On the stability of projection methods for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations based on high-order discontinuous Galerkin discretizations

The present paper deals with the numerical solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using high-order discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods for discretization in space. For DG methods applied to the dual splitting projection method, instabilities have recently been reported that occur for coarse spatial resolutions and small time step sizes. By means of numerical investigation we give evidence that these instabilities are related to the discontinuous Galerkin formulation of the velocity divergence term and the pressure gradient term that couple velocity and pressure. Integration by parts of these terms with a suitable definition of boundary conditions is required in order to obtain a stable and robust method. Since the intermediate velocity field does not fulfill the boundary conditions prescribed for the velocity, a consistent boundary condition is derived from the convective step of the dual splitting scheme to ensure high-order accuracy with respect to the temporal discretization. This new formulation is stable in the limit of small time steps for both equal-order and mixed-order polynomial approximations. Although the dual splitting scheme itself includes inf-sup stabilizing contributions, we demonstrate that spurious pressure oscillations appear for equal-order polynomials and small time steps highlighting the necessity to consider inf-sup stability explicitly.Comment: 31 page

A matrix-free high-order discontinuous Galerkin compressible Navier-Stokes solver: A performance comparison of compressible and incompressible formulations for turbulent incompressible flows

Both compressible and incompressible Navier-Stokes solvers can be used and are used to solve incompressible turbulent flow problems. In the compressible case, the Mach number is then considered as a solver parameter that is set to a small value, $\mathrm{M}\approx 0.1$, in order to mimic incompressible flows. This strategy is widely used for high-order discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. The present work raises the question regarding the computational efficiency of compressible DG solvers as compared to a genuinely incompressible formulation. Our contributions to the state-of-the-art are twofold: Firstly, we present a high-performance discontinuous Galerkin solver for the compressible Navier-Stokes equations based on a highly efficient matrix-free implementation that targets modern cache-based multicore architectures. The performance results presented in this work focus on the node-level performance and our results suggest that there is great potential for further performance improvements for current state-of-the-art discontinuous Galerkin implementations of the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. Secondly, this compressible Navier-Stokes solver is put into perspective by comparing it to an incompressible DG solver that uses the same matrix-free implementation. We discuss algorithmic differences between both solution strategies and present an in-depth numerical investigation of the performance. The considered benchmark test cases are the three-dimensional Taylor-Green vortex problem as a representative of transitional flows and the turbulent channel flow problem as a representative of wall-bounded turbulent flows

The Energetic Implications of Using Deforming Reference Descriptions to Simulate the Motion of Incompressible, Newtonian Fluids

In this work the issue of whether key energetic properties (nonlinear, exponential-type dissipation in the abscence of forcing and long-term stability under conditions of time dependent loading) are automatically inherited by deforming reference descriptions is resolved. These properties are intrinsic to real flows and the conventional Navier-Stokes equations. A completely general reference description of an incompressible, Newtonian fluid, which reconciles the differences between opposing schools of thought in the literature is derived for the purposes of this investigation. The work subsequently focusses on establishing a class of time discretisations which inherit these self-same energetic properties, irrespective of the time increment employed. The findings of this analysis have profound consequences for the use of certain classes of finite difference schemes in the context of deforming references. It is significant that many algorithms presently in use do not automatically inherit the fundamental qualitative features of the dynamics. An `updated' approach as a means of avoiding ever burgeoning deformation gradients and a still further simplified implementation are further topics explored.Comment: 26 pages, 2 figures, lemma 2 proof correcte

A high-order semi-explicit discontinuous Galerkin solver for 3D incompressible flow with application to DNS and LES of turbulent channel flow

We present an efficient discontinuous Galerkin scheme for simulation of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations including laminar and turbulent flow. We consider a semi-explicit high-order velocity-correction method for time integration as well as nodal equal-order discretizations for velocity and pressure. The non-linear convective term is treated explicitly while a linear system is solved for the pressure Poisson equation and the viscous term. The key feature of our solver is a consistent penalty term reducing the local divergence error in order to overcome recently reported instabilities in spatially under-resolved high-Reynolds-number flows as well as small time steps. This penalty method is similar to the grad-div stabilization widely used in continuous finite elements. We further review and compare our method to several other techniques recently proposed in literature to stabilize the method for such flow configurations. The solver is specifically designed for large-scale computations through matrix-free linear solvers including efficient preconditioning strategies and tensor-product elements, which have allowed us to scale this code up to 34.4 billion degrees of freedom and 147,456 CPU cores. We validate our code and demonstrate optimal convergence rates with laminar flows present in a vortex problem and flow past a cylinder and show applicability of our solver to direct numerical simulation as well as implicit large-eddy simulation of turbulent channel flow at $Re_{\tau}=180$ as well as $590$.Comment: 28 pages, in preparation for submission to Journal of Computational Physic

Numerical investigation of unsteady laminar incompressible co-axial boundary layer flows

Finite difference method for analysis of laminar incompressible boundary layer flows at jet exi

Three-Dimensional Navier-Stokes Simulation of Space Shuttle Main Propulsion 17-inch Disconnect Valves

A steady incompressible three-dimensional viscous flow analysis has been conducted for the Space Shuttle external tank/orbiter propellant feed line disconnect flapper valves with upstream elbows. The Navier-Stokes code, INS3D, is modified to handle interior obstacles and a simple turbulence model. The flow solver is tested for stability and convergence in the presence of interior flappers. An under-relaxation scheme has been incorporated to improve the solution stability. Important flow characteristics such as secondary flows, recirculation, vortex and wake regions, and separated flows are observed. Computed values for forces, moments, and pressure drop are in satisfactory agreement with water flow test data covering a maximum tube Reynolds number of 3.5 million. The predicted hydrodynamical stability of the flappers correlates well with the measurements