A stream function–vorticity formulation‐based immersed boundary method and its applications

A new stream function–vorticity formulation‐based immersed boundary method is presented in this paper. Different from the conventional immersed boundary method, the main feature of the present model is to accurately satisfy both governing equations and boundary conditions through velocity correction and vorticity correction procedures. The velocity correction process is performed implicitly based on the requirement that velocity at the immersed boundary interpolated from the corrected velocity field accurately satisfies the nonslip boundary condition. The vorticity correction is made through the stream function formulation rather than the vorticity transport equation. It is evaluated from the firstorder derivatives of velocity correction. Two simple and efficient ways are presented for approximation of velocity‐correction derivatives. One is based on finite difference approximation, while the other is based on derivative expressions of Dirac delta function and velocity correction. It was found that both ways can work very well. The main advantage of the proposed method lies in its simple concept, easy implementation, and robustness in stability. Numerical experiments for both stationary and moving boundary problems were conducted to validate the capability and efficiency of the present method. Good agreements with available data in the literature were achieved. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A boundary element method for steady viscous fluid flow using penalty function formulation

A new boundary element method is presented for steady incompressible flow at moderate and high Reynolds numbers. The whole domain is discretized into a number of eight-noded cells, for each of which the governing boundary integral equation is formulated exclusively in terms of velocities and tractions. The kernels used in this paper are the fundamental solutions of the linearized Navier–Stokes equations with artificial compressibility. Significant attention is given to the numerical evaluation of the integrals over quadratic boundary elements as well as over quadratic quadrilateral volume cells in order to ensure a high accuracy level at high Reynolds numbers. As an illustration, square driven cavity flows are considered for Reynolds numbers up to 1000. Numerical results demonstrate both the high convergence rate, even when using simple (direct) iterations, and the appropriate level of accuracy of the proposed method. Although the method yields a high level of accuracy in the primary vortex region, the secondary vortices are not properly resolved. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed boundary elements for laminar flows

This paper presents a mixed boundary element formulation of the boundary domain integral method (BDIM) for solving diffusion–convective transport problems. The basic idea of mixed elements is the use of a continuous interpolation polynomial for conservative field function approximation and a discontinuous interpolation polynomial for its normal derivative along the boundary element. In this way, the advantages of continuous field function approximation are retained and its conservation is preserved while the normal flux values are approximated by interpolation nodal points with a uniquely defined normal direction. Due to the use of mixed boundary elements, the final discretized matrix system is overdetermined and a special solver based on the least squares method is applied. Driven cavity, natural and forced convection in a closed cavity are studied. Driven cavity results at Re=100, 400 and 1000 agree better with the benchmark solution than Finite Element Method or Finite Volume Method results for the same grid density with 21×21 degrees of freedom. The average Nusselt number values for natural convection 10³≤Ra≤10⁶ agree better than 0.1% with benchmark solutions for maximal calculated grid densities 61×61 degrees of freedom. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Computations of a laminar backward‐facing step flow at Re=800 with a spectral domain decomposition method

The two‐dimensional laminar incompressible flow over a backward‐facing step is computed using a spectral domain decomposition approach. A minimum number of subdomains (two) is used; high resolution being achieved by increasing the order of the basis Chebyshev polynomial. Results for the case of a Reynolds number of 800 are presented and compared in detail with benchmark computations. Stable accurate steady flow solutions were obtained using substantially fewer nodes than in previously reported simulations. In addition, the problem of outflow boundary conditions was examined on a shortened domain. Because of their more global nature, spectral methods are particularly sensitive to imposed boundary conditions, which may be exploited in examining the effect of artificial (non‐physical) outflow boundary conditions. Two widely used set of conditions were tested: pseudo stress‐free conditions and zero normal gradient conditions. Contrary to previous results using the finite volume approach, the latter is found to yield a qualitatively erroneous yet stable flow‐field. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Hermite finite element method for incompressible fluid flow

We describe some Hermite stream function and velocity finite elements and a divergence‐free finite element method for the computation of incompressible flow. Divergence‐free velocity bases defined on (but not limited to) rectangles are presented, which produce pointwise divergence‐free flow fields (∇· u _h≡0). The discrete velocity satisfies a flow equation that does not involve pressure. The pressure can be recovered as a function of the velocity if needed. The method is formulated in primitive variables and applied to the stationary lid‐driven cavity and backward‐facing step test problems. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vortex‐in‐cell method combined with a boundary element method for incompressible viscous flow analysis

In this study, an immersed boundary vortex‐in‐cell (VIC) method for simulating the incompressible flow external to two‐dimensional and three‐dimensional bodies is presented. The vorticity transport equation, which is the governing equation of the VIC method, is represented in a Lagrangian form and solved by the vortex blob representation of the flow field. In the present scheme, the treatment of convection and diffusion is based on the classical fractional step algorithm. The rotational component of the velocity is obtained by solving Poisson's equation using an FFT method on a regular Cartesian grid, and the solenoidal component is determined from solving an integral equation using the panel method for the convection term, and the diffusion term is implemented by a particle strength exchange scheme. Both the no‐slip and no‐through flow conditions associated with the surface boundary condition are satisfied by diffusing vortex sheet and distributing singularities on the body, respectively. The present method is distinguished from other methods by the use of the panel method for the enforcement of the no‐through flow condition. The panel method completes making use of the immersed boundary nature inherent in the VIC method and can be also adopted for the calculation of the pressure field. The overall process is parallelized using message passing interface to manage the extensive computational load in the three‐dimensional flow simulations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A fourth‐order compact finite difference scheme for the steady stream function–vorticity formulation of the Navier–Stokes/Boussinesq equations

A fourth‐order compact finite difference scheme on the nine‐point 2D stencil is formulated for solving the steady‐state Navier–Stokes/Boussinesq equations for two‐dimensional, incompressible fluid flow and heat transfer using the stream function–vorticity formulation. The main feature of the new fourth‐order compact scheme is that it allows point‐successive overrelaxation (SOR) or point‐successive underrelaxation iteration for all Rayleigh numbers Ra of physical interest and all Prandtl numbers Pr attempted. Numerical solutions are obtained for the model problem of natural convection in a square cavity with benchmark solutions and compared with some of the accurate results available in the literature. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

不可压缩二维流动Navier—Stokes方程的有限元解

对不可压缩流体沿二维后台阶流动的Ｎ－Ｓ方程的流函数－涡量式用有限元方法加以求解，固壁上的涡量用时间迭代法加以确定。分别计算Ｒｅ＝２００，４００，８００和１０００时流动区域的流函数和涡量值，并在Ｒｅ＝８００时与有关文献的结果相比较，基本吻合。且在此基础上讨论了出口条件对计算结果的影响。本文的方法对分析流经液压阀口等流动问题具有借鉴意义。     

A promising boundary element formulation for three‐dimensional viscous flow

In this paper, a new set of boundary‐domain integral equations is derived from the continuity and momentum equations for three‐dimensional viscous flows. The primary variables involved in these integral equations are velocity, traction, and pressure. The final system of equations entering the iteration procedure only involves velocities and tractions as unknowns. In the use of the continuity equation, a complex‐variable technique is used to compute the divergence of velocity for internal points, while the traction‐recovery method is adopted for boundary points. Although the derived equations are valid for steady, unsteady, compressible, and incompressible problems, the numerical implementation is only focused on steady incompressible flows. Two commonly cited numerical examples and one practical pipe flow problem are presented to validate the derived equations. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Boundary element analysis of driven cavity flow for low and moderate Reynolds numbers

A boundary element method for steady two‐dimensional low‐to‐moderate‐Reynolds number flows of incompressible fluids, using primitive variables, is presented. The velocity gradients in the Navier–Stokes equations are evaluated using the alternatives of upwind and central finite difference approximations, and derivatives of finite element shape functions. A direct iterative scheme is used to cope with the non‐linear character of the integral equations. In order to achieve convergence, an underrelaxation technique is employed at relatively high Reynolds numbers. Driven cavity flow in a square domain is considered to validate the proposed method by comparison with other published data. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A detailed study of lid‐driven cavity flow at moderate Reynolds numbers using Incompressible SPH

Lid‐driven cavity flow at moderate Reynolds numbers is studied here, employing a mesh‐free method known as Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). In a detailed study of this benchmark, the incompressible SPH approach is applied together with a particle shifting algorithm. Additionally, a new treatment for no‐slip boundary conditions is developed and tested. The use of the aforementioned numerical treatment for solid walls leads to significant improvements in the results with respect to other SPH simulations carried out with similar spatial resolution. However, the effect of spatial resolution is not considered in the present study as the number of particles used in each case was kept constant, approximately reproducing the same resolutions employed in reference studies available in the literature as well. Altogether, the detailed comparisons of field variables at discreet points demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the new SPH method. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling of two‐dimensional laminar flow using finite element method

In this paper, a Galerkin weighted residual finite element numerical solution method, with velocity material time derivative discretisation, is applied to solve for a classical fluid mechanics system of partial differential equations modelling two‐dimensional stationary incompressible Newtonian fluid flow. Classical examples of driven cavity laminar flow and laminar flow past a cylinder are presented. Numerical results are compared with data found in the literature. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristic‐based inlet and outlet boundary conditions for incompressible flows

Determining boundary conditions (BCs) for incompressible flows is such a delicate matter that affects the accuracy of the results. In this research, a new characteristic‐based BC for incompressible Navier‐Stokes equations is introduced. Discretization of equations has been done via finite volume. Additionally, artificial compressibility correction has been employed to deal with equations. Ordinary extrapolation from inner cells of a domain was used as a traditional way to estimate pressure and velocities on solid wall and inlet/outlet boundaries. Here, this method was substituted by the newly proposed BCs based on the characteristics of artificial compressibility equations. To follow this purpose, a computer code has been developed to carry out series of numerical tests for a flow over a backward‐facing step and was applied to a wide range of Reynolds numbers and grid combinations. Calculation of convective and viscous fluxes was done using Jameson's averaging scheme. Employing the characteristic‐based method for determining BCs has shown an improved convergence rate and reduced calculation time comparing with those of traditional ones. Furthermore, with the reduction of domain and computational cells, a similar accuracy was achieved for the results in comparison with the ones obtained from the traditional extrapolation method, and these results were in good agreement with the ones in the literature.     

A coupled continuous and discontinuous finite element method for the incompressible flows

In this paper, we develop a coupled continuous Galerkin and discontinuous Galerkin finite element method based on a split scheme to solve the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. In order to use the equal order interpolation functions for velocity and pressure, we decouple the original Navier–Stokes equations and obtain three distinct equations through the split method, which are nonlinear hyperbolic, elliptic, and Helmholtz equations, respectively. The hybrid method combines the merits of discontinuous Galerkin (DG) and finite element method (FEM). Therefore, DG is concerned to accomplish the spatial discretization of the nonlinear hyperbolic equation to avoid using the stabilization approaches that appeared in FEM. Moreover, FEM is utilized to deal with the Poisson and Helmholtz equations to reduce the computational cost compared with DG. As for the temporal discretization, a second‐order stiffly stable approach is employed. Several typical benchmarks, namely, the Poiseuille flow, the backward‐facing step flow, and the flow around the cylinder with a wide range of Reynolds numbers, are considered to demonstrate and validate the feasibility, accuracy, and efficiency of this coupled method. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A second‐order time accurate finite element method for quasi‐incompressible viscous flows

A finite element method for quasi‐incompressible viscous flows is presented. An equation for pressure is derived from a second‐order time accurate Taylor–Galerkin procedure that combines the mass and the momentum conservation laws. At each time step, once the pressure has been determined, the velocity field is computed solving discretized equations obtained from another second‐order time accurate scheme and a least‐squares minimization of spatial momentum residuals. The terms that stabilize the finite element method (controlling wiggles and circumventing the Babuska–Brezzi condition) arise naturally from the process, rather than being introduced a priori in the variational formulation. A comparison between the present second‐order accurate method and our previous first‐order accurate formulation is shown. The method is also demonstrated in the computation of the leaky‐lid driven cavity flow and in the simulation of a crossflow past a circular cylinder. In both cases, good agreement with previously published experimental and computational results has been obtained. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new velocity–vorticity boundary integral formulation for Navier–Stokes equations

In the present work, an indirect boundary integral method for the numerical solution of Navier–Stokes equations formulated in velocity–vorticity dependent variables is proposed. This wholly integral approach, based on Helmholtz's decomposition, deals directly with the vorticity field and gives emphasis to the establishment of appropriate boundary conditions for the vorticity transport equation. The coupling between the vorticity and the vortical velocity fields is expressed by an iterative procedure. The present analysis shows the usefulness of an integral formulation not only in providing a potentially more efficient computational tool, but also in giving a better understanding to the physics of the phenomenon. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Potential flow around obstacles using the scaled boundary finite‐element method

The scaled boundary finite‐element method is a novel semi‐analytical technique, combining the advantages of the finite element and the boundary element methods with unique properties of its own. The method works by weakening the governing differential equations in one co‐ordinate direction through the introduction of shape functions, then solving the weakened equations analytically in the other (radial) co‐ordinate direction. These co‐ordinate directions are defined by the geometry of the domain and a scaling centre. The method can be employed for both bounded and unbounded domains. This paper applies the method to problems of potential flow around streamlined and bluff obstacles in an infinite domain. The method is derived using a weighted residual approach and extended to include the necessary velocity boundary conditions at infinity. The ability of the method to model unbounded problems is demonstrated, together with its ability to model singular points in the near field in the case of bluff obstacles. Flow fields around circular and square cylinders are computed, graphically illustrating the accuracy of the technique, and two further practical examples are also presented. Comparisons are made with boundary element and finite difference solutions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solution of the Navier–Stokes equations in velocity–vorticity form using a Eulerian–Lagrangian boundary element method

This paper describes the Eulerian–Lagrangian boundary element model for the solution of incompressible viscous flow problems using velocity–vorticity variables. A Eulerian–Lagrangian boundary element method (ELBEM) is proposed by the combination of the Eulerian–Lagrangian method and the boundary element method (BEM). ELBEM overcomes the limitation of the traditional BEM, which is incapable of dealing with the arbitrary velocity field in advection‐dominated flow problems. The present ELBEM model involves the solution of the vorticity transport equation for vorticity whose solenoidal vorticity components are obtained iteratively by solving velocity Poisson equations involving the velocity and vorticity components. The velocity Poisson equations are solved using a boundary integral scheme and the vorticity transport equation is solved using the ELBEM. Here the results of two‐dimensional Navier–Stokes problems with low–medium Reynolds numbers in a typical cavity flow are presented and compared with a series solution and other numerical models. The ELBEM model has been found to be feasible and satisfactory. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A finite element formulation for laminar flow of a fluid with microstructure

A finite element formulation for the steady laminar flow of an incompressible fluid with microstructure has been developed. The particular fluids considered are commonly known as micropolar fluids, in which case suspended particulate microstructures are modelled by an ‘extended’ continuum formulation. The particle microspin is a new kinematic variable which is independent of the classical vorticity vector and thereby allows relative rotation between particles and the surrounding fluid. This formulation also gives rise to couple stresses in addition to classical force or traction stresses. The finite element formulation utilizes a variational approach and imposes conservation of mass through a penalty function. A general boundary condition for microspin has been incorporated whereby microspin at a solid boundary is constrained to be proportional to the fluid vorticity. The proportionality constant in this case can vary from zero to unity. Sample solutions are presented for fully developed flow through a straight tube and compared with an analytical solution. Results are also generated for flow through a constricted tube and compared with a Newtonian fluid solution.