Face- and Cell-Averaged Nodal-Gradient Approach to Cell-Centered Finite-Volume Method on Mixed Grids

In this paper, the averaged nodal-gradient approach previously developed for triangular grids is extended to mixed triangular-quadrilateral grids. It is shown that the face- averaged approach leads to deteriorated iterative convergence on quadrilateral grids. To develop a convergent solver, we consider cell-averaging instead of face-averaging for quadri- lateral cells. We show that the cell-averaged approach leads to a convergent solver and can be efficiently combined with the face-averaged approach on mixed grids. The method is demonstrated for various inviscid and viscous problems from low to high Mach numbers on two-dimensional mixed grids

Efficient and Robust Weighted Least-Squares Cell-Average Gradient Construction Methods for the Simulation of Scramjet Flows

The ability to solve the equations governing the hypersonic turbulent flow of a real gas on unstructured grids using a spatially-elliptic, 2nd-order accurate, cell-centered, finite-volume method has been recently implemented in the VULCAN-CFD code. The construction of cell-average gradients using a weighted linear least-squares method and the use of these gradients in the construction of the inviscid fluxes is the focus of this paper. A comparison of least-squares stencil construction methodologies is presented and approaches designed to minimize the number of cells used to augment/stabilize the least-squares stencil while preserving accuracy are explored. Due to our interest in hypersonic flow, a robust multidimensional cell-average gradient limiter procedure that is consistent with the stencil used to construct the cellaverage gradients is described. Canonical problems are computed to illustrate the challenges and investigate the accuracy, robustness and convergence behavior of the cell-average gradient methods on unstructured cell-centered finite-volume grids. Finally, thermally perfect, chemically frozen, Mach 7.8 turbulent flow of air through a scramjet engine flowpath is computed and compared with experimental data to demonstrate the robustness, accuracy and convergence behavior of the preferred gradient method for a realistic 3-D geometry on a non-hex-dominant grid

A reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin method based on a Hierarchical WENO reconstruction for compressible flows on tetrahedral grids

A reconstructed discontinuous Galerkin (RDG) method based on a hierarchical WENO reconstruction, termed HWENO (P1P2) in this paper, designed not only to enhance the accuracy of discontinuous Galerkin methods but also to ensure the nonlinear stability of the RDG method, is presented for solving the compressible Euler equations on tetrahedral grids. In this HWENO (P1P2) method, a quadratic polynomial solution (P-2) is first reconstructed using a Hermite WENO reconstruction from the underlying linear polynomial (P-1) discontinuous Galerkin solution to ensure the linear stability of the RDG method and to improve the efficiency of the underlying DG method. By taking advantage of handily available and yet invaluable information, namely the derivatives in the DG formulation, the stencils used in the reconstruction involve only von Neumann neighborhood (adjacent face-neighboring cells) and thus are compact. The first derivatives of the quadratic polynomial solution are then reconstructed using a WENO reconstruction in order to eliminate spurious oscillations in the vicinity of strong discontinuities, thus ensuring the nonlinear stability of the RDG method. The developed HWENO (P1P2) method is used to compute a variety of flow problems on tetrahedral meshes to demonstrate its accuracy, robustness, and non-oscillatory property. The numerical experiments indicate that the HWENO (P1P2) method is able to capture shock waves within one cell without any spurious oscillations, and achieve the designed third-order of accuracy: one order accuracy higher than the underlying DG method

Arbitrary high order central non-oscillatory schemes on mixed-element unstructured meshes

In this paper we develop a family of very high-order central (up to 6th-order) non-oscillatory schemes for mixed-element unstructured meshes. The schemes are inherently compact in the sense that the central stencils employed are as compact as possible, and that the directional stencils are reduced in size therefore simplifying their implementation. Their key ingredient is the non-linear combination in a CWENO style similar to Dumbser et al [1] of a high-order polynomial arising from a central stencil with lower-order polynomials from directional stencils. Therefore, in smooth regions of the computational domain the optimum order of accuracy is recovered, while in regions of sharp-gradients the larger influence of the reconstructions from the directional stencils suppress the oscillations. It is the compactness of the directional stencils that increases the chances of at least one of them lying in a region with smooth data, that greatly enhances their robustness compared to classical WENO schemes. The two variants developed are CWENO and CWENOZ schemes, and it is the first time that such very-high-order schemes are designed for mixed-element unstructured meshes. We explore the influence of the linear weights in each of the schemes, and assess their performance in terms of accuracy, robustness and computational cost through a series of stringent 2D and 3D test problems. The results obtained demonstrate the improved robustness that the schemes offer, a parameter of paramount importance for and their potential use for industrial-scale engineering applications

High-order numerical methods for unsteady flows around complex geometries

This work deals with high-order numerical methods for unsteady flows around complex geometries. In order to cope with the low-order industrial Finite Volume Method, the proposed technique consists in computing on structured and unstructured zones with their associated schemes: this is called a hybrid approach. Structured and unstructured meshes are then coupled by a nonconforming grid interface. The latter is analyzed in details with special focus on unsteady flows. It is shown that a dedicated treatment at the interface avoids the reflection of spurious waves. Moreover, this hybrid approach is validated on several academic test cases for both convective and diffusive fluxes. The extension of this hybrid approach to high-order schemes is limited by the efficiency of unstructured high-order schemes in terms of computational time. This is why a new approach is explored: The Spectral Difference Method. A new framework is especially developed to perform the spectral analysis of Spectral Discontinuous Methods. The Spectral Difference Method seems to be a viable alternative in terms of computational time and number of points per wavelength needed for a given application to capture the flow physics