An adaptive Cartesian embedded boundary approach for fluid simulations of two- and three-dimensional low temperature plasma filaments in complex geometries

We review a scalable two- and three-dimensional computer code for low-temperature plasma simulations in multi-material complex geometries. Our approach is based on embedded boundary (EB) finite volume discretizations of the minimal fluid-plasma model on adaptive Cartesian grids, extended to also account for charging of insulating surfaces. We discuss the spatial and temporal discretization methods, and show that the resulting overall method is second order convergent, monotone, and conservative (for smooth solutions). Weak scalability with parallel efficiencies over 70\% are demonstrated up to 8192 cores and more than one billion cells. We then demonstrate the use of adaptive mesh refinement in multiple two- and three-dimensional simulation examples at modest cores counts. The examples include two-dimensional simulations of surface streamers along insulators with surface roughness; fully three-dimensional simulations of filaments in experimentally realizable pin-plane geometries, and three-dimensional simulations of positive plasma discharges in multi-material complex geometries. The largest computational example uses up to $800$ million mesh cells with billions of unknowns on $4096$ computing cores. Our use of computer-aided design (CAD) and constructive solid geometry (CSG) combined with capabilities for parallel computing offers possibilities for performing three-dimensional transient plasma-fluid simulations, also in multi-material complex geometries at moderate pressures and comparatively large scale.Comment: 40 pages, 21 figure

Boundary Treatment and Multigrid Preconditioning for Semi-Lagrangian Schemes Applied to Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Equations

We analyse two practical aspects that arise in the numerical solution of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations by a particular class of monotone approximation schemes known as semi-Lagrangian schemes. These schemes make use of a wide stencil to achieve convergence and result in discretization matrices that are less sparse and less local than those coming from standard finite difference schemes. This leads to computational difficulties not encountered there. In particular, we consider the overstepping of the domain boundary and analyse the accuracy and stability of stencil truncation. This truncation imposes a stricter CFL condition for explicit schemes in the vicinity of boundaries than in the interior, such that implicit schemes become attractive. We then study the use of geometric, algebraic and aggregation-based multigrid preconditioners to solve the resulting discretised systems from implicit time stepping schemes efficiently. Finally, we illustrate the performance of these techniques numerically for benchmark test cases from the literature

A steady separated viscous corner flow

An example is presented of a separated flow in an unbounded domain in which, as the Reynolds number becomes large, the separated region remains of size 0(1) and tends to a non-trivial Prandtl-Batchelor flow. The multigrid method is used to obtain rapid convergence to the solution of the discretized Navier-Stokes equations at Reynolds numbers of up to 5000. Extremely fine grids and tests of an integral property of the flow ensure accuracy. The flow exhibits the separation of a boundary layer with ensuing formation of a downstream eddy and reattachment of a free shear layer. The asymptotic (’triple deck’) theory of laminar separation from a leading edge, due to Sychev (1979), is clarified and compared to the numerical solutions. Much better qualitative agreement is obtained than has been reported previously. Together with a plausible choice of two free parameters, the data can be extrapolated to infinite Reynolds number, giving quantitative agreement with triple-deck theory with errors of 20% or less. The development of a region of constant vorticity is observed in the downstream eddy, and the global infinite-Reynolds-number limit is a Prandtl-Batchelor flow; however, when the plate is stationary, the occurrence of secondary separation suggests that the limiting flow contains an infinite sequence of eddies behind the separation point. Secondary separation can be averted by driving the plate, and in this case the limit is a single-vortex Prandtl-Batchelor flow of the type found by Moore, Saffman & Tanveer (1988); detailed, encouraging comparisons are made to the vortex-sheet strength and position. Altering the boundary condition on the plate gives viscous eddies that approximate different members of the family of inviscid solutions

Parallel numerical modeling of hybrid-dimensional compositional non-isothermal Darcy flows in fractured porous media

This paper introduces a new discrete fracture model accounting for non-isothermal compositional multiphase Darcy flows and complex networks of fractures with intersecting, immersed and non immersed fractures. The so called hybrid-dimensional model using a 2D model in the fractures coupled with a 3D model in the matrix is first derived rigorously starting from the equi-dimensional matrix fracture model. Then, it is dis-cretized using a fully implicit time integration combined with the Vertex Approximate Gradient (VAG) finite volume scheme which is adapted to polyhedral meshes and anisotropic heterogeneous media. The fully coupled systems are assembled and solved in parallel using the Single Program Multiple Data (SPMD) paradigm with one layer of ghost cells. This strategy allows for a local assembly of the discrete systems. An efficient preconditioner is implemented to solve the linear systems at each time step and each Newton type iteration of the simulation. The numerical efficiency of our approach is assessed on different meshes, fracture networks, and physical settings in terms of parallel scalability, nonlinear convergence and linear convergence