A numerical procedure for viscous free surface flows

We present a numerical procedure for two-dimensional unsteady viscous free surface flow problems with surface tension. The procedure is based on a finite difference approach to a primitive variable formulation; a coordinate transformation is used to transform the irregularly shaped flow domain onto a fixed rectangular domain. The procedure is tested on a standing wave problem and a cavity flow problem with a free surface. Satisfactory numerical solutions are obtained for both problems for Reynolds numbers up to 200.     

Studies of an interface relaxation domain decomposition technique using finite elements on a parallel computer

Studies are presented for an interface relaxation domain decomposition technique using finite elements on an iPSC/2 D5 Hypercube Concurrent computer. The general type of problem to be solved is one governed by a partial differential equation. The application of the approach, however, will be extended to a free boundary value problem by appropriate modification of the numerical scheme. Using the domain decomposition technique, the computation domain is subdivided into several subdomains. In addition, on the interfaces between two adjacent subdomains are imposed a continuity condition on one side and an equilibrium condition on the other side. Successive overrelaxation iterative processes are then carried out in all subdomains with a relaxation process imposed on the interfaces. With this domain decomposition technique, the problem can be solved parallelly until convergence is reached both in the interiors and on the interfaces of all subdomains. Moreover, the formulation includes a simple domain decomposer that automatically divides a finite element mesh into a list of subdomains to guarantee load balancing. Furthermore, it is shown, through numerical experiments performed on an example problem of free surface seepage through a porous dam, how the values of the relaxation parameters, the choice of imposed boundary conditions, and the number of subdomains (i.e., the number of processors used) affect the solution convergence in this parallel computing environment. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Phase field simulations in ferroelectric materials

The hindering of domain wall movement by defects in ferroelectric materials is closely connected to electric fatigue. A movable domain wall in a ferroelectric material in most cases is modelled as a singular surface which allows the use of configurational forces. In contrast, the present approach treats the polarization as an order parameter, extending the total energy by a phase separation energy and a domain wall energy. The polarization then no longer has a discontinuity at the domain wall but is a continuous vector field (phase field). As an example, a numerical simulation of domain evolution under stress free boundary conditions is presented. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A note on skew differential operators on commutative rings

Let A be a commutative integral domain that is a finitely generated algebra over a field k of characteristic 0 and let ø be a k-algebra automorphism of A of finite order m. In this note we study the ring D(A;ø of differential operators introduced by A.D. Bell. We prove that if A is a free module over the fixed sub-ring A ^ø, with a basis containing 1, then D(A;ø) is isomorphic to the matrix ring M_m(D(A ^ø). It follows from Grothendieck's Generic Flatness Theorem that for an arbitrary A there is an element c?Asuch that D(A[c^-1];ø)?M _m(D(A[c^-1]^ø)). As an application, we consider the structure of D(A;ø)when A is a polynomial or Laurent polynomial ring over k and ø is a diagonalizable linear automorphism.     

Numerical stability of the KdV equation with a negative forcing

The waves at the free surface waves of an incompressible and inviscid fluid in a two dimensional domain with horizontal rigid flat bottom with a small obstruction are considered. A time dependent KdV equation with a negative forcing is derived and studied both theoretically and numerically. The existence of a negative solitary-wave-like solution of the equation near the Froude number is proved and the numerical stability of the solution is also studied. The numerical stability of the positive both symmetric and unsymmetric solitary-wave-like solutions are also studied. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A multiple-scales solution of the undular hydraulic jump problem

A non-linear third-order ODE governing the free surface of an undular hydraulic jump is solved by means of a multiple-scales analysis. The resulting solutions are compared with direct numerical solutions of the ODE, and good agreement is found. Furthermore, new flow features, which are not evident in the numerical solutions, are revealed by the multiple-scales solutions. The results of the analysis are also compared with numerical solutions of the full equations of motion and with experimental data, and satisfactory agreement is obtained. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A four-node discrete singular convolution for geometric transformation and its application to numerical solution of vibration problem of arbitrary straight-sided quadrilateral plates

A four-node discrete singular convolution (DSC) method is developed for free vibration analysis of arbitrary straight-sided quadrilateral plates. The straight-sided quadrilateral domain is mapped into a square domain in the computational space using a four-node element. By using the geometric transformation, the governing equations and boundary conditions of the plate are transformed from the physical domain into a square computational domain. Numerical examples illustrating the accuracy and convergence of the DSC method for skew, trapezoidal, rhombic and arbitrary quadrilateral plates are presented. The results obtained by DSC method were compared with those obtained by the other numerical methods.     

Modeling and simulation of transient responses of a flexible beam floating in finite depth water under moving loads

The dynamic response of a free–free flexible beam floating in an unbounded water domain under the effect of moving loads is numerically analyzed. The water is assumed compressible and inviscid. The surface disturbance satisfies a linear free surface wave condition and an undisturbed condition at infinity. In the present work, a finite element procedure was developed directly in time domain and implemented to solve the two-dimensional problem of the transient behavior of an elastic beam floating on the surface of finite deep water under the passage of a moving force with uniform speed. The presented data demonstrates the applicability of the proposed mathematical model and numerical approach. The influences on the dynamic responses of floating beam of some factors were studied.     

An optimization‐based domain decomposition method for numerical simulation of the incompressible Navier‐Stokes flows

This article is concerned about an optimization‐based domain decomposition method for numerical simulation of the incompressible Navier‐Stokes flows. Using the method, an classical domain decomposition problem is transformed into a constrained minimization problem for which the objective functional is chosen to measure the jump in the dependent variables across the common interfaces between subdomains. The Lagrange multiplier rule is used to transform the constrained optimization problem into an unconstrained one and that rule is applied to derive an optimality system from which optimal solutions may be obtained. The optimality system is also derived using “sensitivity” derivatives instead of the Lagrange multiplier rule. We consider a gradient‐type approach to the solution of domain decomposition problem. The results of some numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the feasibility and applicability of the algorithm developed in this article. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2011     

Convergence of the solution for a domain decomposed,heterogeneously modeled flow past a concave profile problem

The free streamline problem investigated is that of fluid flow past a symmetric truncated concave‐shaped profile between walls. An open wake or cavity is formed behind the profile. Conformal mapping techniques are used to solve this problem. The problem formulated in the hodograph plane is decomposed into two nonoverlapping domains. Heterogeneous modeling is then used to describe the problems, i.e., a different governing differential equation in each domain. In one of these domains, a Baiocchi‐type transformation is used to obtain a fixed domain formulation for the part of the transformed problem containing an unknown boundary. In the other domain, the Baiocchi‐type transformation is extended across the boundary between the two domains, thus yielding a different problem formulation. This also assures that the dependent variables and their normal derivatives are continuous along this common boundary. The numerical solution scheme, a successive over‐relaxation approach, is applied over the whole problem domain with the use of a projection‐operation over only the fixed domain formulated part. Numerical results are obtained for the case of a truncated circular profile. These results are found to be in good agreement with another published result. The existence and uniqueness of the solution to the problem as a variational inequality is shown, and the convergence of the numerical solution using a domain decomposition method scheme is demonstrated by assuming some convergence property on the common interface of the two subdomains. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Numeer Methods Partial Differential Eq 16: 459–479, 2000     

A theoretical measure technique for determining 3D symmetric nearly optimal shapes with a given center of mass

In this paper, a new approach is proposed for designing the nearly-optimal three dimensional symmetric shapes with desired physical center of mass. Herein, the main goal is to find such a shape whose image in (r, θ)-plane is a divided region into a fixed and variable part. The nearly optimal shape is characterized in two stages. Firstly, for each given domain, the nearly optimal surface is determined by changing the problem into a measure-theoretical one, replacing this with an equivalent infinite dimensional linear programming problem and approximating schemes; then, a suitable function that offers the optimal value of the objective function for any admissible given domain is defined. In the second stage, by applying a standard optimization method, the global minimizer surface and its related domain will be obtained whose smoothness is considered by applying outlier detection and smooth fitting methods. Finally, numerical examples are presented and the results are compared to show the advantages of the proposed approach.     

Three-dimensional non-Darcy flow analysis using a hybrid numerical model

A hybrid numerical model is developed for the simulation of three-dimensional, unsteady non-Darcy flow through an unconfined aquifer. The major problem in analysing flow through unconfined aquifers is that they involve two boundaries, namely a surface of seepage and a free surface, the location of which is not known beforehand. The model that is presented here determines these boundaries via a two stage modelling technique. In the first stage a one-dimensional finite difference model is used to estimate the surface of seepage height whereas in the second stage a vertically integrated finite element model determines the free surface solution within the flow domain. A comparison between numerical and experimental results is included which indicates the sensitivity of the numerical solution to the selected aquifer parameters, particularly to those associated with the determination of the height of the surface of seepage.     

A sigma coordinate 3D k– model for turbulent free surface flow over a submerged structure

A fully three-dimensional unsteady flow model is developed to simulate free surface flow over a submerged structure. A new sigma coordinate is used to map the physical domain containing the wavy free surface and uneven bottom to a rectangular prism, and to keep the size of the submerged block unchanged in the sigma coordinate system. The numerical difficulty encountered in the conventional sigma coordinate system in which the block changes dynamically due to the time varying free surface is thus eliminated. A split operator scheme is used in the numerical solution so that different numerical schemes can be purposely chosen to deal with the distinctive mathematical and physical characteristics of the phenomena at different steps. k– model is used in the parameterization of turbulence due to its efficiency and reasonable performance. The model is applied to simulate the propagation of a solitary wave with good results. It is subsequently used to simulate a free surface flow against a submerged cube with one face perpendicular (or 45° inclined) to the flow. The numerical results compare favorably with the experimental measurements. In particular, no excessive turbulent kinetic energy is accumulated at the impingement regions.     

Numerical approximation of one phase quadrature domains

In this work, we present two numerical schemes for a free boundary problem that is called one phase quadrature domain. In the first method, using the properties of a given free boundary problem, we derive a method that leads us to a fast iterative solver. The iteration procedure is adapted to work in the case when topology changes. The second method is based on shape reconstruction to establish an efficient shape Quasi‐Newton method. Various numerical experiments confirm the efficiency of the derived numerical methods. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2013     

A mapping technique for numerical computations of bed evolutions

Free surface flow is one of the most difficult problems in engineering to be solved, since velocity and pressure fields depend on the free surface. On the other hand, the position of the free surface is unknown previously. Furthermore, the boundary condition on the free surface is expressed by a complicated equation. In an alluvial stream, where the boundaries of the domain are not fixed, addition of free surface at the bed will increase this difficulty. A domain mapping technique is developed in this paper to study the bed evolutions. The flow is considered 2D, choosing two coordinates in streamwise and upward directions. With a proper transformation, the hydrodynamics and sediment transport governing equations in irregular domain will be mapped into a simple rectangular one. The new domain can be discretize by finite elements. The transformed governing equations are solved to obtain desired variables in the mapped domain. With a proper transformation, there is no need of inverse mapping to obtain the free water surface profile and bedform evolution and migration in the actual domain. The model has been applied to streams with movable bed and the results show a good agreement with the experimental experiences.     

Time-varying MHD flows with free surfaces

The numerical requirements for liquid metal MHD flows with free surfaces are considerable. A stable, time-accurate Navier–Stokes solver is needed, with the ability to handle free surfaces in the presence of strong internal circulations. In addition, the solver must avoid numerical instabilities associated with the free surface motion. Another requirement is the flexibility to calculate the two-way coupling between liquid flow and evolution of the electromagnetic field. Furthermore, in some circumstances it is necessary to calculate the evolving field both inside and outside the liquid domain. Finally, there is the issue of turbulence modelling, complicated by the anisotrophic character of the turbulent energy induced by the magnetic field. To do this with any efficiency requires substantial segregation of the variables in the algorithm. This paper describes an approach using operator splitting and conjugate gradient methods, and developed with the partial differential equations solving program Fastflo. The paper emphasizes the computational electromagnetic aspects associated with the motion of the free surface.     

Adaptive FEM and a posteriori error control for stationary coupled bulk-surface PDEs

We consider a system of two coupled elliptic equations, one defined on a bulk domain and the other one on the boundary surface. The numerical error of the finite element solution can be controlled by a residual a posteriori error estimator which takes into account the approximation errors due to the discretisation in space as well as the polyhedral approximation of the surface. The estimators naturally lead to refinement indicators for an adaptive algorithm to control the overall error. Numerical experiments illustrate the performance of the a posteriori error estimator and the adaptive algorithm. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Modelling free surfaces in oscillating pipe flows

An oscillating pipe flow with a free surface is investigated numerically and experimentally. The pipe diameter is 12mm. Due to this small diameter capillary forces play an important role. Therefore special attention has to be paid to the flow field near the free surface. The numerical model is based on the fundamental flow equations. The free surface is resolved according to the volume-of-fluid method. The model equations are solved on a moving grid. In the experiment, pictures of the flow field are taken near the free surface. The effects occuring near the interface will be presented here. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Construction of solutions for the problem of free oscillations of an ideal liquid in cavities of complex geometric form

We consider the problem of free oscillations of an ideal incompressible liquid in cavities of complex geometric form. The domain filled with liquid is divided into subdomains of simpler geometric form. The original problem is reduced to the spectral problem for a part of the domain filled with liquid. To this end, we use solutions of auxiliary boundary-value problems in subdomains. We construct approximate solutions of the problem obtained using the variational method. We also consider the problem of the rational choice of a system of coordinate functions. Results of the numerical realization of the proposed method are presented. __________ Translated from Ukrains’kyi Matematychnyi Zhurnal, Vol. 57, No. 12, pp. 1587–1600, December, 2005.