Entropy Stable Finite Volume Approximations for Ideal Magnetohydrodynamics

This article serves as a summary outlining the mathematical entropy analysis of the ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations. We select the ideal MHD equations as they are particularly useful for mathematically modeling a wide variety of magnetized fluids. In order to be self-contained we first motivate the physical properties of a magnetic fluid and how it should behave under the laws of thermodynamics. Next, we introduce a mathematical model built from hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs) that translate physical laws into mathematical equations. After an overview of the continuous analysis, we thoroughly describe the derivation of a numerical approximation of the ideal MHD system that remains consistent to the continuous thermodynamic principles. The derivation of the method and the theorems contained within serve as the bulk of the review article. We demonstrate that the derived numerical approximation retains the correct entropic properties of the continuous model and show its applicability to a variety of standard numerical test cases for MHD schemes. We close with our conclusions and a brief discussion on future work in the area of entropy consistent numerical methods and the modeling of plasmas

A new thermodynamically compatible finite volume scheme for magnetohydrodynamics

In this paper we propose a novel thermodynamically compatible finite volume scheme for the numerical solution of the equations of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in one and two space dimensions. As shown by Godunov in 1972, the MHD system can be written as overdetermined symmetric hyperbolic and thermodynamically compatible (SHTC) system. More precisely, the MHD equations are symmetric hyperbolic in the sense of Friedrichs and satisfy the first and second principles of thermodynamics. In a more recent work on SHTC systems, \cite{Rom1998}, the entropy density is a primary evolution variable, and total energy conservation can be shown to be a \textit{consequence} that is obtained after a judicious linear combination of all other evolution equations. The objective of this paper is to mimic the SHTC framework also on the discrete level by directly discretizing the \textit{entropy inequality}, instead of the total energy conservation law, while total energy conservation is obtained via an appropriate linear combination as a \textit{consequence} of the thermodynamically compatible discretization of all other evolution equations. As such, the proposed finite volume scheme satisfies a discrete cell entropy inequality \textit{by construction} and can be proven to be nonlinearly stable in the energy norm due to the discrete energy conservation. In multiple space dimensions the divergence-free condition of the magnetic field is taken into account via a new thermodynamically compatible generalized Lagrangian multiplier (GLM) divergence cleaning approach. The fundamental properties of the scheme proposed in this paper are mathematically rigorously proven. The new method is applied to some standard MHD benchmark problems in one and two space dimensions, obtaining good results in all cases

A Flux-Differencing Formula for Split-Form Summation By Parts Discretizations of Non-Conservative Systems: Applications to Subcell Limiting for magneto-hydrodynamics

In this paper, we show that diagonal-norm summation by parts (SBP) discretizations of general non-conservative systems of hyperbolic balance laws can be rewritten as a finite-volume-type formula, also known as flux-differencing formula, if the non-conservative terms can be written as the product of a local and a symmetric contribution. Furthermore, we show that the existence of a flux-differencing formula enables the use of recent subcell limiting strategies to improve the robustness of the high-order discretizations. To demonstrate the utility of the novel flux-differencing formula, we construct hybrid schemes that combine high-order SBP methods (the discontinuous Galerkin spectral element method and a high-order SBP finite difference method) with a compatible low-order finite volume (FV) scheme at the subcell level. We apply the hybrid schemes to solve challenging magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) problems featuring strong shocks

Lagrangian ADER-WENO Finite Volume Schemes on Unstructured Triangular Meshes Based On Genuinely Multidimensional HLL Riemann Solvers

In this paper we use the genuinely multidimensional HLL Riemann solvers recently developed by Balsara et al. to construct a new class of computationally efficient high order Lagrangian ADER-WENO one-step ALE finite volume schemes on unstructured triangular meshes. A nonlinear WENO reconstruction operator allows the algorithm to achieve high order of accuracy in space, while high order of accuracy in time is obtained by the use of an ADER time-stepping technique based on a local space-time Galerkin predictor. The multidimensional HLL and HLLC Riemann solvers operate at each vertex of the grid, considering the entire Voronoi neighborhood of each node and allows for larger time steps than conventional one-dimensional Riemann solvers. The results produced by the multidimensional Riemann solver are then used twice in our one-step ALE algorithm: first, as a node solver that assigns a unique velocity vector to each vertex, in order to preserve the continuity of the computational mesh; second, as a building block for genuinely multidimensional numerical flux evaluation that allows the scheme to run with larger time steps compared to conventional finite volume schemes that use classical one-dimensional Riemann solvers in normal direction. A rezoning step may be necessary in order to overcome element overlapping or crossing-over. We apply the method presented in this article to two systems of hyperbolic conservation laws, namely the Euler equations of compressible gas dynamics and the equations of ideal classical magneto-hydrodynamics (MHD). Convergence studies up to fourth order of accuracy in space and time have been carried out. Several numerical test problems have been solved to validate the new approach

Entropy stable DGSEM for nonlinear hyperbolic systems in nonconservative form with application to two-phase flows

In this work, we consider the discretization of nonlinear hyperbolic systems in nonconservative form with the high-order discontinuous Galerkin spectral element method (DGSEM) based on collocation of quadrature and interpolation points (Kopriva and Gassner, J. Sci. Comput., 44 (2010), pp.136--155; Carpenter et al., SIAM J. Sci. Comput., 36 (2014), pp.~B835-B867). We present a general framework for the design of such schemes that satisfy a semi-discrete entropy inequality for a given convex entropy function at any approximation order. The framework is closely related to the one introduced for conservation laws by Chen and Shu (J. Comput. Phys., 345 (2017), pp.~427--461) and relies on the modification of the integral over discretization elements where we replace the physical fluxes by entropy conservative numerical fluxes from Castro et al. (SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 51 (2013), pp.~1371--1391), while entropy stable numerical fluxes are used at element interfaces. Time discretization is performed with strong-stability preserving Runge-Kutta schemes. We use this framework for the discretization of two systems in one space-dimension: a $2\times2$ system with a nonconservative product associated to a linearly-degenerate field for which the DGSEM fails to capture the physically relevant solution, and the isentropic Baer-Nunziato model. For the latter, we derive conditions on the numerical parameters of the discrete scheme to further keep positivity of the partial densities and a maximum principle on the void fractions. Numerical experiments support the conclusions of the present analysis and highlight stability and robustness of the present schemes