Spectral methods for CFD

One of the objectives of these notes is to provide a basic introduction to spectral methods with a particular emphasis on applications to computational fluid dynamics. Another objective is to summarize some of the most important developments in spectral methods in the last two years. The fundamentals of spectral methods for simple problems will be covered in depth, and the essential elements of several fluid dynamical applications will be sketched

Monolithic multiphysics simulation of hypersonic aerothermoelasticity using a hybridized discontinuous Galerkin method

This work presents implementation of a hybridized discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method for robust simulation of the hypersonic aerothermoelastic multiphysics system. Simulation of hypersonic vehicles requires accurate resolution of complex multiphysics interactions including the effects of high-speed turbulent flow, extreme heating, and vehicle deformation due to considerable pressure loads and thermal stresses. However, the state-of-the-art procedures for hypersonic aerothermoelasticity are comprised of low-fidelity approaches and partitioned coupling schemes. These approaches preclude robust design and analysis of hypersonic vehicles for a number of reasons. First, low-fidelity approaches limit their application to simple geometries and lack the ability to capture small scale flow features (e.g. turbulence, shocks, and boundary layers) which greatly degrades modeling robustness and solution accuracy. Second, partitioned coupling approaches can introduce considerable temporal and spatial inaccuracies which are not trivially remedied. In light of these barriers, we propose development of a monolithically-coupled hybridized DG approach to enable robust design and analysis of hypersonic vehicles with arbitrary geometries. Monolithic coupling methods implement a coupled multiphysics system as a single, or monolithic, equation system to be resolved by a single simulation approach. Further, monolithic approaches are free from the physical inaccuracies and instabilities imposed by partitioned approaches and enable time-accurate evolution of the coupled physics system. In this work, a DG method is considered due to its ability to accurately resolve second-order partial differential equations (PDEs) of all classes. We note that the hypersonic aerothermoelastic system is composed of PDEs of all three classes. Hybridized DG methods are specifically considered due to their exceptional computational efficiency compared to traditional DG methods. It is expected that our monolithic hybridized DG implementation of the hypersonic aerothermoelastic system will 1) provide the physical accuracy necessary to capture complex physical features, 2) be free from any spatial and temporal inaccuracies or instabilities inherent to partitioned coupling procedures, 3) represent a transition to high-fidelity simulation methods for hypersonic aerothermoelasticity, and 4) enable efficient analysis of hypersonic aerothermoelastic effects on arbitrary geometries

A semi-implicit hybrid finite volume / finite element scheme for all Mach number flows on staggered unstructured meshes

In this paper a new hybrid semi-implicit finite volume / finite element (FV/FE) scheme is presented for the numerical solution of the compressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations at all Mach numbers on unstructured staggered meshes in two and three space dimensions. The chosen grid arrangement consists of a primal simplex mesh composed of triangles or tetrahedra, and an edge-based / face-based staggered dual mesh. The governing equations are discretized in conservation form. The nonlinear convective terms of the equations, as well as the viscous stress tensor and the heat flux, are discretized on the dual mesh at the aid of an explicit local ADER finite volume scheme, while the implicit pressure terms are discretized at the aid of a continuous $\mathbb{P}^{1}$ finite element method on the nodes of the primal mesh. In the zero Mach number limit, the new scheme automatically reduces to the hybrid FV/FE approach forwarded in \cite{BFTVC17} for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. As such, the method is asymptotically consistent with the incompressible limit of the governing equations and can therefore be applied to flows at all Mach numbers. Due to the chosen semi-implicit discretization, the CFL restriction on the time step is only based on the magnitude of the flow velocity and not on the sound speed, hence the method is computationally efficient at low Mach numbers. In the chosen discretization, the only unknown is the scalar pressure field at the new time step. Furthermore, the resulting pressure system is symmetric and positive definite and can therefore be very efficiently solved with a matrix-free conjugate gradient method. In order to assess the capabilities of the new scheme, we show computational results for a large set of benchmark problems that range from the quasi incompressible low Mach number regime to compressible flows with shock waves