A comparison between a collocation and weak implementation of the rigid‐body motion constraint on a particle surface

In this work, we implemented and compared two different methods to impose the rigid‐body motion constraint on a solid particle moving inside a fluid. We consider a fictitious domain method to easily manage the particle motion. As the solid as well as the fluid inertia are neglected, the particle can be discretized through its boundary only. The rigid‐body motion is imposed via Lagrange multipliers on the boundary. In the first method, such constraints are imposed in discrete points on the boundary (collocation), whereas in the second the constraint is imposed in a weak way on elements dividing the particle surface. Two test problems, that is, a spherical and an ellipsoidal particle in a sheared Newtonian fluid, are chosen to compare the methods. In both cases, the analysis is carried out in 2D as well as in 3D. The results show that for the collocation method an optimal number of collocation points exist leading to the smallest error. However, small variations in the optimal value can generate large deviations. In the weak implementation, the error is only mildly affected by the number of elements used to discretize the particle boundary and by the Lagrange multiplier's interpolation space. A further analysis is carried out to study the effect of an approximated integration of weak constraints. A comparison between the two methods showed that the same accuracy can be achieved by using less constraints if the weak discretization is used. Finally, the rigid‐body motion imposed via weak constraints leads to better conditioned linear systems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Micro-rheology of dense particulate flows: Application to immersed avalanches

We rely here on a non-smooth contact dynamics (NSCD) approach to treat particle collisions in a direct numerical simulation of a dense particulate flow. Interactions between particles are considered by a non-smooth formulation of particle dynamics at the microscopic scale, which enables one to straightforwardly implement complex contact laws. The hydrodynamic coupling is achieved by a distributed Lagrange multiplier/fictitious domain (DLM/FD) method. As a preliminary step, the relevance of our NSCD-DLM/FD method is assessed by comparing results of 2D sedimentation simulations with those obtained with a usual molecular dynamics collision model. Then, we use it to investigate how a fully immersed granular packing collapses depending on its initial particle volume fraction, providing clues on the micro-rheology of dense particulate flows.     

Higher‐order surface FEM for incompressible Navier‐Stokes flows on manifolds

Stationary and instationary Stokes and Navier‐Stokes flows are considered on two‐dimensional manifolds, ie, on curved surfaces in three dimensions. The higher‐order surface FEM is used for the approximation of the geometry, velocities, pressure, and Lagrange multiplier to enforce tangential velocities. Individual element orders are employed for these various fields. Streamline‐upwind stabilization is employed for flows at high Reynolds numbers. Applications are presented, which extend classical benchmark test cases from flat domains to general manifolds. Highly accurate solutions are obtained, and higher‐order convergence rates are confirmed.     

Reduced projection augmented Lagrange bi-conjugate gradient method for contact and impact problems

Based on the numerical governing formulation and non-linear complementary conditions of contact and impact problems,a reduced projection augmented Lagrange bi- conjugate gradient method is proposed for contact and impact problems by translating non-linear complementary conditions into equivalent formulation of non-linear program- ming.For contact-impact problems,a larger time-step can be adopted arriving at numer- ical convergence compared with penalty method.By establishment of the impact-contact formulations which are equivalent with original non-linear complementary conditions,a reduced projection augmented Lagrange bi-conjugate gradient method is deduced to im- prove precision and efficiency of numerical solutions.A numerical example shows that the algorithm we suggested is valid and exact.     

A finite element thermally coupled flow formulation for phase‐change problems

A finite element, thermally coupled incompressible flow formulation considering phase‐change effects is presented. This formulation accounts for natural convection, temperature‐dependent material properties and isothermal and non‐isothermal phase‐change models. In this context, the full Navier–Stokes equations are solved using a generalized streamline operator (GSO) technique. The highly non‐linear phase‐change effects are treated with a temperature‐based algorithm, which provides stability and convergence of the numerical solution. The Boussinesq approximation is used in order to consider the temperature‐dependent density variation. Furthermore, the numerical solution of the coupled problem is approached with a staggered incremental‐iterative solution scheme, such that the convergence criteria are written in terms of the residual vectors. Finally, this formulation is used for the solutions of solidification and melting problems validating some numerical results with other existing solutions obtained with different methodologies. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Cartesian grid method for two‐phase gel dynamics on an irregular domain

We develop a numerical method for simulating models of two‐phase gel dynamics in an irregular domain using a regular Cartesian grid. The models consist of transport equations for the volume fractions of the two phases, polymer network and solvent; coupled momentum equations for the two phases; and a volume‐averaged incompressibility constraint. Multigrid with Vanka‐type box relaxation scheme is used as a preconditioner for the Krylov subspace solver (GMRES) to solve the momentum and incompressibility equations. Ghost points are used to enforce no‐slip boundary conditions for the velocity field of each phase, and no‐flux boundary conditions for the volume fractions. The behavior of the new method, including its rate of convergence, is explored through numerical experiments for a problem in which strong phase separation develops from an initially (almost) homogeneous phase distribution. We also use the method to explore situations, motivated by biology, which show that imposed boundary velocities can cause substantial redistribution of network and solvent. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A General Formulation and Solution Scheme for Fractional Optimal Control Problems

Accurate modeling of many dynamic systems leads to a set of Fractional Differential Equations (FDEs). This paper presents a general formulation and a solution scheme for a class of Fractional Optimal Control Problems (FOCPs) for those systems. The fractional derivative is described in the Riemann–Liouville sense. The performance index of a FOCP is considered as a function of both the state and the control variables, and the dynamic constraints are expressed by a set of FDEs. The Calculus of Variations, the Lagrange multiplier, and the formula for fractional integration by parts are used to obtain Euler–Lagrange equations for the FOCP. The formulation presented and the resulting equations are very similar to those that appear in the classical optimal control theory. Thus, the present formulation essentially extends the classical control theory to fractional dynamic system. The formulation is used to derive the control equations for a quadratic linear fractional control problem. An approach similar to a variational virtual work coupled with the Lagrange multiplier technique is presented to find the approximate numerical solution of the resulting equations. Numerical solutions for two fractional systems, a time-invariant and a time-varying, are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the method. It is shown that (1) the solutions converge as the number of approximating terms increase, and (2) the solutions approach to classical solutions as the order of the fractional derivatives approach to 1. The formulation presented is simple and can be extended to other FOCPs. It is hoped that the simplicity of this formulation will initiate a new interest in the area of optimal control of fractional systems.     

Implementing a high‐order accurate implicit operator scheme for solving steady incompressible viscous flows using artificial compressibility method

This paper uses a fourth‐order compact finite‐difference scheme for solving steady incompressible flows. The high‐order compact method applied is an alternating direction implicit operator scheme, which has been used by Ekaterinaris for computing two‐dimensional compressible flows. Herein, this numerical scheme is efficiently implemented to solve the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in the primitive variables formulation using the artificial compressibility method. For space discretizing the convective fluxes, fourth‐order centered spatial accuracy of the implicit operators is efficiently obtained by performing compact space differentiation in which the method uses block‐tridiagonal matrix inversions. To stabilize the numerical solution, numerical dissipation terms and/or filters are used. In this study, the high‐order compact implicit operator scheme is also extended for computing three‐dimensional incompressible flows. The accuracy and efficiency of this high‐order compact method are demonstrated for different incompressible flow problems. A sensitivity study is also conducted to evaluate the effects of grid resolution and pseudocompressibility parameter on accuracy and convergence rate of the solution. The effects of filtering and numerical dissipation on the solution are also investigated. Test cases considered herein for validating the results are incompressible flows in a 2‐D backward facing step, a 2‐D cavity and a 3‐D cavity at different flow conditions. Results obtained for these cases are in good agreement with the available numerical and experimental results. The study shows that the scheme is robust, efficient and accurate for solving incompressible flow problems. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A General Formulation and Solution Scheme for Fractional Optimal Control Problems

Accurate modeling of many dynamic systems leads to a set of Fractional Differential Equations (FDEs). This paper presents a general formulation and a solution scheme for a class of Fractional Optimal Control Problems (FOCPs) for those systems. The fractional derivative is described in the Riemann–Liouville sense. The performance index of a FOCP is considered as a function of both the state and the control variables, and the dynamic constraints are expressed by a set of FDEs. The Calculus of Variations, the Lagrange multiplier, and the formula for fractional integration by parts are used to obtain Euler–Lagrange equations for the FOCP. The formulation presented and the resulting equations are very similar to those that appear in the classical optimal control theory. Thus, the present formulation essentially extends the classical control theory to fractional dynamic system. The formulation is used to derive the control equations for a quadratic linear fractional control problem. An approach similar to a variational virtual work coupled with the Lagrange multiplier technique is presented to find the approximate numerical solution of the resulting equations. Numerical solutions for two fractional systems, a time-invariant and a time-varying, are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of the method. It is shown that (1) the solutions converge as the number of approximating terms increase, and (2) the solutions approach to classical solutions as the order of the fractional derivatives approach to 1. The formulation presented is simple and can be extended to other FOCPs. It is hoped that the simplicity of this formulation will initiate a new interest in the area of optimal control of fractional systems.     

On nonlinear preconditioners in Newton–Krylov methods for unsteady flows

The application of nonlinear schemes like dual time stepping as preconditioners in matrix‐free Newton–Krylov‐solvers is considered and analyzed, with a special emphasis on unsteady viscous flows. We provide a novel formulation of the left preconditioned operator that says it is in fact linear in the matrix‐free sense, but changes the Newton scheme. This allows to get some insight in the convergence properties of these schemes, which is demonstrated through numerical results. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Galerkin local maximum entropy method

We propose a new particle‐based method for simulating incompressible Navier‐Stokes flows. It is based on a reinterpretation of the optimal transportation meshfree method within the context of Galerkin discretization. This enables us to introduce the incompressibility constraint into the formulation. Furthermore, we present convergence test and illustrate the usability of the method along several test problems.     

An implicit method for frictional contact, impact and rolling

In this paper an implicit method for frictional contact, impact and rolling is suggested. A nonclassical formulation of a two-dimensional hyperelastic body unilaterally constrained to rigid supports is proposed by following the ideas of Moreau and Jean. A total Lagrangian formulation of the system is given. The elastic properties are defined by coupling the second Piola–Kirchhoff stress to the Green–Lagrange strain via the Kirchhoff–St. Venant law. The equation of motion is written in the spirit of Moreau by using the mean value impulses introduced by Jean. The mean value impulses appear explicitly in the equation of motion. In such manner the treatment of nonconstant kinematic transformation matrices becomes straightforward. The rigid supports are described by smooth functions. By utilizing these functions and the mean value impulses, new contact/impact laws of Signorini and Coulomb type are formulated. The governing equations are solved by a nonsmooth Newton method. This is performed by following the augmented Lagrangian approach and deriving the consistent stiffness matrix as well as the contact stiffness matrices. Three two-dimensional examples are solved by the method: a contact problem, an impact problem and a rolling contact problem.     

Reduced augmented Lagrangian bi-conjugate gradient method for impact-contact problems

To avoid the numerical oscillation of the penalty method and non-compatibility with explicit operators of conventional Lagrange multiplier methods used in transient contact problems to enforce surface contact conditions, a new approach to enforcing surface contact constraints for the transient nonlinear finite element problems, referred to as “the reduced augmented Lagrangian bi-conjugate gradient method (ALCG)”, is developed in this paper. Based on the nonlinear constrained optimization theory and is compatible with the explicit time integration scheme, this approach can also be used in implicit scheme naturally. The new surface contact constraint method presented has significant advantages over the widely adopted penalty function methods and the conventional Lagrangian multiplier methods. The surface contact constraints are satisfied more accurately for each step by the algorithm, so the oscillation of numerical solution for the explicit scheme is depressed. Through the development of new iteration strategy for solving nonlinear equations, ALCG method improves the computational efficiency greatly. Project supported by State Education Commission Doctoral Foundation and Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning Province.     

An adaptive numerical scheme for solving incompressible 2‐phase and free‐surface flows

In this paper, we present a numerical scheme for solving 2‐phase or free‐surface flows. Here, the interface/free surface is modeled using the level‐set formulation, and the underlying mesh is adapted at each iteration of the flow solver. This adaptation allows us to obtain a precise approximation for the interface/free‐surface location. In addition, it enables us to solve the time‐discretized fluid equation only in the fluid domain in the case of free‐surface problems. Fluids here are considered incompressible. Therefore, their motion is described by the incompressible Navier‐Stokes equation, which is temporally discretized using the method of characteristics and is solved at each time iteration by a first‐order Lagrange‐Galerkin method. The level‐set function representing the interface/free surface satisfies an advection equation that is also solved using the method of characteristics. The algorithm is completed by some intermediate steps like the construction of a convenient initial level‐set function (redistancing) as well as the construction of a convenient flow for the level‐set advection equation. Numerical results are presented for both bifluid and free‐surface problems.     

Incompressible flows with combustion simulated by a preconditioning method using multigrid acceleration and MUSCL reconstruction

A numerical algorithm for the steady state solution of three‐dimensional incompressible flows is presented. A preconditioned time marching scheme is applied to the conservative form of the governing equations. The preconditioning matrix multiplies the time derivatives of the system and circumvents the eigenvalue‐caused stiffness at low speed. The formulation is suitable for constant density flows and for flows where the density depends on non‐passive scalars, such as in low‐speed combustion applications. The k–ε model accounts for turbulent transport effects. A cell‐centred finite volume formulation with a Runge–Kutta time stepping scheme for the primitive variables is used. Second‐order spatial accuracy is achieved by developing for the preconditioned system an approximate Riemann solver with MUSCL reconstruction. A multi‐grid technique coupled with local time stepping and implicit residual smoothing is used to accelerate the convergence to the steady state solution. The convergence behaviour and the validation of the predicted solutions are examined for laminar and turbulent constant density flows and for a turbulent non‐premixed flame simulated by a presumed probability density function (PDF) model. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A lattice Boltzmann fictitious domain method for modeling red blood cell deformation and multiple‐cell hydrodynamic interactions in flow

To model red blood cell (RBC) deformation and multiple‐cell interactions in flow, the recently developed technique derived from the lattice Boltzmann method and the distributed Lagrange multiplier/fictitious domain method is extended to employ the mesoscopic network model for simulations of RBCs in flow. The flow is simulated by the lattice Boltzmann method with an external force, while the network model is used for modeling RBC deformation. The fluid–RBC interactions are enforced by the Lagrange multiplier. To validate parameters of the RBC network model, stretching tests on both coarse and fine meshes are performed and compared with the corresponding experimental data. Furthermore, RBC deformation in pipe and shear flows is simulated, revealing the capacity of the current method for modeling RBC deformation in various flows. Moreover, hydrodynamic interactions between two RBCs are studied in pipe flow. Numerical results illustrate that the leading cell always has a larger flow velocity and deformation, while the following cells move slower and deform less.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using quaternion matrices to describe the kinematics and nonlinear dynamics of an asymmetric rigid body

A set of four quaternion matrices is used to represent the equations of finite rotation theory and to describe the kinematics and nonlinear dynamics of an asymmetric rigid body in space. The results obtained are tested in setting up direction-cosine matrices, calculating three-index symbols, establishing the relationship between the components of angular velocity in body-fixed and space-fixed frames of reference, and using a set of three independent rotations. Euler–Lagrange equations and a set of four quaternion matrices are used to construct a block-matrix model describing the nonlinear dynamics of a free asymmetric rigid body in three-dimensional space. The model gives the matrix Euler’s equations of motion and other special cases. Algorithms adapted to use in a numerical experiment are developed Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 133–143, February 2009.     

Interaction of a deformable solid with two-phase flows: An Eulerian-based numerical model for fluid-structure interaction using the level contour reconstruction method

We describe the formulation of a method for fluid-structure interaction involving the coupling of moving and/or flexible solid structures with multiphase flows in the framework of the Level Contour Reconstruction Method. We present an Eulerian-based numerical procedure for tracking the motion and interaction of a liquid-gas interface with a fluid-solid interface in the Lagrangian frame together with the evaluation of the fluid transport equations coupled to those for the solid transport, namely the left Cauchy-Green strain tensor field, in the Eulerian frame. To prevent excessive dissipation due to the convective nature of the solid transport equation, a simple incompressibility constraint for the strain field is enforced. A single grid structure is used for both the fluid and solid phases which allows for a simple and natural coupling of the fluid and solid dynamics. Several benchmark tests are performed to show the accuracy of the numerical method and which demonstrate accurate results compared to several of those in the existing literature. In particular we show that surface tension effects including contact line dynamics on the deforming solid phase can be properly simulated. The three-phase interaction of a droplet impacting on a flexible cantilever is investigated in detail. The simulations follow the detailed motion of the droplet impact (and subsequent deformation, breakup, and fall trajectory) along with the motion of the deformable solid cantilever due to its own weight as well as due to the force of the droplet impact.     

High‐order implicit time integration for unsteady incompressible flows

The spatial discretization of unsteady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations is stated as a system of differential algebraic equations, corresponding to the conservation of momentum equation plus the constraint due to the incompressibility condition. Asymptotic stability of Runge–Kutta and Rosenbrock methods applied to the solution of the resulting index‐2 differential algebraic equations system is analyzed. A critical comparison of Rosenbrock, semi‐implicit, and fully implicit Runge–Kutta methods is performed in terms of order of convergence and stability. Numerical examples, considering a discontinuous Galerkin formulation with piecewise solenoidal approximation, demonstrate the applicability of the approaches and compare their performance with classical methods for incompressible flows. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.