Unified gas kinetic scheme combined with Cartesian grid method for intermediate Mach numbers

Abstract

SummaryWe develop a method to seamlessly simulate flows over a wide range of Knudsen numbers past arbitrarily shaped immersed boundaries. To achieve seamless computation, ie, not use any zone division to distinguish between continuum and non‐continuum regions, we use the unified gas kinetic scheme (UGKS), which is based on the Bhatnagar‐Groos‐Krook (BGK) approximation of the Boltzmann equation. We combine UGKS with an appropriately designed Cartesian grid method (CGM) to allow us to compute flows past arbitrary boundaries. The CGM we use here satisfies boundary conditions at the wall by using a constrained least square interpolation procedure. However, it differs from the usual, continuum CGMs in 2 ways. Firstly, to allow us capture non‐continuum effects at the boundaries, the CGM used herein interpolates the microscopic velocity distribution function in addition to the macroscopic variables. Secondly, even for the macroscopic variables, we use a gas kinetic method–based density interpolation procedure at the boundaries that allows the CGM to interface well with the UGKS method. We demonstrate the robustness and efficacy of the method by testing it on stationary immersed boundaries at various Knudsen numbers ranging from continuum to transition regimes.