Diffraction of a solitary wave by a thin wedge

The diffraction of a solitary wave by a thin wedge with vertical walls is studied when the incident solitary wave is directed along the wedge axis. The method of multiple scales is extended to this problem and reduces the task to that of solving the two-dimensional KdV equation with proper boundary and initial conditions. The finite-difference numerical procedure is carried out with the fractional step algorithm in which difference schemes are all implicit. Except the maximum run-up at the wall, the results in this paper are found to corroborate the Melville's experiments not only qualitatively but also quantitatively. The maximum run-up of our results agrees well with Funakoshi's numerical one but it is considerably larger than that in Melville's experiment. An important reason for this discrepancy is believed to be the effect of viscous boundary layer on the vertical side wall.     

New Approaches to the Propagation of Nonlinear Transients in Porous Media

Many problems in regional groundwater flow require the characterization and forecasting of variables, such as hydraulic heads, hydraulic gradients, and pore velocities. These variables describe hydraulic transients propagating in an aquifer, such as a river flood wave induced through an adjacent aquifer. The characterization of aquifer variables is usually accomplished via the solution of a transient differential equation subject to time-dependent boundary conditions. Modeling nonlinear wave propagation in porous media is traditionally approached via numerical solutions of governing differential equations. Temporal or spatial numerical discretization schemes permit a simplification of the equations. However, they may generate instability, and require a numerical linearization of true nonlinear problems. Traditional analytical solutions are continuous in space and time, and render a more stable solution, but they are usually applicable to linear problems and require regular domain shapes. The method of decomposition of Adomian is an approximate analytical series to solve linear or nonlinear differential equations. It has the advantages of both analytical and numerical procedures. An important limitation is that a decomposition expansion in a given coordinate explicitly uses the boundary conditions in such axis only, but not necessarily those on the others. In this article we present improvements of the method consisting of a combination of a partial decomposition expansion in each coordinate in conjunction with successive approximation that permits the consideration of boundary conditions imposed on all of the axes of a transient multidimensional problem; transient modeling of irregularly-shaped aquifer domains; and nonlinear transient analysis of groundwater flow equations. The method yields simple solutions of dependent variables that are continuous in space and time, which easily permit the derivation of heads, gradients, seepage velocities and fluxes, thus minimizing instability. It could be valuable in preliminary analysis prior to more elaborate numerical analysis. Verification was done by comparing decomposition solutions with exact analytical solutions when available, and with controlled experiments, with reasonable agreement. The effect of linearization of mildly nonlinear saturated groundwater equations is to underestimate the magnitude of the hydraulic heads in some portions of the aquifer. In some problems, such as unsaturated infiltration, linearization yields incorrect results.     

Boundary element calculation of shallow water waves

A boundary element method is proposed for studying periodic shallow water problems. The numerical model is based on the shallow water equation. The key feature of this method is that the boundary integral equations are derived using the weighted residual method and the fundamental solutions for shallow water wave problems are obtained by solving the simultaneous singular equations. The accuracy of this method is studied for the wave reflection problem in a rectangular tank. As a result of this test, it has been shown that the number of element divisions and the distribution of nodes are significant to the accuracy. For numerical examples of external problems, the wave diffraction problems due to single cylindrical, double cylindrical and plate obstructions are analysed and compared with the exact and other numerical solutions. Relatively accurate solutions are obtained.     

Temporal development of turbulent boundary layers with embedded streamwise vortices

The interaction of streamwise vortices with turbulent boundary layer has been investigated using large-eddy simulation. The initial conditions are a pair of counterrotating Oseen vortices with flow between them directed toward the wall (common-flow-down), superimposed on various instantaneous realizations of a turbulent boundary layer. The time development of the vortices and their interaction with the boundary layer are studied by integrating the filtered Navier-Stokes equations in time. The most important effects of the vortices on the boundary layer are the thinning of the boundary layer between vortices (downwash region) and the thickening of the boundary layer in the upwash region. The vortices first move toward the wall as a result of the self-induced velocity, and then apart from each other because of the image vortices due to the solid wall. The Reynolds stress profiles highlight the highly three-dimensional structure of the turbulent boundary layer modified by the vortices. The presence of significant turbulent activity near the vortex center and in the upwash region suggests that localized instability mechanisms in addition to the convection of turbulent energy by the secondary flow are responsible for this effect. High levels of turbulent kinetic energy and secondary stresses in the vicinity of the vortex center are also observed. The numerical results show good agreement with experimental results.This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research under Grant N00014-89-J-1638. Computer time was supplied by the San Diego Supercomputing Center.     

Numerical method for unsteady compressible boundary layers driven by compression or expansion wave

A numerical analysis is presented for the unsteady compressible laminar boundary layer driven by a compression or expansion wave. Approximate or series expansion methods have been used for the problems because of the characteristics of the governing equations, such as non-linearity, coupling with the thermal boundary layer equation and initial conditions. Here a transformation of the governing equations and the numerical linearization technique are introduced to deal with the difficulties. First, the governing equations are transformed for the initial conditions by Howarth and semisimilarity variables. These transformations reduce the number of independent variables from three to two and the governing equations from partial to ordinary differential equations at the initial point. Next, the numerical linearization technique is introduced for the non-linearity and the coupling with the thermal boundary layer equation. Because the non-linear terms are linearized without sacrifice of numerical accuracy, the solutions can be obtained without numerical iterations. Therefore the exact numerical solution, not approximate or series expansion, can be obtained. Compared with the approximate or series expansion method, this method is much improved. Results are compared with the series expansion solutions.     

Research of influence of reduced-order boundary on accuracy and solution of interior points

The flow field with a high order scheme is usually calculated so as to solve complex flow problems and describe the flow structure accurately.However,there are two problems,i.e.,the reduced-order boundary is inevitable and the order of the scheme at the discontinuous shock wave contained in the flow field as the supersonic flow field is low.It is questionable whether the reduced-order boundary and the low-order scheme at the shock wave have an effect on the numerical solution and accuracy of the flow field inside.In this paper,according to the actual situation of the direct numerical simulation of the flow field,two model equations with the exact solutions are solved,which are steady and unsteady,respectively,to study the question with a high order scheme at the interior of the domain and the reduced-order method at the boundary and center of the domain.Comparing with the exact solutions,it is found that the effect of reduced-order exists and cannot be ignored.In addition,the other two model equations with the exact solutions,which are often used in fluid mechanics,are also studied with the same process for the reduced-order problem.     

Numerical simulation of standing wave with 3D predictor-corrector finite difference method for potential flow equations

A three-dimensional （3D） predictor-corrector finite difference method for standing wave is developed. It is applied to solve the 3D nonlinear potential flow equa- tions with a free surface. The 3D irregular tank is mapped onto a fixed cubic tank through the proper coordinate transform schemes. The cubic tank is distributed by the staggered meshgrid, and the staggered meshgrid is used to denote the variables of the flow field. The predictor-corrector finite difference method is given to develop the difference equa- tions of the dynamic boundary equation and kinematic boundary equation. Experimental results show that, using the finite difference method of the predictor-corrector scheme, the numerical solutions agree well with the published results. The wave profiles of the standing wave with different amplitudes and wave lengths are studied. The numerical solutions are also analyzed and presented graphically.     

Review of Computational Aeroacoustics Algorithms

This paper presents a review of recent advancements in computational methodology for aeroacoustics problems. High-order finite difference methods for computation of linear and nonlinear acoustic waves are the primary focus of the review. Schemes for numerical simulation of linear waves include explicit optimized and DRP finite-difference operators, compact schemes, wavenumber extended upwind schemes and leapfrog-like algorithms. Both spatial approximations and time-integration techniques, which include low-dissipation low-dispersion Adams-Bashforth and Runge-Kutta (RK) methods, are examined. Wave propagation properties are analysed in the wavenumber and frequency space. Different approaches to eliminate short-wave spurious numerical waves are also reviewed. Methods for simulating nonlinear acoustic phenomena include essentially non-oscillatory (ENO) schemes, numerical adaptive filtering for high-order explicit and compact finite-difference operators, MacCormack and adaptive compact nonlinear algorithms. A literature survey of other CAA methods is provided in the introductory part.     

Boundary Stabilization and Disturbance Rejection for Time Fractional Order Diffusion–Wave Equations

This paper considers boundary control of time fractional order diffusion–wave equation. Both boundary stabilization and disturbance rejection are considered. This paper, for the first time, has confirmed, via hybrid symbolic and numerical simulation studies, that the existing two schemes for boundary stabilization and disturbance rejection for (integer order) wave/beam equations are still valid for time fractional order diffusion–wave equations. The problem definition, the hybrid symbolic and numerical simulation techniques, outlines of the methods for boundary stabilization and disturbance rejection are presented together with extensive simulation results. Different dynamic behaviors are revealed for different fractional orders which may stimulate new future research opportunities.     

Finite-difference computations of high reynolds number flows using the dynamic subgrid-scale model

The dynamic subgrid-scale model is used in finite-difference computations of turbulent flow in a plane channel, for a range of Reynolds numbers (based on friction velocity and channel half-width) between 200 and 5000. Adoption of approximate wall boundary conditions allows the use of very coarse grids in all directions. The comparison of first- and second-order moments with the reference data is satisfactory, despite the mesh coarseness. Turbulent kinetic energy budgets also compare well with DNS data. Near the wall, the dynamic formulation gives improved results over the Smagorinsky model, as observed in previous simulation. In the core of the flow where, at high Reynolds number, the turbulent eddies obey inertial-range dynamics, the Smagorinsky and dynamic models give similar results. The behavior of the model, its implementation when approximate wall boundary conditions are used, and the effect of numerical resolution are discussed.Elias Balaras acknowledges the financial support provided by the European Economic Community under Grant ERBCHDICT930257. Ugo Piomelli was partially supported by the Office of Naval Research under Grant N0001491J1638.     

Numerical solution of the generalized Serre equations with the MacCormack finite-difference scheme

This paper describes a two-dimensional numerical model to solve the generalized Serre equations. In order to solve the system equations, written in the conservative form, we use an explicit finite-difference method based on the MacCormack time-splitting scheme. The numerical method and the computational model are validated by comparing one- and two-dimensional numerical solutions with theoretical and experimental results. Finally, the two-dimensional model (in a horizontal plane) is tested in a domain with complicated boundary conditions.     

Fluid–structure interaction between a two-dimensional mat-type VLFS and solitary waves by the Green–Naghdi theory

The two-dimensional, nonlinear hydroelasticity of a mat-type very large floating structure (VLFS) is studied within the scope of linear beam theory for the structure and the nonlinear, Level I Green–Naghdi (GN) theory for the fluid. The beam equation and the GN equations are coupled through the kinematic and dynamic boundary conditions to obtain a new set of modified GN equations. These equations represent long-wave motion beneath an elastic plate. A set of jump conditions that are necessary for the continuity (or the matching) of the solutions in the open water region and that under the structure is derived through the use of the postulated conservation laws of mass, momentum, and mechanical energy. The resulting governing equations, subjected to the boundary and jump conditions, are solved by the finite-difference method in the time domain. The present model is applicable, for example, to the study of the hydroelastic response of a mat-type VLFS under the action of a solitary wave, or a frontal tsunami wave. Good agreement is observed between the model results and other published theoretical and numerical predictions, as well as experimental data. The results show that consideration of nonlinearity is important for accurate predictions of the bending moment of the floating elastic plate. It is found that the rigidity of the structure greatly affects the bending moment and displacement of the structure in this nonlinear theory.     

The integral bifurcation method combined with factoring technique for investigating exact solutions and their dynamical properties of a generalized Gardner equation

It is well known that it is difficult to obtain exact solutions of some partial differential equations with highly nonlinear terms or high order terms because these kinds of equations are not integrable in usual conditions. In this paper, by using the integral bifurcation method and factoring technique, we studied a generalized Gardner equation which contains both highly nonlinear terms and high order terms, some exact traveling wave solutions such as non-smooth peakon solutions, smooth periodic solutions and hyperbolic function solutions to the considered equation are obtained. Moreover, we demonstrate the profiles of these exact traveling wave solutions and discuss their dynamic properties through numerical simulations.     

Effect of quadratic pressure gradient term on a one-dimensional moving boundary problem based on modified Darcy’s law

A relatively high formation pressure gradient can exist in seepage flow in low-permeable porous media with a threshold pressure gradient, and a significant error may then be caused in the model computation by neglecting the quadratic pressure gradient term in the governing equations. Based on these concerns, in consideration of the quadratic pressure gradient term, a basic moving boundary model is constructed for a one-dimensional seepage flow problem with a threshold pressure gradient. Owing to a strong nonlinearity and the existing moving boundary in the mathematical model, a corresponding numerical solution method is presented. First, a spatial coordinate transformation method is adopted in order to transform the system of partial differential equations with moving boundary conditions into a closed system with fixed boundary conditions; then the solution can be stably numerically obtained by a fully implicit finite-difference method. The validity of the numerical method is verified by a published exact analytical solution. Furthermore, to compare with Darcy’s flow problem, the exact analytical solution for the case of Darcy’s flow considering the quadratic pressure gradient term is also derived by an inverse Laplace transform. A comparison of these model solutions leads to the conclusion that such moving boundary problems must incorporate the quadratic pressure gradient term in their governing equations; the sensitive effects of the quadratic pressure gradient term tend to diminish, with the dimensionless threshold pressure gradient increasing for the one-dimensional problem.     

Numerical boundary conditions for globally mass conservative methods to solve the shallow‐water equations and applied to river flow

A revision of some well‐known discretization techniques for the numerical boundary conditions in 1D shallow‐water flow models is presented. More recent options are also considered in the search for a fully conservative technique that is able to preserve the good properties of a conservative scheme used for the interior points. Two conservative numerical schemes are used as representatives of the families of explicit and implicit numerical methods. The implementation of the different boundary options to these schemes is compared by means of the simulation of several test cases with exact solution. The schemes with the global conservation boundary discretization are applied to the simulation of a real river flood wave leading to very satisfactory results. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On reflection of a planar solitary wave at a vertical wall

The reflection of a planar solitary wave at a vertical wall is investigated by solving the Boussinesq equations analytically as well as numerically. The analytical solution is obtained by means of the inner-outer expansions technique, while the numerical solution is based on a finite-difference scheme. The maximum wave amplitude at the wall and the time at which this maximum amplitude is reached are presented. It is also found that the incident wave does not reflect immediately at the wall as predicted by the linear wave theory. Rather, the wave suffers a time delay, called the phase lag, during the reflection process. This phase lag is found to be inversely proportional to the square root of the initial wave amplitude. As the reflected wave eventually propagates away from the wall, it has a phase shift in comparison with that obtained by the linear wave theory. The analytical results obtained in this paper are in good agreement with the numerical results, and they also agree fairly well with the existing experimental data.     

Wake interference behind two flat plates normal to the flow: A finite-element study

A finite-element model of the Navier-Stokes equations is used for numerical simulation of flow past two normal flat plates arranged side by side at Reynolds number 80 and 160. The results from this simulation indicate that when the gap between the plates is twice the width of a single plate, the individual wakes of the plates behave independently, with the antiphase vortex shedding being dominant. At smaller gap sizes, the in-phase vortex shedding, with strong wake interaction, is favored. The gap flow in those cases becomes biased, with one of the wakes engulfing the other. The direction of the biased flow was found to be switching at irregular intervals, with the time histories of the indicative flow parameters and their power spectra resembling those of a chaotic system.This research was sponsored by NASA-Johnson Space Center under Grant NAG9-449, by NSF under Grant MSM-8796352, and by the U.S. Army under Contract DAAL03-89-C-0038.     

Exact solutions to one-dimensional transient response of incompressible fluid-saturated single-layer porous media

Based on the Biot theory of porous media,the exact solutions to onedimensional transient response of incompressible saturated single-layer porous media under four types of boundary conditions are developed.In the procedure,a relation between the solid displacement u and the relative displacement w is derived,and the well-posed initial conditions and boundary conditions are proposed.The derivation of the solution for one type of boundary condition is then illustrated in detail.The exact solutions for the other three types of boundary conditions are given directly.The propagation of the compressional wave is investigated through numerical examples.It is verified that only one type of compressional wave exists in the incompressible saturated porous media.