Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian Finite Volume Research Articles

Shock capturing for a high-order ALE discontinuous Galerkin method with applications to fluid flows in time-dependent domains

In recent decades, the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) approach has been one of the most popular choices to deal with the fluid flows having moving boundaries. The ALE finite volume (FV) method is well-known for its capability of shock capturing. Several ALE discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods are developed to fully explore the advantages of high-order methods, especially in complex flows. The DG scheme is highly efficient and has high resolution in smooth parts of the flow while the FV scheme has advantage on the robustness against shocks. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm to combine both the ALE FV and ALE DG methods into one stable and efficient hybrid approach. The main challenge for a mixed ALE FV method and ALE DG method is to reduce the inconsistency between both discretizations. Of particular concern are the same mesh velocity distribution between DG and FV elements and a continuous mesh velocity at the coupling interfaces. Since the computational efficiency of the proposed algorithm is of major concern, performance aspects will be considered during the construction of the scheme. To investigate the accuracy of the new scheme, several benchmark test cases with prescribed movements are included. Afterwards, the algorithm is applied to more general and complex scenarios to show its ability to cope with complex setups. In our paper, the scheme is implemented into a loosely-coupled fluid–structure interaction (FSI) framework. With a shock-driven cylinder movement in a channel flow and a transonic flow-induced airfoil vibration, we demonstrate our method for FSI applications.

High order direct Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) PNPM schemes with WENO Adaptive-Order reconstruction on unstructured meshes

In this work we present a conservative WENO Adaptive Order (AO) reconstruction operator applied to an explicit one-step Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method. The spatial order of accuracy is improved by reconstructing higher order piecewise polynomials of degree M>N, starting from the underlying polynomial solution of degree N provided by the DG scheme. High order of accuracy in time is achieved by the ADER approach, making use of an element-local space-time Galerkin finite element predictor that arises from a one-step time integration procedure. As a result, space-time polynomials of order M+1 are obtained and used to perform the time evolution of the numerical solution adopting a fully explicit DG scheme.To maintain algorithm simplicity, the mesh motion is restricted to be carried out using straight lines, hence the old mesh configuration at time tn is connected with the new one at time tn+1 via space-time segments, which result in space-time control volumes on which the governing equations have to be integrated in order to obtain the time evolution of the discrete solution. Our algorithm falls into the category of direct Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) schemes, where the governing PDE system is directly discretized relying on a space-time conservation formulation and which already takes into account the new grid geometry directly during the computation of the numerical fluxes. A local rezoning strategy might be used in order to locally optimize the mesh quality and avoiding the generation of invalid elements with negative determinant. The proposed approach reduces to direct ALE finite volume schemes if N=0, while explicit direct ALE DG schemes are recovered in the case of N=M.In order to stabilize the DG solution, an a priori WENO based limiting technique is employed, that makes use of the numerical solution inside the element under consideration and its neighbor cells to find a less oscillatory polynomial approximation. By using a modal basis in a reference element, the evaluation of the oscillation indicators is very easily and efficiently carried out, hence allowing higher order modes to be properly limited, while leaving the zero-th order mode untouched for ensuring conservation.Numerical convergence rates for 2≤N,M≤4 are presented as well as a wide set of benchmark test problems for hydrodynamics on moving and fixed unstructured meshes.

Numerical Simulation of Turbulent Blood Flow in the System of Coronary Arteries with Stenosis

In this paper, we propose a mathematical model of turbulence flow of fluid through a deformable channel to study the pulsatile blood flow in the coronary system with arterial stenosis. Blood is assumed to be an incompressible non- Newtonian fluid and its motion is considered as turbulent and modelled by the mass and momentum conservations with turbulent mixing energy and specific dissipation rate. The mechanical deformation of the arterial wall is modelled by a hyperelastic differential equation. The pulsatile behaviour during each heartbeat is assigned on the entrance and exit boundaries. Numerical simulation based on the Finite Element method for the solution of arterial wall deformation, and the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian Finite Volume method for the turbulence fluid-flow solution is used to investigate the effect of stenosis severity at the proximal part of the left anterior descending artery on the blood velocity, the pressure distribution and the wall shear stresses along the flow direction.

High Order Direct Arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) Finite Volume Schemes for Hyperbolic Systems on Unstructured Meshes

In this work we develop a new class of high order accurate Arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) one-step finite volume schemes for the solution of nonlinear systems of conservative and non-conservative hyperbolic partial differential equations. The numerical algorithm is designed for two and three space dimensions, considering moving unstructured triangular and tetrahedral meshes, respectively. As usual for finite volume schemes, data are represented within each control volume by piecewise constant values that evolve in time, hence implying the use of some strategies to improve the order of accuracy of the algorithm. In our approach high order of accuracy in space is obtained by adopting a WENO reconstruction technique, which produces piecewise polynomials of higher degree starting from the known cell averages. Such spatial high order accurate reconstruction is then employed to achieve high order of accuracy also in time using an element-local space–time finite element predictor, which performs a one-step time discretization. Specifically, we adopt a discontinuous Galerkin predictor which can handle stiff source terms that might produce jumps in the local space–time solution. Since we are dealing with moving meshes the elements deform while the solution is evolving in time, hence making the use of a reference system very convenient. Therefore, within the space–time predictor, the physical element is mapped onto a reference element using a high order isoparametric approach, where the space–time basis and test functions are given by the Lagrange interpolation polynomials passing through a predefined set of space–time nodes. The computational mesh continuously changes its configuration in time, following as closely as possible the flow motion. The entire mesh motion procedure is composed by three main steps, namely the Lagrangian step, the rezoning step and the relaxation step. In order to obtain a continuous mesh configuration at any time level, the mesh motion is evaluated by assigning each node of the computational mesh with a unique velocity vector at each timestep. The nodal solver algorithm preforms the Lagrangian stage, while we rely on a rezoning algorithm to improve the mesh quality when the flow motion becomes very complex, hence producing highly deformed computational elements. A so-called relaxation algorithm is finally employed to partially recover the optimal Lagrangian accuracy where the computational elements are not distorted too much. We underline that our scheme is supposed to be an ALE algorithm, where the local mesh velocity can be chosen independently from the local fluid velocity. Once the vertex velocity and thus the new node location has been determined, the old element configuration at time $$t^n$$ is connected with the new one at time $$t^{n+1}$$ with straight edges to represent the local mesh motion, in order to maintain algorithmic simplicity. The final ALE finite volume scheme is based directly on a space–time conservation formulation of the governing system of hyperbolic balance laws. The nonlinear system is reformulated more compactly using a space–time divergence operator and is then integrated on a moving space–time control volume. We adopt a linear parametrization of the space–time element boundaries and Gaussian quadrature rules of suitable order of accuracy to compute the integrals. We apply the new high order direct ALE finite volume schemes to several hyperbolic systems, namely the multidimensional Euler equations of compressible gas dynamics, the ideal classical magneto-hydrodynamics equations and the non-conservative seven-equation Baer–Nunziato model of compressible multi-phase flows with stiff relaxation source terms. Numerical convergence studies as well as several classical test problems will be shown to assess the accuracy and the robustness of our schemes. Finally we briefly present some variants of the algorithm that aim at improving the overall computational efficiency.

High‐order ADER‐WENO ALE schemes on unstructured triangular meshes—application of several node solvers to hydrodynamics and magnetohydrodynamics

SUMMARYIn this paper, we present a class of high‐order accurate cell‐centered arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) one‐step ADER weighted essentially non‐oscillatory (WENO) finite volume schemes for the solution of nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws on two‐dimensional unstructured triangular meshes. High order of accuracy in space is achieved by a WENO reconstruction algorithm, while a local space–time Galerkin predictor allows the schemes to be high order accurate also in time by using an element‐local weak formulation of the governing PDE on moving meshes. The mesh motion can be computed by choosing among three different node solvers, which are for the first time compared with each other in this article: the node velocity may be obtained either (i) as an arithmetic average among the states surrounding the node, as suggested by Cheng and Shu, or (ii) as a solution of multiple one‐dimensional half‐Riemann problems around a vertex, as suggested by Maire, or (iii) by solving approximately a multidimensional Riemann problem around each vertex of the mesh using the genuinely multidimensional Harten–Lax–van Leer Riemann solver recently proposed by Balsara et al. Once the vertex velocity and thus the new node location have been determined by the node solver, the local mesh motion is then constructed by straight edges connecting the vertex positions at the old time level tn with the new ones at the next time level tn + 1. If necessary, a rezoning step can be introduced here to overcome mesh tangling or highly deformed elements. The final ALE finite volume scheme is based directly on a space–time conservation formulation of the governing PDE system, which therefore makes an additional remapping stage unnecessary, as the ALE fluxes already properly take into account the rezoned geometry. In this sense, our scheme falls into the category of direct ALE methods. Furthermore, the geometric conservation law is satisfied by the scheme by construction.We apply the high‐order algorithm presented in this paper to the Euler equations of compressible gas dynamics as well as to the ideal classical and relativistic magnetohydrodynamic equations. We show numerical convergence results up to fifth order of accuracy in space and time together with some classical numerical test problems for each hyperbolic system under consideration. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian ADER–WENO finite volume schemes with time-accurate local time stepping for hyperbolic conservation laws

In this article a new high order accurate cell-centered Arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) Godunov-type finite volume method with time-accurate local time stepping (LTS) is presented. The method is by construction locally and globally conservative. The scheme is based on a one-step predictor–corrector methodology in space–time and uses three main building blocks: First, a high order piecewise polynomial WENO reconstruction, to obtain a high order data representation in space from the known cell averages of the underlying finite volume scheme. Second, a high order space–time Galerkin predictor step based on a weak formulation of the governing PDE on moving control volumes. Third, a high order one-step finite volume scheme, based directly on the integral formulation of the conservation law in space–time. The algorithm being entirely based on space–time control volumes naturally allows for hanging nodes also in time, hence in this framework the implementation of a consistent and conservative time-accurate LTS becomes very natural and simple. The method is validated on some classical shock tube problems for the Euler equations of compressible gas dynamics and the magnetohydrodynamics equations (MHD). The performance of the new scheme is compared with a classical high order ALE finite volume scheme based on global time stepping. To the knowledge of the author, this is the first high order accurate Lagrangian finite volume method ever presented together with a conservative and time-accurate local time stepping feature.

ALE finite volume method for free-surface Bingham plastic fluids with general curvilinear coordinates

A numerical prediction method has been proposed to predict Bingham plastic fluids with free-surface in a two-dimensional container. Since the linear relationships between stress tensors and strain rate tensors are not assumed for non-Newtonian fluids, the liquid motions are described with Cauchy momentum equations rather than Navier-Stokes equations. The profile of a liquid surface is represented with the two-dimensional curvilinear coordinates which are represented in each computational step on the basis of the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method. Since the volumes of the fluid cells are transiently changed in the physical space, the geometric conservation law is applied to the finite volume discretizations. As a result, it has been shown that the present method enables us to predict reasonably the Bingham plastic fluids with free-surface in a container.