On Low Mach Number Preconditioning of Finite Volume Schemes

A finite volume method for inviscid unsteady flows at low Mach numbers is studied. The method uses a preconditioning of the dissipation term within the numerical flux function only. It can be observed by numerical experiments, as well as by analysis, that the preconditioned scheme yields a physically corrected pressure distribution and combined with an explicit time integrator it is stable if the time step Δt satisfies the requirement to be 𝒪(M ²) as the Mach number M tends to zero, whereas the corresponding standard method remains stable up to Δt = 𝒪(M ),M → 0, though producing unphysical results. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)