A high‐order PIC method for advection‐dominated flow with application to shallow water waves

A hybrid Eulerian‐Lagrangian particle‐in‐cell–type numerical method is developed for the solution of advection‐dominated flow problems. Particular attention is given over to the high‐order transfer of flow properties from the particles to the grid. For smooth flows, the method presented is of formal high‐order accuracy in space. The method is applied to solve the nonlinear shallow water equations resulting in a new, and novel, shock capturing shallow water solver. The approach is able to simulate complex shallow water flows, which can contain an arbitrary number of discontinuities. Both trivial and nontrivial bottom topography is considered, and it is shown that the new scheme is inherently well balanced, exactly satisfying the ‐property. The scheme is verified against several one‐dimensional benchmark shallow water problems. These include cases that involve transcritical flow regimes, shock waves, and nontrivial bathymetry. In all the test cases presented, very good results are obtained.     

A correction for Reynolds-averaged-Navier–Stokes turbulence model under the effect of shock waves in hypersonic flows

Studies on the unphysical increase of turbulent quantities for RANS simulation induced by shock waves in hypersonic flows are carried out. Numerical experiments on the hypersonic flow over a blunt body reveal that the phenomenon of unphysical increase of turbulent quantities across the detached shock wave is induced by the strain-rate-based production terms of the k-$\omega$ and k-$\omega$ SST turbulence models, which leads to the over-prediction of aerothermal prediction. While this phenomenon does not occur for Spalart–Allmaras (S–A) turbulence model because of its vorticity-based production term. In order to eliminate this unphysical phenomenon, and to maintain the accuracy of the original models for boundary layer and separation flows, a new correction method for the k-$\omega$ and k-$\omega$ SST models is proposed: by comparing the orders of magnitude between the strain-rate-based and vorticity-based production terms, the vorticity-based production term is used near the shock waves, while the original strain-rate-based production term is still used in other regions. Finally, the correction method is applied to turbulence and transition flows over blunt bodies, and the numerical results show that the correction method effectively eliminates the unphysical increase of turbulent quantities across shock waves and improves the accuracy of aerothermal and transition onset location prediction.     

Stability and consistency of nonhydrostatic free‐surface models using the semi‐implicit θ‐method

The θ‐method is a popular semi‐implicit finite‐difference method for simulating free‐surface flows. Problem stiffness, arising because of the presence of both fast and slow timescale processes, is easily handled by the θ‐method. In most ocean, coastal, and estuary modeling applications, stiffness is caused by fast surface gravity wave timescales imposed on slower timescales of baroclinic variability. The method is well known to be unconditionally stable for shallow water (hydrostatic) models when , where θ is the implicitness parameter. In this paper, we demonstrate that the method is also unconditionally stable for nonhydrostatic models, when for both pressure projection and pressure correction methods. However, the methods result in artificial damping of the barotropic mode. In addition to investigating stability, we also estimate the form of artificial damping induced by both the free surface and nonhydrostatic pressure solution methods. Finally, this analysis may be used to estimate the damping or growth associated with a particular wavenumber and the overall order of accuracy of the discretization. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A σ‐coordinate non‐hydrostatic model with embedded Boussinesq‐type‐like equations for modeling deep‐water waves

A σ‐coordinate non‐hydrostatic model, combined with the embedded Boussinesq‐type‐like equations, a reference velocity, and an adapted top‐layer control, is developed to study the evolution of deep‐water waves. The advantage of using the Boussinesq‐type‐like equations with the reference velocity is to provide an analytical‐based non‐hydrostatic pressure distribution at the top‐layer and to optimize wave dispersion property. The σ‐based non‐hydrostatic model naturally tackles the so‐called overshooting issue in the case of non‐linear steep waves. Efficiency and accuracy of this non‐hydrostatic model in terms of wave dispersion and nonlinearity are critically examined. Overall results show that the newly developed model using a few layers is capable of resolving the evolution of non‐linear deep‐water wave groups. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An edge-based pressure stabilization technique for finite elements on arbitrarily anisotropic meshes

In this paper, we analyze a stabilized equal-order finite element approximation for the Stokes equations on anisotropic meshes. In particular, we allow arbitrary anisotropies in a subdomain, for example, along the boundary of the domain, with the only condition that a maximum angle is fulfilled in each element. This discretization is motivated by applications on moving domains as arising, for example, in fluid-structure interaction or multiphase-flow problems. To deal with the anisotropies, we define a modification of the original continuous interior penalty stabilization approach. We show analytically the discrete stability of the method and convergence of order in the energy norm and in the L²-norm of the velocities. We present numerical examples for a linear Stokes problem and for a nonlinear fluid-structure interaction problem, which substantiate the analytical results and show the capabilities of the approach.     

Hessian‐based model reduction: large‐scale inversion and prediction

Hessian‐based model reduction was previously proposed as an approach in deriving reduced models for the solution of large‐scale linear inverse problems by targeting accuracy in observation outputs. A control‐theoretic view of Hessian‐based model reduction that hinges on the equality between the Hessian and the transient observability gramian of the underlying linear system is presented. The model reduction strategy is applied to a large‐scale ( degrees of freedom) three‐dimensional contaminant transport problem in an urban environment, an application that requires real‐time computation. In addition to the inversion accuracy, the ability of reduced models of varying dimension to make predictions of the contaminant evolution beyond the time horizon of observations is studied. Results indicate that the reduced models have a factor speedup in computing time for the same level of accuracy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A σ‐coordinate three‐dimensional numerical model for surface wave propagation

A three‐dimensional numerical model based on the full Navier–Stokes equations (NSE) in σ‐coordinate is developed in this study. The σ‐coordinate transformation is first introduced to map the irregular physical domain with the wavy free surface and uneven bottom to the regular computational domain with the shape of a rectangular prism. Using the chain rule of partial differentiation, a new set of governing equations is derived in the σ‐coordinate from the original NSE defined in the Cartesian coordinate. The operator splitting method (Li and Yu, Int. J. Num. Meth. Fluids 1996; 23 : 485–501), which splits the solution procedure into the advection, diffusion, and propagation steps, is used to solve the modified NSE. The model is first tested for mass and energy conservation as well as mesh convergence by using an example of water sloshing in a confined tank. Excellent agreements between numerical results and analytical solutions are obtained. The model is then used to simulate two‐ and three‐dimensional solitary waves propagating in constant depth. Very good agreements between numerical results and analytical solutions are obtained for both free surface displacements and velocities. Finally, a more realistic case of periodic wave train passing through a submerged breakwater is simulated. Comparisons between numerical results and experimental data are promising. The model is proven to be an accurate tool for consequent studies of wave‐structure interaction. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical study of breaking waves by a two‐phase flow model

A two‐phase flow model, which solves the flow in the air and water simultaneously, is presented for modelling breaking waves in deep and shallow water, including wave pre‐breaking, overturning and post‐breaking processes. The model is based on the Reynolds‐averaged Navier–Stokes equations with the k ?ε turbulence model. The governing equations are solved by the finite volume method in a Cartesian staggered grid and the partial cell treatment is implemented to deal with complex geometries. The SIMPLE algorithm is utilised for the pressure‐velocity coupling and the air‐water interface is modelled by the interface capturing method via a high resolution volume of fluid scheme. The numerical model is validated by simulating overturning waves on a sloping beach and over a reef, and deep‐water breaking waves in a periodic domain, in which good agreement between numerical results and available experimental measurements for the water surface profiles during wave overturning is obtained. The overturning jet, air entrainment and splash‐up during wave breaking have been captured by the two‐phase flow model, which demonstrates the capability of the model to simulate free surface flow and wave breaking problems.Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Axisymmetric boundary integral formulation for a two‐fluid system

A 3D axisymmetric Galerkin boundary integral formulation for potential flow is employed to model two fluids of different densities, one fluid enclosed inside the other. The interface variables are the velocity potential and the normal velocity, and they can be solved for separately, the second linear system being symmetric. The algorithm is validated by comparing with the analytic solutions for a static interior spherical drop over a range of values for the relative densities of exterior and interior fluids and various boundary conditions. For time‐dependent simulations utilizing a level set method for the interface tracking, the accuracy has been checked by comparing against the known oscillation frequency of the sphere. Pinch‐off profiles corresponding to an initial two‐lobe geometry drop and D = 6 are also presented. Published in 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fujiwhara interaction of tropical cyclone scale vortices using a weighted residual collocation method

The fundamental interaction between tropical cyclones was investigated through a series of water tank experiements by Fujiwhara  6 - 8 . However, a complete understanding of tropical cyclones remains an open research challenge although there have been numerous investigations through measurments with aircrafts/satellites, as well as with numerical simulations. This article presents a computational model for simulating the interaction between cyclones. The proposed numerical method is presented briefly, where the time integration is performed by projecting the discrete system onto a Krylov subspace. The method filters the large scale fluid dynamics using a multiresolution approximation, and the unresolved dynamics are modeled with a Smagorinsky type subgrid scale parameterization scheme. Numerical experiments with Fujiwhara interactions are considered to verify modeling accuracy. An excellent agreement between the present simulation and a reference simulation at has been demonstrated. At , the kinetic energy of cyclones is seen consolidated into larger scales with concurrent enstrophy cascade – suggesting a steady increase of energy containing scales – a phenomena that is typical in two‐dimensional turbulence theory. The primary results of this article suggest a novel avenue for addressing some of the computational challenges of mesoscale atmospheric circulations. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of the GWCE and mixed P − P1 formulations in finite‐element linearized shallow‐water models

The appearance of spurious pressure modes in early shallow‐water (SW) models has resulted in two common strategies in the finite element (FE) community: using mixed primitive variable and generalized wave continuity equation (GWCE) formulations of the SW equations. One FE scheme in particular, the P ? P₁ pair, combined with the primitive equations may be advantageously compared with the wave equation formulations and both schemes have similar data structures. Our focus here is on comparing these two approaches for a number of measures including stability, accuracy, efficiency, conservation properties, and consistency. The main part of the analysis centres on stability and accuracy results via Fourier‐based dispersion analyses in the context of the linear SW equations. The numerical solutions of test problems are found to be in good agreement with the analytical results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A stabilized finite element method for transient Navier–Stokes equations based on two local Gauss integrations

On the basis of two local Gauss integrations, a stabilized finite element method for transient Navier–Stokes equations is presented, which is defined by the lowest equal‐order conforming finite element subspace such as (or ) elements. The best algorithmic feature of our method is using two local Gauss integrations to replace projection operator. The diffusion term in these equations is discretized by using finite element method, and the temporal differentiation and advection terms are treated by characteristic schemes. Moreover, we present some numerical simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness, good stability, and accuracy properties of our method. Especially, the rate of convergence study tells us that the stability still keeps well when the Reynolds number is increasing. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

QALE‐FEM for modelling 3D overturning waves

A further development of the QALE‐FEM (quasi‐arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian finite element method) based on a fully nonlinear potential theory is presented in this paper. This development enables the QALE‐FEM to deal with three‐dimensional (3D) overturning waves over complex seabeds, which have not been considered since the method was devised by the authors of this paper in their previous works (J. Comput. Phys. 2006; 212 :52–72; J. Numer. Meth. Engng 2009; 78 :713–756). In order to tackle challenges associated with 3D overturning waves, two new numerical techniques are suggested. They are the techniques for moving the mesh and for calculating the fluid velocity near overturning jets, respectively. The developed method is validated by comparing its numerical results with experimental data and results from other numerical methods available in the literature. Good agreement is achieved. The computational efficiency of this method is also investigated for this kind of wave, which shows that the QALE‐FEM can be many times faster than other methods based on the same theory. Furthermore, 3D overturning waves propagating over a non‐symmetrical seabed or multiple reefs are simulated using the method. Some of these results have not been found elsewhere to the best of our knowledge. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three‐dimensional numerical simulation of red blood cell motion in Poiseuille flows

An immersed boundary method based on an FEM has been successfully combined with an elastic spring network model for simulating the dynamical behavior of a red blood cell (RBC) in Poiseuille flows. This elastic spring network preserves the biconcave shape of the RBC in the sense that after the removal of the body force for driving the Poiseuille flow, the RBC with its typical parachute shape in a tube does restore its biconcave resting shape. As a benchmark test, the relationship between the deformation index and the capillary number of the RBCs flowing through a narrow cylindrical tube has been validated. For the migration properties of a single cell in a slit Poiseuille flow, a slipper shape accompanied by a cell membrane tank‐treading motion is obtained for Re , and the cell mass center is away from the center line of the channel due to its asymmetric slipper shape. For the lower Re ?0.0137, an RBC with almost undeformed biconcave shape has a tumbling motion. A transition from tumbling to tank‐treading happens at the Reynolds number between 0.0137 and 0.03. In slit Poiseuille flow, the RBC can also exhibit a rolling motion like a wheel during the migration when the cell is released in the fluid flow with φ = π/2 and θ = π/2 (see Figure 12 for the definition of φ and θ). The lower the Reynolds number, the longer the rolling motion lasts; but the equilibrium shape and position are independent from the cell initial position in the channel. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of POD reduced order strategies for the nonlinear 2D shallow water equations

This paper introduces tensorial calculus techniques in the framework of POD to reduce the computational complexity of the reduced nonlinear terms. The resulting method, named tensorial POD, can be applied to polynomial nonlinearities of any degree p. Such nonlinear terms have an online complexity of , where k is the dimension of POD basis and therefore is independent of full space dimension. However, it is efficient only for quadratic nonlinear terms because for higher nonlinearities, POD model proves to be less time consuming once the POD basis dimension k is increased. Numerical experiments are carried out with a two‐dimensional SWE test problem to compare the performance of tensorial POD, POD, and POD/discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM). Numerical results show that tensorial POD decreases by 76× the computational cost of the online stage of POD model for configurations using more than 300,000 model variables. The tensorial POD SWE model was only 2 to 8× slower than the POD/DEIM SWE model but the implementation effort is considerably increased. Tensorial calculus was again employed to construct a new algorithm allowing POD/DEIM SWE model to compute its offline stage faster than POD and tensorial POD approaches. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A meshless method for numerical simulation of depth‐averaged turbulence flows using a k‐ϵ model

A three‐dimensional numerical model is developed to analyze free surface flows and water impact problems. The flow of an incompressible viscous fluid is solved using the unsteady Navier–Stokes equations. Pseudo‐time derivatives are introduced into the equations to improve computational efficiency. The interface between the two phases is tracked using a volume‐of‐fluid interface tracking algorithm developed in a generalized curvilinear coordinate system. The accuracy of the volume‐of‐fluid method is first evaluated by the multiple numerical benchmark tests, including two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional deformation cases on curvilinear grids. The performance and capability of the numerical model for water impact problems are demonstrated by simulations of water entries of the free‐falling hemisphere and cone, based on comparisons of water impact loadings, velocities, and penetrations of the body with experimental data. For further validation, computations of the dam‐break flows are presented, based on an analysis of the wave front propagation, water level, and the dynamic pressure impact of the waves on the downstream walls, on a specific container, and on a tall structure. Extensive comparisons between the obtained solutions, the experimental data, and the results of other numerical simulations in the literature are presented and show a good agreement. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Convergence of five-point scheme with diagonally dominant characteristic for DLR k−ε model and its application

In this paper, the equivalent equations of DLR k−ε turbulent model in the boundary-fitted curvilinear coordinate are employed. Using the upwind idea that the contribution of the difference coefficients to the main node is positive contribution, and the other nodes are negative contribution or no contribution, new five-point difference schemes with a full diagonally dominant coefficient matrix (5-point-DD difference scheme) are constructed. Finally, taking the $\bar{u}$ equation in the DLR k−ε turbulent model as an example, the mathematical characteristics of the 5-point-DD difference scheme are analyzed, and the uniform boundedness and convergence theorems of the Gauss-Seidel iterative sequence are given. Numerical simulations show that the five-point schemes are strictly diagonally dominant, and the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental results.     

A depth‐integrated non‐hydrostatic finite element model for wave propagation

This paper presents a two‐dimensional finite element model for simulating dynamic propagation of weakly dispersive waves. Shallow water equations including extra non‐hydrostatic pressure terms and a depth‐integrated vertical momentum equation are solved with linear distributions assumed in the vertical direction for the non‐hydrostatic pressure and the vertical velocity. The model is developed based on the platform of a finite element model, CCHE2D. A physically bounded upwind scheme for the advection term discretization is developed, and the quasi second‐order differential operators of this scheme result in no oscillation and little numerical diffusion. The depth‐integrated non‐hydrostatic wave model is solved semi‐implicitly: the provisional flow velocity is first implicitly solved using the shallow water equations; the non‐hydrostatic pressure, which is implicitly obtained by ensuring a divergence‐free velocity field, is used to correct the provisional velocity, and finally the depth‐integrated continuity equation is explicitly solved to satisfy global mass conservation. The developed wave model is verified by an analytical solution and validated by laboratory experiments, and the computed results show that the wave model can properly handle linear and nonlinear dispersive waves, wave shoaling, diffraction, refraction and focusing. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A horizontally curvilinear non‐hydrostatic model for simulating nonlinear wave motion in curved boundaries

A horizontally curvilinear non‐hydrostatic free surface model that embeds the second‐order projection method, the so‐called θ scheme, in fractional time stepping is developed to simulate nonlinear wave motion in curved boundaries. The model solves the unsteady, Navier–Stokes equations in a three‐dimensional curvilinear domain by incorporating the kinematic free surface boundary condition with a top‐layer boundary condition, which has been developed to improve the numerical accuracy and efficiency of the non‐hydrostatic model in the standard staggered grid layout. The second‐order Adams–Bashforth scheme with the third‐order spatial upwind method is implemented in discretizing advection terms. Numerical accuracy in terms of nonlinear phase speed and amplitude is verified against the nonlinear Stokes wave theory over varying wave steepness in a two‐dimensional numerical wave tank. The model is then applied to investigate the nonlinear wave characteristics in the presence of dispersion caused by reflection and diffraction in a semicircular channel. The model results agree quantitatively with superimposed analytical solutions. Finally, the model is applied to simulate nonlinear wave run‐ups caused by wave‐body interaction around a bottom‐mounted cylinder. The numerical results exhibit good agreement with experimental data and the second‐order diffraction theory. Overall, it is shown that the developed model, with only three vertical layers, is capable of accurately simulating nonlinear waves interacting within curved boundaries. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A computational methodology for two‐dimensional fluid flows

A weighted residual collocation methodology for simulating two‐dimensional shear‐driven and natural convection flows has been presented. Using a dyadic mesh refinement, the methodology generates a basis and a multiresolution scheme to approximate a fluid flow. To extend the benefits of the dyadic mesh refinement approach to the field of computational fluid dynamics, this article has studied an iterative interpolation scheme for the construction and differentiation of a basis function in a two‐dimensional mesh that is a finite collection of rectangular elements. We have verified that, on a given mesh, the discretization error is controlled by the order of the basis function. The potential of this novel technique has been demonstrated with some representative examples of the Poisson equation. We have also verified the technique with a dynamical core of a two‐dimensional flow in primitive variables. An excellent result has been observed—on resolving a shear layer and on the conservation of the potential and the kinetic energies—with respect to previously reported benchmark simulations. In particular, the shear‐driven simulation at CFL = 2.5 (Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy) and (Reynolds number) exhibits a linear speed up of CPU time with an increase of the time step, Δt. For the natural convection flow, the conversion of the potential energy to the kinetic energy and the conservation of total energy is resolved by the proposed method. The computed streamlines and the velocity fields have been demonstrated. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.