An improved known vicinity algorithm based on geometry test for particle localization in arbitrary grid

The known vicinity algorithm based on the geometry test for the particle localization problem in the hybrid Eulerian–Lagrangian model was extended and enhanced aiming at the connected grids with convex polygon/polyhedral cells. Such extensions were achieved by proposing novel improvements. Specifically, a new “side function”, to determine the relative position of the particle and the cell, was introduced to build a more formal test process. In addition, a binary search method was developed to accelerate the particle in cell test and trajectory/face intersection test for grids consisting of arbitrary polygon/polyhedral cells. Further, the particle location problem without the known vicinity position was established and solved by special boundary treatment through considering the internal/external boundary and larger particle displacement in one single Lagrangian step. The improved algorithm was applied to the particle location problem with both two dimensional and three dimensional Eulerian grids. Additionally, the proposed algorithm was compared with the previous ones to exhibit its higher efficiency and broader application. Sample cases focusing the water impingement computation for aircraft icing were solved by adopting this algorithm assisted by the Lagrangian particle dynamics model, and the computational results were verified by the experiments.     

An exactly conservative particle method for one dimensional scalar conservation laws

A particle scheme for scalar conservation laws in one space dimension is presented. Particles representing the solution are moved according to their characteristic velocities. Particle interaction is resolved locally, satisfying exact conservation of area. Shocks stay sharp and propagate at correct speeds, while rarefaction waves are created where appropriate. The method is variation diminishing, entropy decreasing, exactly conservative, and has no numerical dissipation away from shocks. Solutions, including the location of shocks, are approximated with second order accuracy. Source terms can be included. The method is compared to CLAWPACK in various examples, and found to yield a comparable or better accuracy for similar resolutions.     

An accurate adaptive solver for surface-tension-driven interfacial flows

A method combining an adaptive quad/octree spatial discretisation, geometrical Volume-Of-Fluid interface representation, balanced-force continuum-surface-force surface-tension formulation and height-function curvature estimation is presented. The extension of these methods to the quad/octree discretisation allows adaptive variable resolution along the interface and is described in detail. The method is shown to recover exact equilibrium (to machine accuracy) between surface-tension and pressure gradient in the case of a stationary droplet, irrespective of viscosity and spatial resolution. Accurate solutions are obtained for the classical test case of capillary wave oscillations. An application to the capillary breakup of a jet of water in air further illustrates the accuracy and efficiency of the method. The source code of the implementation is freely available as part of the Gerris flow solver.     

A high-order low-dispersion symmetry-preserving finite-volume method for compressible flow on curvilinear grids

A new high-order finite-volume method is presented that preserves the skew symmetry of convection for the compressible flow equations. The method is intended for Large-Eddy Simulations (LES) of compressible turbulent flows, in particular in the context of hybrid RANS–LES computations. The method is fourth-order accurate and has low numerical dissipation and dispersion. Due to the finite-volume approach, mass, momentum, and total energy are locally conserved. Furthermore, the skew-symmetry preservation implies that kinetic energy, sound-velocity, and internal energy are all locally conserved by convection as well. The method is unique in that all these properties hold on non-uniform, curvilinear, structured grids. Due to the conservation of kinetic energy, there is no spurious production or dissipation of kinetic energy stemming from the discretization of convection. This enhances the numerical stability and reduces the possible interference of numerical errors with the subgrid-scale model. By minimizing the numerical dispersion, the numerical errors are reduced by an order of magnitude compared to a standard fourth-order finite-volume method.     

Numerical simulations of two-dimensional foam by the immersed boundary method

In this paper, we present an immersed boundary (IB) method to simulate a dry foam, i.e., a foam in which most of the volume is attributed to its gas phase. Dry foam dynamics involves the interaction between a gas and a collection of thin liquid-film internal boundaries that partition the gas into discrete cells or bubbles. The liquid-film boundaries are flexible, contract under the influence of surface tension, and are permeable to the gas, which moves across them by diffusion at a rate proportional to the local pressure difference across the boundary. Such problems are conventionally studied by assuming that the pressure is uniform within each bubble. Here, we introduce instead an IB method that takes into account the non-equilibrium fluid mechanics of the gas. To model gas diffusion across the internal liquid-film boundaries, we allow normal slip between the boundary and the gas at a velocity proportional to the (normal) force generated by the boundary surface tension. We implement this method in the two-dimensional case, and test it by verifying the von Neumann relation, which governs the coarsening of a two-dimensional dry foam. The method is further validated by a convergence study, which confirms its first-order accuracy.     

The finite volume local evolution Galerkin method for solving the hyperbolic conservation laws

This paper presents a finite volume local evolution Galerkin (FVLEG) scheme for solving the hyperbolic conservation laws. The FVLEG scheme is the simplification of the finite volume evolution Galerkin method (FVEG). In FVEG, a necessary step is to compute the dependent variables at cell interfaces at t_n + τ (0 < τ ? Δt). The FVLEG scheme is constructed by taking τ → 0 in the evolution operators of FVEG. The FVLEG scheme greatly simplifies the evaluation of the numerical fluxes. It is also well suited with the semi-discrete finite volume method, making the flux evaluation being decoupled with the reconstruction procedure while maintaining the genuine multi-dimensional nature of the FVEG methods. The derivation of the FVLEG scheme is presented in detail. The performance of the proposed scheme is studied by solving several test cases. It is shown that FVLEG scheme can obtain very satisfactory numerical results in terms of accuracy and resolution.     

A conservative discrete compatibility-constraint low-Mach pressure-correction algorithm for time-accurate simulations of variable density flows

In this paper, we develop the discrete compatibility-constraint pressure-correction algorithm for transient simulations of variable density flows at low-Mach numbers. The constraint for the velocity field is constructed from a combination of the discrete equations of continuity and scalar (e.g. energy) transport, imposing that the newly predicted state must be compatible, in agreement with the equation of state. This way, mass and scalar conservation are guaranteed and the equation of state is exactly fulfilled at every time step. For comparison reasons, two other types of well-known pressure-correction algorithms are also used. The first class, denoted as continuity-constraint pressure-correction, is based on a constraint for the velocity field that is derived solely from the continuity equation. The second class, denoted as analytical compatibility-constraint pressure-correction, constructs the constraint from an analytical combination of the material derivative of the equation of state and the continuity and scalar equations. The algorithms are tested for three example fluid configurations: a single-fluid ideal gas, a two-fluid inert mixture and a two-fluid reacting mixture. The latter is special in the sense that the equation of state is non-linear and not everywhere differentiable. The continuity-constraint pressure-correction algorithm yields unstable solutions if density ratios are high. The analytical compatibility-constraint pressure-correction algorithm yields stable results, but the predicted states do not correspond to the equation of state. The discrete compatibility-constraint pressure-correction algorithm performs well on all test cases: the simulation results are stable and exactly match the equation of state.     

An accurate and efficient method for the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations using the projection method as a preconditioner

The projection method is a widely used fractional-step algorithm for solving the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Despite numerous improvements to the methodology, however, imposing physical boundary conditions with projection-based fluid solvers remains difficult, and obtaining high-order accuracy may not be possible for some choices of boundary conditions. In this work, we present an unsplit, linearly-implicit discretization of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations on a staggered grid along with an efficient solution method for the resulting system of linear equations. Since our scheme is not a fractional-step algorithm, it is straightforward to specify general physical boundary conditions accurately; however, this capability comes at the price of having to solve the time-dependent incompressible Stokes equations at each timestep. To solve this linear system efficiently, we employ a Krylov subspace method preconditioned by the projection method. In our implementation, the subdomain solvers required by the projection preconditioner employ the conjugate gradient method with geometric multigrid preconditioning. The accuracy of the scheme is demonstrated for several problems, including forced and unforced analytic test cases and lid-driven cavity flows. These tests consider a variety of physical boundary conditions with Reynolds numbers ranging from 1 to 30000. The effectiveness of the projection preconditioner is compared to an alternative preconditioning strategy based on an approximation to the Schur complement for the time-dependent incompressible Stokes operator. The projection method is found to be a more efficient preconditioner in most cases considered in the present work.     

A gradient-augmented level set method with an optimally local,coherent advection scheme

The level set approach represents surfaces implicitly, and advects them by evolving a level set function, which is numerically defined on an Eulerian grid. Here we present an approach that augments the level set function values by gradient information, and evolves both quantities in a fully coupled fashion. This maintains the coherence between function values and derivatives, while exploiting the extra information carried by the derivatives. The method is of comparable quality to WENO schemes, but with optimally local stencils (performing updates in time by using information from only a single adjacent grid cell). In addition, structures smaller than the grid size can be located and tracked, and the extra derivative information can be employed to obtain simple and accurate approximations to the curvature. We analyze the accuracy and the stability of the new scheme, and perform benchmark tests.     

A finite element variational multiscale method for incompressible flows based on two local gauss integrations

In this article, we present a finite element variational multiscale (VMS) method for incompressible flows based on two local Gauss integrations, and compare it with common VMS method which is defined by a low order finite element space L_h$L_h$ on the same grid as X_h$X_h$ for the velocity deformation tensor and a stabilization parameter α$\alpha$. The best algorithmic feature of our method is using two local Gauss integrations to replace projection operator. We theoretically discuss the relationship between our method and common VMS method for the Taylor–Hood elements, and show that the nonlinear system derived from our method by finite element discretization is much smaller than that of common VMS method computationally.     

Weak solutions for partial differential equations with source terms: Application to the shallow water equations

Weak solutions of problems with m equations with source terms are proposed using an augmented Riemann solver defined by m + 1 states instead of increasing the number of involved equations. These weak solutions use propagating jump discontinuities connecting the m + 1 states to approximate the Riemann solution. The average of the propagated waves in the computational cell leads to a reinterpretation of the Roe’s approach and in the upwind treatment of the source term of Vázquez-Cendón. It is derived that the numerical scheme can not be formulated evaluating the physical flux function at the position of the initial discontinuities, as usually done in the homogeneous case. Positivity requirements over the values of the intermediate states are the only way to control the global stability of the method. Also it is shown that the definition of well-balanced equilibrium in trivial cases is not sufficient to provide correct results: it is necessary to provide discrete evaluations of the source term that ensure energy dissipating solutions when demanded. The one and two dimensional shallow water equations with source terms due to the bottom topography and friction are presented as case study. The stability region is shown to differ from the one defined for the case without source terms, and it can be derived that the appearance of negative values of the thickness of the water layer in the proximity of the wet/dry front is a particular case, of the wet/wet fronts. The consequence is a severe reduction in the magnitude of the allowable time step size if compared with the one obtained for the homogeneous case. Starting from this result, 1D and 2D numerical schemes are developed for both quadrilateral and triangular grids, enforcing conservation and positivity over the solution, allowing computationally efficient simulations by means of a reconstruction technique for the inner states of the weak solution that allows a recovery of the time step size.     

A high-order cell-centered Lagrangian scheme for compressible fluid flows in two-dimensional cylindrical geometry

The goal of this paper is to present high-order cell-centered schemes for solving the equations of Lagrangian gas dynamics written in cylindrical geometry. A node-based discretization of the numerical fluxes is obtained through the computation of the time rate of change of the cell volume. It allows to derive finite volume numerical schemes that are compatible with the geometric conservation law (GCL). Two discretizations of the momentum equations are proposed depending on the form of the discrete gradient operator. The first one corresponds to the control volume scheme while the second one corresponds to the so-called area-weighted scheme. Both formulations share the same discretization for the total energy equation. In both schemes, fluxes are computed using the same nodal solver which can be viewed as a two-dimensional extension of an approximate Riemann solver. The control volume scheme is conservative for momentum, total energy and satisfies a local entropy inequality in its first-order semi-discrete form. However, it does not preserve spherical symmetry. On the other hand, the area-weighted scheme is conservative for total energy and preserves spherical symmetry for one-dimensional spherical flow on equi-angular polar grid. The two-dimensional high-order extensions of these two schemes are constructed employing the generalized Riemann problem (GRP) in the acoustic approximation. Many numerical tests are presented in order to assess these new schemes. The results obtained for various representative configurations of one and two-dimensional compressible fluid flows show the robustness and the accuracy of our new schemes.     

Numerical approximation of the Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck system in two dimensions

A numerical method is developed for approximating the solution to the Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck system in two spatial dimensions. The method generalizes the approximation for the system in one dimension given in [S. Wollman, E. Ozizmir, Numerical approximation of the Vlasov–Poisson–Fokker–Planck system in one dimension, J. Comput. Phys. 202 (2005) 602–644]. The numerical procedure is based on a change of variables that puts the convection–diffusion equation into a form so that finite difference methods for parabolic type partial differential equations can be applied. The computational cycle combines a type of deterministic particle method with a periodic interpolation of the solution along particle trajectories onto a fixed grid. computational work is done to demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the approximation method. Parts of the numerical procedure are adapted to run on a parallel computer.     

A roe-average algorithm for a granular-gas model with non-conservative terms

A Roe-average algorithm has been derived for a granular-gas model, proposed by Goldshtein and Shapiro [Goldshtein, Shapiro, Mechanics of collisional motion of granular materials: Part 1. General hydrodynamic equations, J. Fluid Mech. 282 (1995) 75–114], which contains non-conservative terms in the Euler-like hyperbolic governing equations apart from sink terms, which arise from inelastic collision of granules and are present only in the energy equation. The non-conservative terms introduce non-isentropic effects in acoustic-wave propagation within granular media and they also contribute to the Rankine–Hugoniot relations across a discontinuity. A Roe-average algorithm, based on the same granular-gas model, was derived in the literature [V. Kamenetsky, A. Goldshtein, M. Shapiro, D. Degani, Evolution of a shock wave in a granular gas, Phys. Fluids, 12 (2000) 3036–3049] which then required the implementation of a shock-fitting technique at a discontinuity. In the present work, Roe-averaged variables have been obtained from the Rankine–Hugoniot jump relations and the non-conservative terms have been incorporated in the numerical flux formula consistent with upwind principles associated with the granular speed of sound. Results for unsteady one-dimensional granular flows, colliding with a wall, demonstrate the capability of the proposed algorithm to capture strong shocks in addition to flow features not found in molecular gases, such as a fluidized region downstream of the shock and a compacted solid-block region adjacent to the wall.     

A high-resolution mapped grid algorithm for compressible multiphase flow problems

We describe a simple mapped-grid approach for the efficient numerical simulation of compressible multiphase flow in general multi-dimensional geometries. The algorithm uses a curvilinear coordinate formulation of the equations that is derived for the Euler equations with the stiffened gas equation of state to ensure the correct fluid mixing when approximating the equations numerically with material interfaces. A γ-based and a α-based model have been described that is an easy extension of the Cartesian coordinates counterpart devised previously by the author [30]. A standard high-resolution mapped grid method in wave-propagation form is employed to solve the proposed multiphase models, giving the natural generalization of the previous one from single-phase to multiphase flow problems. We validate our algorithm by performing numerical tests in two and three dimensions that show second order accurate results for smooth flow problems and also free of spurious oscillations in the pressure for problems with interfaces. This includes also some tests where our quadrilateral-grid results in two dimensions are in direct comparisons with those obtained using a wave-propagation based Cartesian grid embedded boundary method.     

Conservative numerical simulation of multi-component transport in two-dimensional unsteady shallow water flow

An explicit finite volume model to simulate two-dimensional shallow water flow with multi-component transport is presented. The governing system of coupled conservation laws demands numerical techniques to avoid unrealistic values of the transported scalars that cannot be avoided by decreasing the size of the time step. The presence of non conservative products such as bed slope and friction terms, and other source terms like diffusion and reaction, can make necessary the reduction of the time step given by the Courant number. A suitable flux difference redistribution that prevents instability and ensures conservation at all times is used to deal with the non-conservative terms and becomes necessary in cases of transient boundaries over dry bed. The resulting method belongs to the category of well-balanced Roe schemes and is able to handle steady cases with flow in motion. Test cases with exact solution, including transient boundaries, bed slope, friction, and reaction terms are used to validate the numerical scheme. Laboratory experiments are used to validate the techniques when dealing with complex systems as the κ–?$\kappa ''–''?$ model. The results of the proposed numerical schemes are compared with the ones obtained when using uncoupled formulations.     

A grid based particle method for moving interface problems

We propose a novel algorithm for modeling interface motions. The interface is represented and is tracked using quasi-uniform meshless particles. These particles are sampled according to an underlying grid such that each particle is associated to a grid point which is in the neighborhood of the interface. The underlying grid provides an Eulerian reference and local sampling rate for particles on the interface. It also renders neighborhood information among the meshless particles for local reconstruction of the interface. The resulting algorithm, which is based on Lagrangian tracking using meshless particles with Eulerian reference grid, can naturally handle/control topological changes. Moreover, adaptive sampling of the interface can be achieved easily through local grid refinement with simple quad/oct-tree data structure. Extensive numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the capability of our new algorithm.     

A high order kinetic flux-vector splitting method for the reduced five-equation model of compressible two-fluid flows

We present a high order kinetic flux-vector splitting (KFVS) scheme for the numerical solution of a conservative interface-capturing five-equation model of compressible two-fluid flows. This model was initially introduced by Wackers and Koren (2004) [21]. The flow equations are the bulk equations, combined with mass and energy equations for one of the two fluids. The latter equation contains a source term in order to account for the energy exchange. We numerically investigate both one- and two-dimensional flow models. The proposed numerical scheme is based on the direct splitting of macroscopic flux functions of the system of equations. In two space dimensions the scheme is derived in a usual dimensionally split manner. The second order accuracy of the scheme is achieved by using MUSCL-type initial reconstruction and Runge–Kutta time stepping method. For validation, the results of our scheme are compared with those from the high resolution central scheme of Nessyahu and Tadmor [14]. The accuracy, efficiency and simplicity of the KFVS scheme demonstrate its potential for modeling two-phase flows.     

A grid based particle method for solving partial differential equations on evolving surfaces and modeling high order geometrical motion

We develop numerical methods for solving partial differential equations (PDE) defined on an evolving interface represented by the grid based particle method (GBPM) recently proposed in [S. Leung, H.K. Zhao, A grid based particle method for moving interface problems, J. Comput. Phys. 228 (2009) 7706–7728]. In particular, we develop implicit time discretization methods for the advection–diffusion equation where the time step is restricted solely by the advection part of the equation. We also generalize the GBPM to solve high order geometrical flows including surface diffusion and Willmore-type flows. The resulting algorithm can be easily implemented since the method is based on meshless particles quasi-uniformly sampled on the interface. Furthermore, without any computational mesh or triangulation defined on the interface, we do not require remeshing or reparametrization in the case of highly distorted motion or when there are topological changes. As an interesting application, we study locally inextensible flows governed by energy minimization. We introduce tension force via a Lagrange multiplier determined by the solution to a Helmholtz equation defined on the evolving interface. Extensive numerical examples are also given to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.     

Hilbert space cocycles as representations of (3 + 1)-d current algebras

It is proposed that instead of normal representations, one should look at cocycles of group extensions valued in certain groups of unitary operators acting in a Hilbert space (e.g. the Fock space of chiral fermions), when dealing with groups associated to current algebras in gauge theories in 3 + 1 spacetime dimensions. The appropriate cocycle is evaluated in the case of the group of smooth maps from the physical three-space to a compact Lie group.The cocyclic representation of a componentX of the current is obtained through two regularizations, (1) a conjugation by a background potential dependent unitary operatorh _A, (2) by a subtraction-h _A ^-1 _xhA, where _x is a derivative along a gauge orbit. It is only the total operatorh _A ^-1 Xh _A -h _A ^-1 _xhA which is quantizable in the Fock space using the usual normal ordering subtraction.Supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation