Fluid Simulation by the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Method: A Survey

Abstract

This paper presents a survey of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) and its use in computational fluid dynamics. As a truly mesh-free particle method based upon the Lagrangian formulation, SPH has been applied to a variety of different areas in science, computer graphics and engineering. It has been established as a popular technique for fluid based simulations, and has been extended to successfully simulate various phenomena such as multi-phase flows, rigid and elastic solids, and fluid features such as air bubbles and foam. Various aspects of the method will be discussed: Similarities, advantages and disadvantages in comparison to Eulerian methods; Fundamentals of the SPH method; The use of SPH in fluid simulation; The current trends in SPH. The paper ends with some concluding remarks about the use of SPH in fluid simulations, including some of the more apparent problems, and a discussion on prospects for future work.