High resolution multi-moment finite volume method for supersonic combustion on unstructured grids

In this study, we present a novel numerical model for simulating detonation waves on unstructured grids. In contrast to the conventional finite volume method (FVM), two types of moment comprising the volume-integrated average (VIA) and the point value (PV) at the cell vertex are treated as the evolution variables for the reacting Euler equations. The VIA is computed based on a finite volume formulation of the flux form where the conventional Riemann problem is solved by the HLLC Riemann solver. The PV is updated in a point-wise manner by using the differential formulation where the Roe solver is used to compute the differential Riemann problems. In order to increase the accuracy around discontinuities, numerical oscillations and dissipations are reduced using the boundary variation diminishing algorithm. Convergence tests demonstrated that the proposed model could achieve third-order accuracy with unstructured grids for reacting Euler equations. The high resolution property of the proposed method was verified based on simulations of several detonation wave propagation problems in two and three dimensions. In particular, the current model could resolve the cellular structures with fewer degrees of freedom for the unstable oblique detonation wave problem. These fine structures may be smoothed out by the conventional FVM due to the excessive amount of numerical dissipation errors. Importantly, a simulation of stiff detonation waves showed that the proposed method could capture the correct position of the reaction front whereas the conventional FVMs produced spurious phenomena. Thus, the proposed model can obtain highly accurate solutions for detonation problems on unstructured grids, which is highly advantageous for real applications involving complex geometrical configurations.     

A characterization of mapping unstructured grids onto structured grids and using multigrid as a preconditioner

Many problems based on unstructured grids provide a natural multigrid framework due to using an adaptive gridding procedure. When the grids are saved, even starting from just a fine grid problem poses no serious theoretical difficulties in applying multigrid. A more difficult case occurs when a highly unstructured grid problem is to be solved with no hints how the grid was produced. Here, there may be no natural multigrid structure and applying such a solver may be quite difficult to do. Since unstructured grids play a vital role in scientific computing, many modifications have been proposed in order to apply a fast, robust multigrid solver. One suggested solution is to map the unstructured grid onto a structured grid and then apply multigrid to a sequence of structured grids as a preconditioner. In this paper, we derive both general upper and lower bounds on the condition number of this procedure in terms of computable grid parameters. We provide examples to illuminate when this preconditioner is a useful (e. g.,p orh-p formulated finite element problems on semi-structured grids) or should be avoided (e.g., typical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) or boundary layer problems). We show that unless great care is taken, this mapping can lead to a system with a high condition number which eliminates the advantage of the multigrid method. This work was partially supported by ONR Grant # N0014-91-J-1576.     

A study of high-order grid-characteristic methods on unstructured grids

In this paper, grid-characteristic methods for solving hyperbolic systems using approximation with high-order interpolation on unstructured tetrahedral and triangular grids are studied. Interpolation methods of order from 1 through 5 inclusive are considered. One-dimensional finite difference schemes for these methods are presented. The stability of these schemes is investigated. The grid-characteristic methods on unstructured triangular and tetrahedral grids are successfully used in seismic prospecting, specifically under the Arctic shelf and permafrost conditions. They are also used to solve problems of seismics, dynamic deformation and destruction, and to study anisotropic composite materials.     

Combined higher order finite volume and finite element scheme for double porosity and non-linear adsorption of transport problem in porous media

In this work, a dual porosity model of reactive solute transport in porous media is presented. This model consists of a nonlinear-degenerate advection-diffusion equation including equilibrium adsorption to the reaction combined with a first-order equation for the non-equilibrium adsorption interaction processes. The numerical scheme for solving this model involves a combined high order finite volume and finite element scheme for approximation of the advection-diffusion part and relaxation-regularized algorithm for nonlinearity-degeneracy. The combined finite volume-finite element scheme is based on a new formulation developed by Eymard et al. (2010) [10]. This formulation treats the advection and diffusion separately. The advection is approximated by a second-order local maximum principle preserving cell-vertex finite volume scheme that has been recently proposed whereas the diffusion is approximated by a finite element method. The result is a conservative, accurate and very flexible algorithm which allows the use of different mesh types such as unstructured meshes and is able to solve difficult problems. Robustness and accuracy of the method have been evaluated, particularly error analysis and the rate of convergence, by comparing the analytical and numerical solutions for first and second order upwind approaches. We also illustrate the performance of the discretization scheme through a variety of practical numerical examples. The discrete maximum principle has been proved.     

An algebraic multigrid method for finite element systems on criss-cross grids

In this paper, we design and analyze an algebraic multigrid method for a condensed finite element system on criss-cross grids and then provide a convergence analysis. Criss-cross grid finite element systems represent a large class of finite element systems that can be reduced to a smaller system by first eliminating certain degrees of freedoms. The algebraic multigrid method that we construct is analogous to many other algebraic multigrid methods for more complicated problems such as unstructured grids, but, because of the specialty of our problem, we are able to provide a rigorous convergence analysis to our algebraic multigrid method. Dedicated to Professor Charles A. Micchelli on the occasion of his 60th birthday The work was supported in part by NSAF(10376031) and National Major Key Project for basic researches and by National High-Tech ICF Committee in China.     

Convergence of higher order finite volume schemes on irregular grids

We prove convergence to the entropy solution of a general class of higher order finite volume schemes on unstructured, irregular grids for multidimensional scalar conservation laws. Such grids allow for cells to become flat in the limit. We derive a new entropy inequality for higher order schemes built on Godunov’s numerical flux. Our result implies convergence of suitably modified versions of MUSCL-type finite volume schemes, ENO schemes and the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method.     

A posteriori error estimator for finite volume methods

In this paper, first we discuss a technique to compare finite volume method and some well-known finite element methods, namely the dual mixed methods and nonconforming primal methods, for elliptic equations. These both equivalences are exploited to give us a posteriori error estimator for finite volume methods. This estimator is explicitly given, easy to compute and asymptotically exact without any regularity of the solution in unstructured grids.     

An efficient hierarchical preconditioner for quadratic discretizations of finite element problems

Higher order finite element discretizations, although providing higher accuracy, are considered to be computationally expensive and of limited use for large‐scale problems. In this paper, we have developed an efficient iterative solver for solving large‐scale quadratic finite element problems. The proposed approach shares some common features with geometric multigrid methods but does not need structured grids to create the coarse problem. This leads to a robust method applicable to finite element problems discretized by unstructured meshes such as those from adaptive remeshing strategies. The method is based on specific properties of hierarchical quadratic bases. It can be combined with an algebraic multigrid (AMG) preconditioner or with other algebraic multilevel block factorizations. The algorithm can be accelerated by flexible Krylov subspace methods. We present some numerical results on the convection–diffusion and linear elasticity problems to illustrate the efficiency and the robustness of the presented algorithm. In these experiments, the performance of the proposed method is compared with that of an AMG preconditioner and other iterative solvers. Our approach requires less computing time and less memory storage. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Convergence of higher order finite volume schemes on irregular grids

We prove convergence to the entropy solution of a general class of higher order finite volume schemes on unstructured, irregular grids for multidimensional scalar conservation laws. Such grids allow for cells to become flat in the limit. We derive a new entropy inequality for higher order schemes built on Godunov's numerical flux. Our result implies convergence of suitably modified versions of MUSCL-type finite volume schemes, ENO schemes and the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method. Supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, SFB256.     

Convergence of a staggered Lax-Friedrichs scheme for nonlinear conservation laws on unstructured two-dimensional grids

Summary. Based on Nessyahu and Tadmor's nonoscillatory central difference schemes for one-dimensional hyperbolic conservation laws [16], for higher dimensions several finite volume extensions and numerical results on structured and unstructured grids have been presented. The experiments show the wide applicability of these multidimensional schemes. The theoretical arguments which support this are some maximum-principles and a convergence proof in the scalar linear case. A general proof of convergence, as obtained for the original one-dimensional NT-schemes, does not exist for any of the extensions to multidimensional nonlinear problems. For the finite volume extension on two-dimensional unstructured grids introduced by Arminjon and Viallon [3,4] we present a proof of convergence for the first order scheme in case of a nonlinear scalar hyperbolic conservation law. Received April 8, 2000 / Published online December 19, 2000     

First-order convergence of multi-point flux approximation on triangular grids and comparison with mixed finite element methods

In this paper we show first-order convergence of a multi-point flux approximation control volume method (MPFA) on unstructured triangular grids. In this approach the flux approximation is derived directly in the physical space. In order to do this, we introduce a perturbed mixed finite element method that is equivalent to the MPFA scheme and prove the first-order convergence of this approach. Moreover, we carefully compare the computational performance properties of the MPFA method with those of a lowest order Raviart–Thomas and Brezzi–Douglas–Marini mixed finite element approximation.     

A Large Time Step explicit scheme (CFL>1) on unstructured grids for 2D conservation laws: Application to the homogeneous shallow water equations

In this work, a Large Time Step (LTS) explicit finite volume scheme designed to allow CFL > 1 is applied to the numerical resolution of 2D scalar and systems of conservation laws on triangular grids. Based on the flux difference splitting formulation, a special concern is put on finding the way of packing the information to compute the numerical solution when working on unstructured grids. Not only the cell areas but also the length of the interfaces and their orientation are questions of interest to send the information from each edge or interface. The information to update the cell variables is computed according to the local average discrete velocity and the orientation of the edges of the cells involved. The performance of these ideas is tested and compared with the conventional explicit first order and second order schemes in academic configurations for the 2D linear scalar equation and for 2D systems of conservation laws (in particular the shallow water equations) without source terms. The LTS scheme is demonstrated to preserve or even gain accuracy and save computational time with respect to the first order scheme.     

Node-pair finite volume/finite element schemes for the Euler equation in cylindrical and spherical coordinates

A numerical scheme is presented for the solution of the compressible Euler equations in both cylindrical and spherical coordinates. The unstructured grid solver is based on a mixed finite volume/finite element approach. Equivalence conditions linking the node-centered finite volume and the linear Lagrangian finite element scheme over unstructured grids are reported and used to devise a common framework for solving the discrete Euler equations in both the cylindrical and the spherical reference systems. Numerical simulations are presented for the explosion and implosion problems with spherical symmetry, which are solved in both the axial–radial cylindrical coordinates and the radial–azimuthal spherical coordinates. Numerical results are found to be in good agreement with one-dimensional simulations over a fine mesh.     

A mixed finite volume scheme for anisotropic diffusion problems on any grid

We present a new finite volume scheme for anisotropic heterogeneous diffusion problems on unstructured irregular grids, which simultaneously gives an approximation of the solution and of its gradient. The approximate solution is shown to converge to the continuous one as the size of the mesh tends to 0, and an error estimate is given. An easy implementation method is then proposed, and the efficiency of the scheme is shown on various types of grids and for various diffusion matrices.     

On solving structural acoustics problems in time-domain

The structural acoustics problem is formulated as a hyperbolic system of conservation laws which leads to an abstract Cauchy problem in common Hilbert space settings. The Cauchy problem is approximated by using high-order, multi-stage Taylor-Galerkin methods which provide high-order temporal accuracy and unconditional stability on arbitrary (unstructured) finite element grids. The formulation is extended to problems posed on unbounded domains by introduction of iterative radiation boundary conditions. The proposed approaches are shown to produce very good results for the test cases considered.     

Convergence of higher order upwind finite volume schemes on unstructured grids for scalar conservation laws in several space dimensions

Summary. We prove convergence of a class of higher order upwind finite volume schemes on unstructured grids for scalar conservation laws in several space dimensions. The result is applied to the discontinuous Galerkin method due to Cockburn, Hou and Shu. Received April 15, 1993 / Revised version received March 13, 1995     

Adaptive cell-centered finite volume method for diffusion equations on a consistent quadtree grid

Models applied in image processing are often described by nonlinear PDEs in which a good approximation of gradient plays an important role especially in such cases where irregular finite volume grids are used. In image processing, such a situation can occur during a coarsening based on quadtree grids. We present a construction of a deformed quadtree grid in which the connection of representative points of two adjacent finite volumes is perpendicular to their common boundary enabling us to apply the classical finite volume methods. On the other hand, for such an adjusted grid, the intersection of representative points connection with a finite volume boundary is not a middle point of their common edge and standard methods cannot achieve a good accuracy. In this paper we present a new cell-centered finite volume method to evaluate solution gradients, which results into a solution of a simple linear algebraic system and we prove its unique solvability. Finally we present numerical experiments for the regularized Perona-Malik model in which we applied this new method.     

Geometric and algebraic multigrid techniques for fluid dynamics problems on unstructured grids

Issues concerning the implementation and practical application of geometric and algebraic multigrid techniques for solving systems of difference equations generated by the finite volume discretization of the Euler and Navier–Stokes equations on unstructured grids are studied. The construction of prolongation and interpolation operators, as well as grid levels of various resolutions, is discussed. The results of the application of geometric and algebraic multigrid techniques for the simulation of inviscid and viscous compressible fluid flows over an airfoil are compared. Numerical results show that geometric methods ensure faster convergence and weakly depend on the method parameters, while the efficiency of algebraic methods considerably depends on the input parameters.     

A finite-element coarse-grid projection method for incompressible flow simulations

Coarse grid projection (CGP) methodology is a novel multigrid method for systems involving decoupled nonlinear evolution equations and linear elliptic Poisson equations. The nonlinear equations are solved on a fine grid and the linear equations are solved on a corresponding coarsened grid. Mapping operators execute data transfer between the grids. The CGP framework is constructed upon spatial and temporal discretization schemes. This framework has been established for finite volume/difference discretizations as well as explicit time integration methods. In this article we present for the first time a version of CGP for finite element discretizations, which uses a semi-implicit time integration scheme. The mapping functions correspond to the finite-element shape functions. With the novel data structure introduced, the mapping computational cost becomes insignificant. We apply CGP to pressure-correction schemes used for the incompressible Navier-Stokes flow computations. This version is validated on standard test cases with realistic boundary conditions using unstructured triangular meshes. We also pioneer investigations of the effects of CGP on the accuracy of the pressure field. It is found that although CGP reduces the pressure field accuracy, it preserves the accuracy of the pressure gradient and thus the velocity field, while achieving speedup factors ranging from approximately 2 to 30. The minimum speedup occurs for velocity Dirichlet boundary conditions, while the maximum speedup occurs for open boundary conditions.