Finite difference method and algebraic polynomial interpolation for numerically solving Poisson's equation over arbitrary domains

Abstract

The finite difference method (FDM) based on Cartesian coordinate systems can be applied to numerical analyses over any complex domain. A complex domain is usually taken to mean that the geometry of an immersed body in a fluid is complex; here, it means simply an analytical domain of arbitrary configuration. In such an approach, we do not need to treat the outer and inner boundaries differently in numerical calculations; both are treated in the same way. Using a method that adopts algebraic polynomial interpolations in the calculation around near-wall elements, all the calculations over irregular domains reduce to those over regular domains. Discretization of the space differential in the FDM is usually derived using the Taylor series expansion; however, if we use the polynomial interpolation systematically, exceptional advantages are gained in deriving high-order differences. In using the polynomial interpolations, we can numerically solve the Poisson equation freely over any complex domain. Only a particular type of partial differential equation, Poisson's equations, is treated; however, the arguments put forward have wider generality in numerical calculations using the FDM.