A vector upstream differencing scheme for problems in fluid flow involving significant source terms in steady‐state linear systems

Abstract

AbstractThis paper considers a finite difference scheme for modelling the convection/diffusion equation in strongly convective flow regimes including circumstances in which significant source terms are present.The main objective is to provide an alternative approach to central and/or upwind difference methods which for various reasons are unsatisfactory. To illustrate the main features of the scheme, an assessment of its accuracy is made by means of a Taylor expansion analysis and a study of its performance in two model problems. As a demonstration of its generality for use in large‐scale practical problems, some numerical results are presented for the prediction of the temperature distribution in a flow through a partially blocked heated rod bundle.The main conclusions are that in almost all practical circumstances results obtained using the scheme are not susceptible to false diffusion or spatial oscillations, which are, respectively, the inherent weaknesses in many upwind and central difference scheme formulations, and in general its use results in improved overall accuracy.