S1 Fluid-Mechanics pp.421-423

C H A P T E R
10
Computational Fluid Dynamics
Howard H. Hu
O U T L I N E
10.1. Introduction 421 10.6. Concluding Remarks 470

10.2. Finite-Difference Method 423 Exercises 470
10.3. Finite-Element Method 429 Literature Cited 471
10.4. Incompressible Viscous Supplemental Reading 472
Fluid Flow 436
10.5. Three Examples 449
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
• To introduce the techniques for computational • To specify finite-difference and finite-element
solutions of the fluid dynamic equations of equations for incompressible viscous flow
motion • To illustrate use of these equations via
• To describe the finite-difference and example calculations
finite-element formulations
10.1. INTRODUCTION
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is a science that, with the help of digital computers,
produces quantitative predictions of fluid-flow phenomena based on the conservation laws
(conservation of mass, momentum, and energy) governing fluid motion. These predictions
Fluid Mechanics, Fifth Edition DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-382100-3.10010-1 421 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
422 10. COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS
normally occur under those conditions defined in terms of flow geometry, the physical prop-
erties of a fluid, and the boundary and initial conditions of a flow field. Such predictions
generally concern sets of values of the flow variables, for example, velocity, pressure, or
temperature at selected locations in the domain and for selected times. The predictions
may also involve evaluations of overall flow behavior, such as the flow rate or the hydrody-
namic force acting on an object in the flow.
During the past several decades different types of numerical methods have been devel-
oped to simulate fluid flows involving a wide range of applications. These methods include
finite-difference, finite-element, finite-volume, and spectral methods. Some of them are dis-
cussed in this chapter.
As time has passed, CFD has increased in importance and in accuracy; however, its predic-
tions are never completely exact. Because many potential sources of error may be involved,
one has to be very careful when interpreting the results produced by CFD techniques. The
most common sources of error are:
• Discretization error. This error is intrinsic to all numerical methods, and is incurred
whenever a continuous system is approximated by a discrete one. For example, a finite
number of locations in space (grid points) or instants of time may be used to resolve
the flow field. Different numerical schemes may have different orders of magnitude of
the discretization error. Even with the same method, the discretization error will be
different depending upon the distribution of grid points used in a simulation. In most
applications, one needs to properly select a numerical method and choose a grid to control
discretization error.
• Input data error. This error arises from the fact that both the flow geometry and fluid
properties may be known to only a certain level of precision, or possibly in only an
approximate way.
• Initial and boundary condition error. It is common that the initial and boundary conditions of
a flow field may represent the real situation with imperfect precision. For example, flow
information is needed at locations where fluid enters and leaves the computational
domain. Here, flow properties may not be known exactly and are thus approximated to
complete a numerical calculation.
• Modeling error. More complicated flows may involve physical phenomena that are
not perfectly described by current scientific theories. Models used to solve these
problems certainly contain errors, for example, turbulence modeling, atmospheric
modeling, polymeric-fluid constitutive modeling, multiphase flow modeling, and
so on.
As a research and design tool, CFD normally complements experimental and theoretical
fluid dynamics. However, CFD has a number of distinct advantages:
• It can be produced inexpensively and quickly, without an extraordinary amount of

training, although interpreting results often requires experience. Yet, while the price of
many commodities increases, computing costs are falling. According to Moore’s law (Intel
Corporation, 2003) based on the observation of the data for the last 40 years, computational
power will double every two years into the foreseeable future.
10.2. FINITE-DIFFERENCE METHOD 423
• It generates complete information. Full-field CFD produces detailed and comprehensive
information of all relevant variables throughout the domain of interest. This information
can also be easily accessed.
• It allows easy parameter changes. CFD permits input parameters to be varied easily over
wide ranges, thereby facilitating design optimization. Such variations are often either
impossible or prohibitively expensive in experimental studies.
• It has the ability to simulate realistic conditions. CFD can simulate flows directly under
practical conditions, unlike experiments, where a small- or a large-scale model may be
needed, or analytical theories that may only be valid for limiting cases where one
parameter or another is very large or small.
• It has the ability to simulate ideal conditions. CFD provides the convenience of switching
off certain terms in the governing equations, which allows one to focus attention on a few
essential parameters and eliminate all irrelevant features. Such parametric control is
typically impossible in experiments.
• It permits investigation of unnatural or unwanted situations. CFD allows events to be
studied so that every attempt is made to prevent, for example, conflagrations, explosions,
or nuclear power plant failures.
The remainder of the chapter provides a self-contained survey of CFD techniques, so that
the interested reader, who might further investigate CFD, will be aware of language and tech-
niques when pursuing more detailed sources and current literature.
10.2. FINITE-DIFFERENCE METHOD

The key to various numerical methods is to convert the partial different equations that
govern a physical phenomenon into a system of algebraic equations. Different techniques
are available for this conversion. The finite-difference method is one of the most commonly
used.
Approximation to Derivatives
Consider the one-dimensional transport equation,
vT vT v2 T
þu ¼ D 2 for 0 x L: (10.1)
vt vx vx
This is the classic convection-diffusion problem for the scalar T(x, t), where u is a convective
velocity and D is a diffusion coefficient. For simplicity, assume that u and D are constants.
This equation is written in dimensional form. The boundary conditions for this problem are
vT
T ð0, tÞ ¼ g and ðL, tÞ ¼ q, (10.2)
vx
where g and q are two constants. The initial condition is
T ðx, 0Þ ¼ T0 ðxÞ for 0 x L, (10.3)

S1 Fluid-Mechanics pp.421-423

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

S1 Fluid-Mechanics pp.421-423

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

S1 Fluid-Mechanics pp.421-423

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

C H A P T E R

10.1. Introduction 421 10.6. Concluding Remarks 470

• It can be produced inexpensively and quickly, without an extraordinary amount of

10.2. FINITE-DIFFERENCE METHOD

T ðx, 0Þ ¼ T0 ðxÞ for 0 x L, (10.3)

You might also like

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.