FEM simulation of nonstationary incompressible viscous fluids

• Published in: Engineering computations Vol. 23; no. 8; pp. 922 - 932
• Main Authors: Tralli, Aldo, Gaudenzi, Paolo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.12.2006
• Subjects: Finite difference methods; Finite element analysis; Simulation; Viscosity
• ISSN: 0264-4401
• DOI: 10.1108/02644400610707801

Purpose To present a numerical method for the solution of the unsteady incompressible NavierStokes equations in a generic setting. Designmethodologyapproach The equations are discretized in space by the finite element method, and in time by a semiimplicit finite difference scheme, using a fractionalstep method to enforce incompressibility. Findings The presented results demonstrate the satisfactory accuracy of the method in the simulation of vortical flows in laminar regime and the stability of the solution in presence of a strong boundary layer. Originalityvalue The successful integration of the CFD into the industrial design depends on its capability to produce accurate and reliable simulations of real life applications. These considerations drive the development of the proposed method it can be used in conjunction with finite elements of any order of accuracy, providing accurate and numerically stable results for complex flows. Moreover, the computational requirements are low when compared with other similar strategies.