has been developed to solve unconfined flow past arbitrary two‐dimensional body geometries. In this solver, the full Navier–Stokes equations have been solved numerically in the physical plane itself without using any transformation to the computational plane. For the proper coupling of pressure and velocity field on collocated grid, a new scheme, designated ‘consistent flux reconstruction’ (CFR) scheme, has been developed. In this scheme, the cell face centre velocities are obtained explicitly by solving the momentum equations at the centre of the cell faces. The velocities at the cell centres are also updated explicitly by solving the momentum equations at the cell centres. By resorting to such a fully explicit treatment considerable simplification has been achieved compared to earlier approaches. In the present investigation the solver has been applied to unconfined flow past a square cylinder at zero and non‐zero incidence at low and moderate Reynolds numbers and reasonably good agreement has been obtained with results available from literature. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A finite element method for compressible viscous fluid flows

This work presents a mixed three‐dimensional finite element formulation for analyzing compressible viscous flows. The formulation is based on the primitive variables velocity, density, temperature and pressure. The goal of this work is to present a ‘stable’ numerical formulation, and, thus, the interpolation functions for the field variables are chosen so as to satisfy the inf–sup conditions. An exact tangent stiffness matrix is derived for the formulation, which ensures a quadratic rate of convergence. The good performance of the proposed strategy is shown in a number of steady‐state and transient problems where compressibility effects are important such as high Mach number flows, natural convection, Riemann problems, etc., and also on problems where the fluid can be treated as almost incompressible. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A second‐order time accurate finite element method for quasi‐incompressible viscous flows

A finite element method for quasi‐incompressible viscous flows is presented. An equation for pressure is derived from a second‐order time accurate Taylor–Galerkin procedure that combines the mass and the momentum conservation laws. At each time step, once the pressure has been determined, the velocity field is computed solving discretized equations obtained from another second‐order time accurate scheme and a least‐squares minimization of spatial momentum residuals. The terms that stabilize the finite element method (controlling wiggles and circumventing the Babuska–Brezzi condition) arise naturally from the process, rather than being introduced a priori in the variational formulation. A comparison between the present second‐order accurate method and our previous first‐order accurate formulation is shown. The method is also demonstrated in the computation of the leaky‐lid driven cavity flow and in the simulation of a crossflow past a circular cylinder. In both cases, good agreement with previously published experimental and computational results has been obtained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solution of incompressible flows with or without a free surface using the finite volume method on unstructured triangular meshes

An incompressible Navier–Stokes solver based on a cell‐centre finite volume formulation for unstructured triangular meshes is developed and tested. The solution methodology makes use of pseudocompressibility, whereby the convective terms are computed using a Godunov‐type second‐order upwind finite volume formulation. The evolution of the solution in time is obtained by subiterating the equations in pseudotime for each physical time step, with the pseudotime step set equal to infinity. For flows with a free surface the computational mesh is fitted to the free surface boundary at each time step, with the free surface elevation satisfying a kinematic boundary condition. A ‘leakage coefficient’, ε, is introduced for the calculation of flows with a free surface in order to control the leakage of flow through the free surface. This allows the assumption of stationarity of mesh points to be made during the course of pseudotime iteration. The solver is tested by comparing the output with a wide range of documented published results, both for flows with and without a free surface. The presented results show that the solver is robust. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using a segregated finite element scheme to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

In this paper, a segregated finite element scheme for the solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is proposed which is simpler in form than previously reported formulations. A pressure correction equation is derived from the momentum and continuity equations, and equal-order interpolation is used for both the velocity components and pressure. Algorithms such as this have been known to lead to checkerboard pressure oscillations; however, the pressure correction equation of this scheme should not produce these oscillations. The method is applied to several laminar flow situations, and details of the methods used to achieve converged solutions are given.     

非结构混合网格高超声速绕流与磁场干扰数值模拟

对均匀磁场干扰下的二维钝头体无粘高超声速流场进行了基于非结构混合网格的数值模拟.受磁流体力学方程组高度非线性的影响及考虑到数值模拟格式的精度,目前在此类流场的数值模拟中大多使用结构网格及有限差分方法,因而在三维复杂外形及复杂流场方面的研究受到限制.本文主要探索使用非结构网格(含混合网格)技术时的数值模拟方法.控制方程为耦合了Maxwell方程及无粘流体力学方程的磁流体力学方程组,数值离散格式采用Jameson有限体积格心格式,5步Runge-Kutta显式时间推进.计算模型为二维钝头体,初始磁场均匀分布.对不同磁感应强度影响下的高超声速流场进行了数值模拟,并与有限的资料进行了对比,得到了较符合的结果.     

A control volume finite element method for three-dimensional three-phase flows

A novel control volume finite element method with adaptive anisotropic unstructured meshes is presented for three-dimensional three-phase flows with interfacial tension. The numerical framework consists of a mixed control volume and finite element formulation with a new P₁DG-P₂ elements (linear discontinuous velocity between elements and quadratic continuous pressure between elements). A “volume of fluid” type method is used for the interface capturing, which is based on compressive control volume advection and second-order finite element methods. A force-balanced continuum surface force model is employed for the interfacial tension on unstructured meshes. The interfacial tension coefficient decomposition method is also used to deal with interfacial tension pairings between different phases. Numerical examples of benchmark tests and the dynamics of three-dimensional three-phase rising bubble, and droplet impact are presented. The results are compared with the analytical solutions and previously published experimental data, demonstrating the capability of the present method.