1

Unified Formulation for Compressible and

Incompressible Unsteady Flow Using The Finite
Element Method

THESIS

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

of

BITS C422T Thesis

By

Nithin S Poduval






Department of Mechanical Engineering

BITS,PILANI-K.K. BIRLA GOA CAMPUS

Zuarinagar-403 726,

Goa, India

December , 2012




2

CERTIFICATE


This is to certify that the Thesis entitled Unified Formulation for Compressible and
Incompressible Unsteady Flow Using the Finite Element Method is submitted by
Nithin S Poduval ID No. 2009A4TS217G in partial fulfillments of the requirements of
BITS C421T Thesis and embodies the work done by him under my supervision.















Signature of the Guide






Place:
Date:

3


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


This dissertation would not be possible without the constant support, guidance
and motivation from my thesis supervisor, Dr. Shibu Clement. I am indebted to him for
his concern and dedication shown in my career throughout the three years I have known
him.It has been a privilege to be working under him. I also thank him for taking the
efforts to provide me an opportunity to work at the Fluid Mechanics and Thermal
Department, VSSC.
I wish to thank Dr. Jayachandran, Group Director, APRG,VSSC, ISRO for
providing the guiding light throughout the duration of the work. He constantly supplied
with me valuable inputs and guidance whenever required. I also thank him for playing his
part in providing me the opportunity to work at the FMTD computational lab.
I express my gratitude to Dr. P. Veeraraghavan, Director, VSSC for accepting my
humble request, thus offering me an opportunity to work at this prestigious organization.
I wish to show my appreciation towards Mr. M. Ajith , Engineer, FMTD for being
my mentor throughout the duration of the thesis. Mr. Ajith is responsible for helping me
acquire the knowledge required to work on this thesis. He has also tirelessly cleared the
many doubts that I raised while I was at the lab.
I also thank all the other members of the FMTD, who have helped me in one way
or the other during my stay.
Lastly, I am thankful to my college for providing a facility for students to do
research for six months in their final year of engineering.










4


THESIS ABSTRACT



This thesis work proposes a unified formulation to handle both incompressible and
compressible flows in two dimensions. A new method, the Eulerian velocity correction
method also known as the fractional step method is used to develop the incompressible ,
compressibe and then the unified formulation. This method is seen to have certain
advantages over other methods.The Galerkin weighted method of weighted residuals is
used to discretize the domain.The codes are validated using the test cases-flow over two-
dimensional backward facing step, liquid flow over NACA-0015 hydrofoil and flow over
a circular cylinder.Lastly the code is applied to a practical problem-the orifice meter used
to measure flow rate. An improvement in the design is suggested.



























5



COVER PAGE

1
CERTIFICATE

2
ABSTRACT

3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Flow Physics 7
1.2 Overview 8
1.3 Solution Approaches 8
1.3.1 Artificial Compressibility Method 9
1.3.2. Pressure Projection method 10


Chapter 2

FINITE ELEMENT DISCRETIZATION 12
2.1 Finite element method 12
2.2 Taylor - Galerkin Algorithm 14
2.3 Numerical modeling 15
2.3.1 Convection diffusion equation 15
2.3.1.1.Fluid Energy Equation 15
2.3.1.2. Navier-Stokes equation 15
2.3.2. Solution procedure for a general
transport equation
17
2.3.3 Time Marching Method 21
2.3.4. Stability criterion 21

Chapter 3

INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW SOLVER 23
3.1 Governing Equations 23
3.2 Velocity correction method 23


Chapter 4

VALIDATION OF THE INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW SOLVER

4.1. Flow over a backward facing step 26
6



Chapter 5

COMPRESSIBLE FLOW SOLVER

32
5.1. Governing Equations 32
5.2. Methodology 33


Chapter 6

UNIFIED FORMULATION

6.1. Methodology 37


Chapter 7

VALIDATION OF UNIFIED FORMULATION
42
7.1. Flow over NACA-0015 Hydrofoil 40 42
7.2. Flow over a Circular Cylinder 46
7.3. Flow over a Backward facing step 53


Chapter 8

ORIFICE METER 55

Chapter 9


CONCLUSIONS 58
NOMENCLATURE 59



APPENDICES
Appendix A: Conjugate Gradient Method 60
Appendix B: Evaluation of Matrices 61
Appendix C:
The two-dimensional heat conduction equation
and its numerical modeling
65

References

76







7



1.INTRODUCTION

1.1. Flow Physics
Even though nearly all fluids are compressible in an absolute sense, incompressible flow
approximation can be made when the flow speed is insignificant everywhere in the flow
field compared to the speed of sound of the medium. Following this definition of
incompressibility, a large number of fluid dynamics problems can be classified as
incompressible and, in most cases, viscous. To name a few types of incompressible
flows, there are problems related to low speed aerodynamics, hydrodynamics such as the
flow around submerged vehicles, flow through pumps, mixing of the flow in chemical
reactors, coolant flow in nuclear reactors, and blood flow in the human body. When the
flow is assumed to be incompressible, mathematically the flow field becomes elliptic,
which introduces major challenges in computations.
Additional difficulties arise when the flow is viscous. Most notable, complications
come from predicting flow physics involving turbulence and transition. In flow problems
containing incompressible flow regions, physics involving multi-phase, multi-material,
non-Newtonian and stress-supporting media can add complexities to the incompressible
flow computation in a broad sense. Another challenge may come from resolving multi-
scale dynamics such as those encountered in biomedical applications.
There are several approximations in flow analysis. At a formulation level, the
incompressible Navier Stokes equations care the most commonly accepted governing
equations. The incompressibility assumption in the governing equations is an
approximation for the medium. Other than a small number of laminar flow problems,
most problems of fundamental and engineering interest involves transition and
turbulence. This introduces the question of how to approximate flow physics to resolve
the flow features involved at a reasonable level of accuracy. In most cases computational
approach offers a viable option for flow analysis. The procedure involving computational
modeling, numerical boundary conditions, and algorithms adds another source of
approximation requiring assessment of computational accuracy. Therefore, it is important
8

to define the relative contributions from mathematical formulations, physical modeling,
and computational procedures to the accuracy of the analysis results.
1.2. Overview

The Navier-Stokes equations are generally accepted as the equations governing the flow
of Newtonian fluid in a continuum regime. Mathematically, the compressible flow
equations become singular at the limit where the speed of sound of the medium becomes
infinity or the flow speed becomes insignificant relative to the speed of sound. This
singular nature of the governing equations poses the primary difficulty in solving the
incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Physically the challenge is maintaining
incompressibility during iterative processes for obtaining steady-state solutions or at each
time level for computing time-accurate solutions. Several methods have been developed
in the past where the main differences among various approaches come from the way in
which the incompressibility condition is satisfied computationally.
A traditional approach is to start the computational process directly from an
incompressible Navier-Stokes formulation. The primary concern is then how to satisfy
the continuity equation. One can use the primitive variable, namely, pressure and
velocities or derived quantities like stream function-vorticity and vorticity-velocity. For
general three-dimensional problems, primitive variable formulation poses the least
complications in imposing physical boundary conditions. The primitive variable
formulation has certain advantages over Vorticity - Stream function formulation [Ref.
18]. In a cavity or channel flow, vorticity - stream function method requires the
specification of vorticity on all boundaries on the other hand the primitive
variable formulation requires .special treatment for the calculation of the
pressure field. Finite element method in conjunction with the primitive variable
formulation have proved efficient in dealing with cavity flow problems.

1.3. Solution Approaches
Depending on the flow features to qualify, the solution method of choice can vary. For
flows involving thin viscous layers, it is advantageous to have large time steps, possibly
9

using an implicit method. For time accurate solutions, the physical time step required to
resolve unsteady motion could be very small, in which case, explicit schemes can be
used effectively.
Grid topology and the "goodness" of grid can affect the solution accuracy in significant
ways-not only from a numerical dissipation point of view but also in designing boundary
conditions. Requirements on grid density and distribution are also realistic factors
affecting the order of differencing schemes. All these factors should be considered in
developing a flow solver and implementation guidelines. Solution procedures discussed
below represent different approaches but are not unique combinations of these methods.

1.3.1 Artificial Compressibility Method

Large advances in the state of the art in CFD have been made in conjunction with the
field of aerodynamics. Therefore, it is of significant interest to able to use some of the
compressible flow algorithms. To do this, the artificial compressibility approach of
Chorin (1967) who first introduced the term, can be used.
In this formulation, the continuity equation is modified by adding a time derivative of the
pressure term, resulting in:
1
0
i
i
u p
t x |
c c
+ =
c c
(1.1)
where is an artificial compressibility or pseudo compressibility parameter.
Together with the unsteady momentum equations, Equation (1.1) forms a hyperbolic-
parabolic type of time-dependent system of equations. Thus, implicit schemes developed
for compressible flows can be implemented. Note that 't' no longer represents a true
physical time in this formulation.
Physically this means that waves of finite speed are introduced into the incompressible
flow field as a medium to distribute the pressure. For a truly incompressible flow, the
wave speed is infinite, whereas the speed of propagation of the pseudo waves introduced
by this formulation depends on the magnitude of the artificial compressibility parameter.
In a true incompressible flow, the pressure field is affected instantaneously by a
10

disturbance in the flow, but with artificial compressibility, there will be a time lag
between the flow disturbances and its effect on the pressure field. Ideally, the chosen
value of the artificial compressibility can be as high as the particular choice of algorithm
allows so that incompressibility is recovered quickly. This must be done without
lessening the accuracy and the stability property of the numerical method implemented.
On the other hand, if the artificial compressibility is chosen such that theses
waves travel too slowly, then the variation of the pressure field accompanying these
waves is very slow. This will interfere with the proper development of the viscous
effects, such as the boundary layer for the wall-bounded flows. In wall-bounded viscous
flows, the behaviour of the boundary layer is very sensitive to the stream wise pressure
gradient, especially when the boundary layer is separated. If the separation is present, a
pressure wave travelling with finite speed will cause a change in the local pressure
gradient, which will affect the location of the flow separation. This change in separated
flow will feed back to the pressure field, possible preventing convergence to a steady
state. Especially for the internal flow, the viscous effect is important for the entire flow
field, and the interaction between the pseudo pressure-waves and the viscous flow field
becomes very important.

1.3.2. Pressure Projection method

The basic idea of this method is to solve the pressure field such that a divergence-free
velocity field is maintained at every time step. This approach was first started with the
Marker-and-cell(MAC) method, first published by Harlow and Welch from Los Alamos
National Laboratory in 1965. In the procedure, pressure is used as a mapping parameter
to satisfy the continuity equation. The usual computational procedure involves choosing
the pressure field at the current time step such that the continuity equation is satisfied at
the next time step. The time step can be advanced in multiple steps (fractional step
method), which is computationally convenient. However the governing equations are not
coupled as in the artificial compressibility approach.

11

In a fractional-step procedure, the time-dependant governing equations can be solved in
several steps, which can be convenient for time-dependent computations of the
incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. In this procedure, the time evolution of the flow
field can be approximated through several steps. Operator splitting can be accomplished
in several ways by treating the momentum equations as a combination of convection,
pressure, and viscous terms. The common application of this method to incompressible
Navier-Stokes equations is done in three steps.
The first step is to solve for an auxiliary velocity field using the momentum
equation, in which the pressure-gradient term can be computed from the pressure in the
previous time step. In the second time step, the pressure is computed, which can map the
auxiliary velocity onto a divergence-free velocity field. Finally the corrected velocity
field is obtained by including the pressure-gradient term.
The major drawback of this method is the large amount of computing time required for
solving the Poisson equation for pressure. When the physical problem requires a very
small time step, the penalty paid for an iterative solution procedure for the pressure may
be tolerable.

In the current thesis work, the fractional step method is used to solve the Navier Stokes
equations. After successful validation of the incompressible flow code, the fractional step
procedure is extended to develop a compressible flow code. Finally a unified formulation
to handle both liquids and gases as media is developed.











12



2. FINITE ELEMENT DISCRETIZATION


2.1. Finite element method
An analytical solution or exact solution is a mathematical expression that gives
the value of the desired unknown quantity at any location in the domain. Analytical
solutions are found to be practically impossible for complex problems involving
complicated geometric, material properties, boundary conditions, etc. In such cases, a
viable alternative is to resort the numerical methods, which give an approximate but
acceptable solution with the advent of high speed digital computers, the focus of attention
has largely shifted to numerical methods for approximate solutions of complex problems.
Finite element, Finite volume and Finite difference are the most common among
the numerical schemes used for the solution of heat transfer problems. An integral
formulation is used in the Finite elements and Finite volume methods and this allow the
natural applications of the boundary conditions. Finite element technique has certain
distinct advantages over other method. It can easily handle multi-materials configurations
and unstructured grids .complicated geometries can be easily modeled and interface need
not be considered rigorously in Finite element formulation. Higher order variations
within the element are another noticeable advantage.
The finite elements procedure was first proposed by Zienkiewicz and Cheung for
field problems numerous reports on the application of the Finite element method, to
steady ,unsteady, linear and non linear heat conduction problems involving multi
dimensional geometries and complex boundary conditions are available. Weighted
residual method and Galerkin method are incorporated to solve the complex problems.
Pepper and Henrich (ref [13])describe in detail the application of Finite element method
to one, two and three dimensional heat transfer problems. Finite element methods are
used extensively for thermal and structural analysis and a number of general purpose
packages are available for grid generation and analysis of realistic three dimensional
elements that can be used for represent any structure.
13

Lary J. Segerlind(ref.[14]) makes an extensive coverage on the applications of
finite element method for the multidimensional problems. The derivation of elemental
matrices for a range of lower and higher order elements is also described. Huebner and
Thornton gives detailed formulation and solutions for various problems of conduction,
convection and radiation using finite element method.Backett and Chu discusses the
application of finite element method to the solution of heat conduction problem involving
non-linear radiation-boundary conditions. The application of finite element space
discretization of unsteady heat conduction equations results in a system of ordinary
differential equation, which are to be integrated in time to obtain the unsteady
temperature response. Various implicit and explicit schemes have been suggested for this
purpose. A comparison of different time marching schemes for transient heat conduction
is presented by Wood and Lewis.
A good discussion on the stability and oscillation characteristics of finite element
methods are given by Mayer. Purely implicit schemes are unconditionally stable and the
calculated values do not oscillate about the correct values. But the disadvantage is that, a
large system of simultaneous equations is to be solved and which require large computer
memory. It may be also noticed that for non-linear problems, the implicit scheme may
numerically oscillates for larger values of time. Explicit schemes are conditionally stable
and are known to be unstable when the time step exceeds a certain value and they do no
require matrix inversions.
The standard Galerkin procedures were found to be oscillating for Pe higher
than 2 and most of the practical problems are in this unstable region. Upwind schemes
have been proposed as a remedy and its extension to the multidimensional problems
using finite element method are not straight forward. In 1984 Donea proposed a Taylor
Galerkin algorithm for connective and transport problems. In 1992 Comini et al
published the Taylor-Galerkin algorithm for convection type problems.Biji Philip
Mathew solved 3-D convection-diffusion equation explicitly by lumping the capacitance
matrix using Taylor-Galerkin algorithm and proved the applicability of Taylor-Galerkin
algorithm for practical 2-D and 3-D problems.


14



2.2. Taylor - Galerkin Algorithm

Convection-type problems, frequently encountered in engineering practice,
include the transport of energy and of chemical species. The finite element method,
based on Galerkin formulations, has become a well established procedure for the
solution of these problems, where both advection and diffusion mechanisms must
be accounted for in the mathematical model. On the other hand, it is a well - known
fact that the use of sample.Bubnov - Galerkin schemes for advection-dominated
problems lead to spurious oscillations for Peclet number 'Pe' greater than 2.
The use of "unwinding" or Petrov-Galerkin types of discretization as a treatment
for these node-to-node oscillations. However, the Petrov- Galerkin methods have
been derived for the steady-state form of the transport equation and their extension
to transient solutions is not always possible.
Recently, alternative discretization procedures for the transient convection
equation based on the Taylor-Galerkin method have gained wide acceptance. This
methodology originally developed by Lax and Wendroff [1960] (ref[19]) was
introduced by Donea and coworkers in 1984. In 1992 Comini and coworkers
published Taylor - Galerkin algorithms for Nonlinear Advection - Diffusion problems. In
the frame work of Taylor - Galerkin methods, the solution is achieved by first
approximating the time derivative by means of a forward, time Taylor series expansion,
and by discretizing afterwards the space derivative by means of a Galerkin procedure.
In this context the partial time discretization precedes the space discretization and
allows the direct evaluation of the time derivatives from the original transport
equation. This preliminary approximation naturally provides an unwinding term that is
dependent on the time increment used, while the standard Galerkin process is applied
only afterwards to the time-discretized equation to complete the finite element
formulation.



15




2.3. Numerical modeling


2.3.1 Convection diffusion equation
The energy equation for a moving fluid contains the
combined effect of heat transport due to the fluid motion and heat transfer due to
conduction (diffusion). The governing equation known as the convection-diffusion
equation in extensive research work, this peculiar nomenclature is not only because of its
importance in applications but also due to the presence of the convective transport term
which can introduce numerical oscillations both for steady and transient state solutions.
Such numerical oscillations are not generally observed in the solution of diffusion
equation.

2.3.1.1.Fluid Energy Equation
The fluid energy equation for heat transfer in a two dimensional incompressible
flow in is given by







This governing equation for heat transfer analysis is non-linear, interlined second
order, elliptical partial differential equations, which cannot be solved by analytical
method. So an approximate numerical technique is essential

2.3.1.2. Navier-Stokes equation

For the solution of N-S equations and energy equation, finite element method on
Galerkin formulation has gained wide acceptance, but the application of simple Galerkin
finite element method for the above equations leads to numerical oscillations when the
2 2
2 2
...........(2.1)
T T T T T
u v
t x y x y
o
( c c c c c
+ + = +
(
c c c c c

16

peclet number is more than two. Peclet number is the ratio of the convective heat transfer
to the conduction heat transfer, for the most practical problems the peclet number is order
of magnitude above 2 .Discretization procedure for the transient convective equation
based on Taylor-Galerkin methods do not suffer from these oscillations, and hence
gained wide acceptance. In this investigation the numerical model employs forward time
Taylor series expansion for time discretization and standard Galerkin procedure for space
discretization.

The three dimensional unsteady momentum transport equations in X- direction

X- momentum equation








Y-momentum equation




Two dimensional unsteady energy transport equation [convection -diffusion] is



The continuity equation is


) 2 . 2 ....(
1
2
2
2
2
(

c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
y
u
x
u
x
p
y
u
v
x
u
u
t
u
u

) 3 . 2 ....(
1
2
2
2
2
(

c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
=
c
c
+
c
c
+
c
c
y
v
x
v
y
p
y
v
v
x
v
u
t
v
u

) 5 . 2 ....( 0 =
c
c
+
c
c
y
v
x
u
2 2
2 2
.....(2.4)
T T T T T
u v
t x y x y
o
( c c c c c
+ + = +
(
c c c c c

17



The solutions of the above equations can be found out numerically when then the
initial conditions and boundary conditions are specified

2.3.2. Solution procedure for a general transport equation
The general form of the transport equation is,




The time derivative is approximated by means of a forward time Taylor series expansion
as follows,








Substituting
t c
c|
and
2
2
t c
c |
using equation (2.6)






2 2
2 2
.....(2.6) u v S
t x y x y

|
( c c c c c
+ + = + +
(
c c c c c

2
2 2
1
2 t
t
t
t
n n
c
c A
+
c
c
A + =
+
| |
| |
2
2 1
2 t
t
t t
n n
c
c A
+
c
c
=
A

+
| | | |
) 7 . 2 ....(
2

2
2
2
2 1
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
c
c A

+
(

c
c
+
c
c
+
(

c
c
+
c
c
=
A

+
y
v
x
u
t
t
S
y x y
v
x
u
t
n n
| |
| |

| | | |
18

The last term is solved as follows




Substituting for
t c
c|
from Eqn 2.6





Substituting Eqn. 2.7.a into 2.6 the following equation results





Spatial discretization
The weighted residual form of eqn 3.5 is

( , ) x y
W
} (LHS of eqn 3.11) d =0
Note that the weighting functions W(x,y) are chosen to be functions of x and y only.
Now approximated field using the shape functions
1
( , ) ( , )
M
j j
j
x y N x y | |
=
=

2
t
u v
x t y t
( A c c c c | | | |
+ =
| | (
c c c c
\ . \ .

) 7 . 2 ....(
2
a
y
v
x
u v
y y
v
x
u u
x
t
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
c
c
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
c
c A

| | | |
S
y x y
v
x
u v
y y
v
x
u u
x
t
y
v
x
u
t
TERM
TERM
TERM TERM
n n
+
(

c
c
+
c
c
=
(
(

|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
c
c
+
|
|
.
|

\
|
|
|
.
|

\
|
c
c
+
c
c
c
c A

c
c
+
c
c
+
A

+



4
2
2
2
2
3
2 1
1
2

| |

| | | |
| | | |
19

Where M is the number of nodes in the domain , Nj is the shape function of
jth
node and
j
| is intensive property at j
th
node.

+1

2
+

2
= 0

For convenience integration is done by term by term.At the end it will be assembled
together.

Term 1

+1

+1

+1

+1

Where

- mass matrix
Term 2

20

Where

- advection matrix


Term 3

ij i
U F =

where

21

Term 4

2
+

2

=

Thus, the formulation becomes fully in explicit form.
1
[ ] [ ] 0...........(2.8)
2
n n
n n n
t
M A U K f
t
| |
| | |
+
A
(
+ + + =
(
A




2.3.3 Time Marching Method
Explicit and implicit time stepping are commonly used for the resulting system of
ordinary differential equations. Implicit schemes are unconditionally stable but involve
inversion of large banded unsymmetrical matrices. As the number of variables increases,
matrix inversion becomes computationally costlier. The explicit schemes are
conditionally stable but do not involve matrix inversion. Explicit methods are of interest
in modern CFD application mainly for time dependent flows.

2.3.4. Stability criterion
For explicit solution, the value of cannot be any arbitrary value, indeed, it must
be less than or equal to some maximum value. This max value is usually estimated by.
22

< [

] Or

1
*min ,
| | | |
cfl
x y
N t
u v

( A A
= A
(



This is the famous courant Fredrich-Lewy (1967) or CFL criterion, which means
that, t must be less than the time required for a wave to propagate between to adjacent
grid points .N
CFL
is known as the CFL number.























23

CHAPTER 3

INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW SOLVER


3.1.Governing Equations

The governing equations for incompressible flow are
X-momentum equation
2 2
2 2
1
...........(3.1)
u u u P u u
u v
t x y x x y
u

( c c c c c c
+ + = + +
(
c c c c c c



Y-momentum equation

2 2
2 2
1
...........(3.2)
v v v P v v
u v
t x y y x y
u

( c c c c c c
+ + = + +
(
c c c c c c



The continuity equation is

0.............(3.3)
u v
x y
c c
+ =
c c



3.2.Velocity correction method
The solution to the incompressible Navier-stokes equations is difficult due to the absence
of an explicit pressure term in the continuity equation. The 2-D NS equation are as
follows.
2 2
2 2
1
...........(3.4)
u u u P u u
u v
t x y x x y
u

( ( c c c c c c
= + + +
( (
c c c c c c


2 2
2 2
1
...........(3.5)
v v v P v v
u v
t x y y x y
u

( ( c c c c c c
= + + +
( (
c c c c c c


0...........(3.6)
u v
x y
c c
+ =
c c


In the velocity correction method velocity and pressure at a time t
n+1
are obtained in three
steps, steps starting from the values at a time t
n
as follow
24



1) Obtain an intermediate fictitious velocity field after dropping the pressure gradient
term from the momentum equations.
( )
*
...........(3.6)
n
n u u
RHSu
t

=
A

( )
*
...........(3.7)
n
n v v
RHSv
t

=
A


Where,
RHSu=RHS of x-momentum equation 3.4 excluding pressure term
RHSv=RHS of y-momentum equation 3.5 excluding pressure term


3) The final velocities are obtained from the previous steps. Without dropping the
pressure field, find the velocity field.

( )
1
1
...........(3.8)
n n
n u u P
RHSu
t x
+
c
=
A c

( )
1
1
...........(3.9)
n n
n v v P
RHSv
t y
+
c
=
A c


Subtracting 3.7 from 3.9 and 3.8 from 3.10
We get the final velocity field.

1 *
1
..........(3.10)
n
u u P
t x
+
c
=
A c

1 *
1
............(3.11)
n
v v P
t y
+
c
=
A c

25


2) Compute the pressure
The pressure Poisson equation is obtained by forcing the continuity requirement on
the final velocity field
Differentiating equation 3.10 with respect to x
Differentiating equation 3.11 with respect to y
And adding we get

1 *
2 2
2 2
n
u v u v t P P
x y x y x y
+
( ( ( c c c c A c c
+ + = +
( ( (
c c c c c c



Continuity equation
*
2 2
2 2
...........(3.12)
u v t P P
x y x y
( ( c c A c c
+ = +
( (
c c c c


Equation 3.12 is termed the pressure poisson equation. This equation is
solved using the iterative conjugate gradient method with tolerance
10E-20











26

CHAPTER 4

VALIDATION OF THE INCOMPRESSIBLE FLOW SOLVER

4.1. Flow over a backward facing step

The study of backward facing step flows constitutes an important branch of fundamental
fluid mechanics. The backward step apparatus consists of a single backward- facing step
mounted in a two-dimensional channel. The geometry is exceedingly simple yet it
provides a large amount of fluid mechanical data. This problem is used to validate the
incompressible flow solver. With water as the media, results provided by the code when
applied to the problem of 2-D backward facing step flow are compared with experimental
data. The length of the recirculation zone is used to make the comparison. The results not
only yield the expected primary recirculation zones but also show an additional region of
separation downstream of the step. For obtaining numerical predictions, the two-
dimensional steady differential equations for conservations of mass ad momentum were
solved. Results are reported and are compared with experiments conducted for those
Reynolds numbers for which the flow maintained its two-dimensionality. Under these
circumstances, good agreement is found between experimental and numerical results.

Figure 4.1 Backward-facing step geometry

The open water-driven flow channel that was used for this study is figure. It incorporates
a two-dimensional step that has provided an expansion ratio of 1:1.19423. The expansion
ratio is defined as H/h=1+S/h. The expansion ratio and the Reynolds number are the two
27

parameters that affect the reattachment length. In the current study, the expansion ratio is
kept constant and the reattachment length is plotted for varying Reynolds numbers (10E-
3<RE<10E3).
Computational Domain

Figure 4.2. Discretization domain of the backward-facing step geometry

Nodes: 68194 Elements: 131790

Boundary conditions:

Inlet: At the inlet of the channel, velocity of flow was specified. The length of the inlet
channel is such that the fully developed flow is obtained at the step. A distance of five
times the channel height, h is sufficient to ensure this.

Walls: The no-slip condition of zero velocity was specified at both the top and bottom
walls of the channel.

28

Outlet: Atmospheric pressure of one bar is specified at the outlet. The outlet channel is
also sufficiently long so that the flow redevelops at the exit. In the range of Reynolds
numbers investigated, the flow is affected very little by the length of the outflow channel,
assuming that the length of the flow channel was correctly estimated using before
depending on the outlet channel.

The Reynolds number was calculated using the formula where
Re
VD
u
=

V is two thirds of the maximum measured inlet velocity, which corresponds in the
laminar case to the average inlet velocity, D is the hydraulic diameter of the inlet(small
channel) and is equivalent to twice its height(2h) and
u
is the kinematic viscosity.

The flow over the backward step is two-dimensional and non-oscillatory in the region,
Re<400.



Figure 4.3 shows the primary recirculation zone for various Reynolds numbers. A secondary one is
observed on the upper wall
29

In the above figures, the streamlines for the Reyolds numbers 200,400,600 and 800 are
presented on the contour plot. In the first two cases, the flow follows the upper corner
without revealing a flow separation. Furthermore, a corner vortex is observed at the
concave corner behind the step. In the range of very small Reynolds numbers,(Re=10E-3)
the size of this vertical structure is nearly a constant varying between x1/S=0.350 and
x1/S=.365. Under these conditions, the effect of inertia forces can be assumed negligible
to the viscous forces often denoted as molecular transport. Hence the flow resembles a
Stoke flow.
In addition to a primary circulation region, there exists a secondary recirculation region
near the upper wall for Re>400. The adverse pressure gradient due to the sudden
expansion at the step induces this separated flow. In the previous figures, the secondary
recirculation zones were clearly visible for Re=600,800. The size of the secondary
recirculation zones increases with increasing Reynolds number, while at the same time,
the flow structure is moving in a stream wise direction. Far downstream, the flow
recovers to a parabolic profile. However, at high Reynolds numbers(800), the flow
recovery takes more than 20 step heights.
The next figure shows the reattachment length plotted against increasing Reynolds
number. The reattachment length is measured as the distance from the step to the point
where the velocity gradient becomes positive. This value is normalized by the step
height.











30




















As mentioned above, the size of the first eddy is nearly a constant for all Reynolds
numbers below the Re=1. This is depicted in the above figure showing the length x1 of
the first corner eddy behind the step (recirculation region) normalized by the height S as a
function of RE. However, for Re>1, the corner vortex strongly increases in size. As a
direct consequence, the corner vortex reaches upto the corner of the step at Re=10 and
covers the complete face of the step. Hence, a change in the entire flow structure is
observed and the notation of a corner vortex has been replaced by the notation
recirculation region, which for Re>10, better reflects the flow structure. With increasing
Reynolds number, the size of the recirculation region increases.




0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Reynolds number
R
e
a
t
t
a
c
h
m
e
n
t

l
e
n
g
t
h
computed results
G.Biswas
Figure 4.4: Variation of reattachment length vs Reynolds number
31


Figure 4.5: Variation of Reattachment length vs Reynolds Number


The agreement of the present numerical predictions and the experimental results of G.
Biswas is excellent for Re<400. However, for Re>400, a discrepancy is visible between
computations and experiments which increases with Reynolds number. This is because
beyond, Re-400, the flow cannot be accurately modelled by two-dimensional simulations.
The sidewall influences the structure of the laminar flow beyond the step. The measured
reattachment length for the mid-plane does not match with the predictions of the two-
dimesnional predictions. The discrepancy between experimental result and the numerical
results are a consequence of the three-dimensionality affecting the flow structure at the
mid-plane of the channel.

0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Reynolds number
R
e
a
t
t
a
c
h
m
e
n
t

l
e
n
g
t
h
Computed_results
experimental_results
32


CHAPTER 5

COMPRESSIBLE FLOW SOLVER

5.1. Governing Equations

The governing equations for compressible flow in conservative form are


0
u u
t x y
( c c c
+ + =
(
c c c



2
0
xx xy
u
u P T uv T
t x y

c c c
( ( + + + =

c c c
. (5.1)
2
0
xy yy
v
uv T v P T
t x y

c c c
( ( + + + =

c c c
.. (5.2)

Substitute

2
xx
u
T
x
c
=
c

xy
u v
T
y x
( c c
= +
(
c c



2
yy
v
T
y
c
=
c


Expanding the Above equations, we get

2 2
2 2
u u u u v u u u v P
u v u v
t x y x y x y x x y x


( ( | | c c c c c c c c c c c
+ + + + = + + +
| ( (
c c c c c c c c c c c
\ .

33

2 2
2 2
v v v u v v v u v P
u v v
t x y x y x y y x y y


( ( | | c c c c c c c c c c c
+ + + + = + + +
| ( (
c c c c c c c c c c c
\ .


The various terms of the above equations are approximated as per the scheme given in
the previous chapter

Here (u) and (v) replace in the general transport equation



5.2. Methodology

2 2
2 2
u u u u v u u u v P
u v u v
t x y x y x y x x y x


( ( | | c c c c c c c c c c c
+ + + + = + + +
| ( (
c c c c c c c c c c c
\ .
...........(5.3)

2 2
2 2
v v v u v v v u v P
u v v
t x y x y x y y x y y


( ( | | c c c c c c c c c c c
+ + + + = + + +
| ( (
c c c c c c c c c c c
\ .
...........(5.4)

The velocity correction method is used to calculate final values of u and v

............(5.5)
u P
RHSu
t x
c c
=
c c

...........(5.6)
v P
RHSv
t y
c c
=
c c


1)Obtain an intermediate fictitious velocity field after dropping the pressure gradient term
from the momentum equations.
( )
*
...........(5.7)
n
n u u
RHSu
t

=
A

( )
*
............(5.8)
n
n v v
RHSv
t

=
A

Where,
34

RHSu=RHS of x-momentum equation 3.10 excluding pressure term
RHSv=RHS of y-momentum equation 3.11 excluding pressure term

3) The final velocities are obtained from the previous steps. Without dropping the
pressure field, find the velocity field.

( )
1
...........(5.9)
n n
n u u P
RHSu
t x

+
c
=
A c

( )
1
...........(5.10)
n n
n v v P
RHSv
t y

+
c
=
A c



Subtracting 5.7 from 5.9 and 5.8 from 5.10
We get the final velocity field.

1 *
............(5.11)
n
u u P
t x

+
c
=
A c

1 *
............(5.12)
n
v v P
t y

+
c
=
A c


2)Compute the pressure
The pressure Poisson equation is obtained by forcing the continuity requirement on
the final velocity field

Differentiating equation 5.11 with respect to x
Differentiating equation 5.12 with respect to y
And adding we get
35

1 *
2 2
2 2
n
u v u v P P
t
x y x y x y

+
| | ( ( c c c c c c
+ + = A +
| ( (
c c c c c c
\ .


Substitute from Continuity equation,
*
2 2
2 2
...........(5.13)
u v P P
t
t x y x y
| | ( c c c c c
+ = A +
| (
c c c c c
\ .


Assuming that density varies only with pressure,
Using the universal gas equation, =

2
1 P P
t P t c t
c c c c
= =
c c c c

This equation is solved using the iterative conjugate gradient method
with tolerance 10E-20
*
2 2
2 2
1
...........(5.14)
2
P u u P P
t
c t x y x y
( ( c c c c c
+ = A +
( (
c c c c c



Equation 5.14 is termed the pressure poisson equation. This equation is
solved using the iterative conjugate gradient method with tolerance
10E-20
Where
2
c RT =

To calculate density, assuming adiabatic conditions,

2
2
0
2
u v
T T
cp
+
=

2
2
0 2
( ) ( )
2
u v
T T
cp

+
=

36

P
RT
=

Substituting,
2
2
2
0 2
( ) ( )
( )
2
u v
T T RT
cpP
+
=


The above quadratic equation is solved to find out temperature values

P
RT
=

Finally the velocity u and v are found out.
u
u
v
v

=
=

The algorithm for the above procedure is given below

while(time<totime)
{
Calculate (u)*, (v)*
Use conjugate gradient method to solve for P
Calculate P and use it to correct values of u, v
Find temperature assuming adiabatic conditions
Find using =P/RT
Find u, v using (u)/( ) & (v)/( )
}





37

CHAPTER 6
UNIFIED FORMULATION

A unified procedure to handle both incompressible and compressible fluids is proposed.
The flow is assumed to be isothermal at low Mach numbers. Then, the equations of state
are used to calculate density directly from Pressure. Different correlations will be used
for compressible and incompressible fluids to calculate density. The user only needs to
specify whether the fluid is compressible or incompressible through the input files. The
advantage of such a formulation is that both incompressible flows can also be simulated
by making this modification to the compressible flow formulation. The initial values of
velocities, density and pressure are calculated from the input Mach number and adiabatic
relations.

6.1. Methodology

2 2
2 2
u u u u v u u u v P
u v u v
t x y x y x y x x y x


( ( | | c c c c c c c c c c c
+ + + + = + + +
| ( (
c c c c c c c c c c c
\ .
.................(6.1)
2 2
2 2
v v v u v v v u v P
u v v
t x y x y x y y x y y


( ( | | c c c c c c c c c c c
+ + + + = + + +
| ( (
c c c c c c c c c c c
\ .
.................(6.2)


The modified version of the earlier described velocity correction method is used to
calculate final values of u and v

1
1
.............(6.3)
n
n n
u u P
RHSu
t x

+
+
c
=
A c

1 1
..............(6.4)
n n n
v v P
RHSv
t y

+ +
c
=
A c

1)Obtain an intermediate fictitious velocity field after reducing the pressure gradient
term to the previous time step level in the momentum equations.
38

*
.............(6.5)
n
n
u u P
RHSu
t x
c
=
A c

*
..............(6.6)
n
n
v v P
RHSv
t y
c
=
A c


Where,
RHSu=RHS of x-momentum equation 6.1 with pressure term in n
th
time level
RHSv=RHS of y-momentum equation 6.2 pressure term in n
th
time level


3) The final velocities are obtained from the previous steps. Without dropping the
pressure field, find the velocity field.



1
1
...........(6.8)
n
n n
v v P
RHSv
t y

+
+
c
=
A c


Subtracting 6.5 from 6.7 and 6..6 from 6.8
We get the final velocity field.

1 * 1
( )
............(6.9)
n n n
u u P P
t x

+ +
c
=
A c

1 * 1
( )
............(6.10)
n n n
v v P P
t y

+ +
c
=
A c

Where
1 n n
P P P
+
= A


1
1
...........(6.7)
n
n n
u u P
RHSu
t x

+
+
c
=
A c
39

2)Compute the pressure
The pressure Poisson equation is obtained by forcing the continuity requirement on
the final velocity field

Differentiating equation 6.9 with respect to x
Differentiating equation 6.10 with respect to y
And adding we get
1 *
2 2
2 2
n
u v u v P P
t
x y x y x y

+
| | ( ( c c c c c A c A
+ + = A +
| ( (
c c c c c c
\ .


Substitute from Continuity equation,
*
2 2
2 2
...........(6.11)
u v P P
t
t x y x y
| | ( c c c c A c A
+ = A +
| (
c c c c c
\ .

1 n n
P P P
+
= +A

Assuming that density varies only with pressure,
Using the universal gas equation, =

2
1 P P
t P t c t
c c c c
= =
c c c c

This equation is solved using the iterative conjugate gradient method
with tolerance 10E-20
*
2 2
2 2
1
...........(6.12)
2
P u u P P
t
c t x y x y
( ( c c c c A c A
+ = A +
( (
c c c c c


*
2 2
2 2
1
...........(6.13)
2
P u u P P
t
c t x y x y
( ( A c c c A c A
+ = A +
( (
A c c c c


40

Equation 6.12 is termed the pressure poisson equation. This equation is
solved using the iterative conjugate gradient method with tolerance
10E-20


Where
for air,
2
P
c

=

for water,
2
7.0*( 3.0 8) P E
c

+
=


To calculate density,
Using Stiffened Equation of State

1.0
inf
inf
...........(6.14)
n
P
P
|

|
| | +
=
|
+
\ .


Eqn (6.13) is an empirical correlation that gives the relationship between density and
pressure for any substance by substituting the corresponding values for and n.

For water, = 3.0E8 and n=7
1.0
7.0
inf
inf
3.0 8
3.0 8
P E
P E

| |
+
=
|
+
\ .

For air , =0 and n=
41

1
inf
atm
p
P


| |
=
|
\ .

Finally the velocity u and v are found out.
u= (u)/()
v = (v)/()

This formulation solves the compressible Navier Stokes equations for any liquid or gas,
whether the fluid is compressible or incompressible. The next chapter discusses various
validations for the unified formulation.





















42

CHAPTER 7

VALIDATION OF UNIFIED FORMULATION


7.1. Flow over NACA-0015 Hydrofoil

The NACA-0015 hydrofoil geometry was used to validate the unified formulation for
solving both compressible and incompressible flow. Liquid water was used as a fluid.
At the Mach number, considered in the test case, flow is incompressible. That is, the
density changes with time can be considered a negligible.

The results obtained by the code are compared with experimental results. The pressure
coefficient (Cp) is plotted against the displacement vector non-dimensionalised by the
chord length of the aerofoil.

Computational Domain


Figure 7.1:Computational domain
A mesh of triangular elements of size 0.1 was used.

Nodes 32142 Elements 62178 Chord length 130mm

43

Boundary Conditions

The pressure inlet was given as P=59,000Pa. Velocity at inlet is3.11m/s and temperature,
T=298 K. These conditions correspond to an inlet Mach number of 0.0021.

The entire aerofoil is considered as a wall and no slip condition is specified. Further the
top and bottom surfaces are also walls. The boundary conditions are similar to that
present while testing flow over an aerofoil in a wind tunnel.



Inlet : u=u
inf
, v=0
Walls: u=0, v=0
Outlet: P=P
atm
.


Results


Velocity plot

The contours of the x-directional velocity(u) is shown in figure. Streamlines are plotted
across the contour plot, to indicate the flow direction. From the figure, it is observed that
there is no separation involved and the streamlines smoothly follows the contours. There
is a stagnation point on the nose of the aerofoil, where the u-velocity hits a minimum.


44


Figure 7.2:u-velocity contour map


Pressure Plot


Figure 7.3:Pressure contour map

45

The Pressure field is displayed in the above contour. It is observed that the region where
the velocity field intensity was at a minimum is the region where the pressure field
intensity is a maximum. This is the stagnation point, at the nose of the aerofoil.


Pressure Coefficient

The pressure coefficient, Cp is defined by

Cp = P-Pinf/(0.5v
2
)

Pinf is the inlet pressure, 59000Pa.


The pressure coefficient is calculated by the code and these values are compared with the
experimental values, Rapposelli et al,(2003)




The plot has been inverted to depict the upper surface on top. The pressure coefficient is
higher at the lower surface, due to the pressure being higher at the lower surface. This is
what creates lift in an aerofoil shaped wing.
-2
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
-0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
x/c
P
r
e
s
s
u
r
e

C
o
e
f
f
i
c
i
e
n
t
Computed
results
Experimental
results
Figure 7.4:Cp vs x
46


The experimental values give a match with the computed values, validating the code. An
oscillation is observed on the top vertex of the plot. This corresponds to the location of
the stagnation point.



7.2. Flow over a Circular Cylinder


Flow over a circular cylinder has been of interest for many decades, as it offers a
full range of phenomena from the laminar, periodic shedding of vortices, transition to
turbulent, and fully turbulent flow regimes-making it a challenging problem for
computational simulation. Computational studies of flow over a circular cylinder began
as early as the 1930s (e.g., Thom, 1933), and this continues to be a popular subject.

In this section, a circular cylinder is first presented followed by vortex shedding cases
with higher Reynolds numbers up to 1000. This represents a simple case for external
flows, for the purpose of testing the previously described unified pressure projection
formulation without any transition and turbulence modeling.

For external flows in which the computational domain extends a large distance from the
body, the pressure waves originating from the body surface propagate into the far field.
As the Reynolds number increases above 40, a non-symmetric wake develops and
periodic vortex shedding sets in.

The Reynolds number range of periodic vortex shedding is divided into two distinct sub
ranges. At Re=40 to 50, called the stable range, regular vortex streets are formed and no
turbulent motion is developed. The range re=150 to 300 is a transition range to a regime
called the irregular range, in which turbulent velocity fluctuations accompany the
periodic formation of vortices. The turbulence is initiated by laminar-turbulence
transition in the free layers which spring from the separation points on the cylinder. This
transition first occurs in the range Re=150 to 300.From spectrum and statistical
47

measurements, it is known that in the stable range, the vortices decay by viscous
diffusion. In the irregular range the diffusion is turbulent and the wake becomes fully
turbulent in 40 to 50 diameters downstream.

The shedding frequency is usually expressed in terms of the dimensionless Strouhal
number, S = n1d/U where n1 is the shedding frequency from one side of the cylinder, d is
the circular diameter, and U is the free stream velocity. The Strouhal number S may
depend on Reynolds number, geometry, free-stream turbulence level, cylinder roughness,
and so forth. The principal geometrical parameter is the cylinder shape (for other than the
circular cylinders, d is an appropriate dimension). Usually the geometrical parameters are
fixed, and then S is presented as a function of Reynolds number Re. Instead of Strouhal
number, it is sometimes convenient to use the dimensionless parameter F=n1d2/v where
v is the kinematic viscosity.

Within the lower end of the shedding range, there are three characteristic Reynolds
number ranges, within the lower end of the shedding range. These will be called as
follows

Stable range 40<Re<150
Transition range 150<Re<300
Irregular range 300<Re<10,000+

As noted above the actual limits of these ranges are somewhat in doubt and may depend
on configuration, free-stream turbulence and so forth. Also the higher limit of the
irregularity range is higher than 10,000.

The calculations using the code were performed using a 2-D triangular element grid with
more elements clustered near the body. The circular cylinder was placed at the centre of a
rectangular domain.


48

Computational Domain

.


Figure 7.5:Mesh and computational domain

Nodes 6972 Elements 13598 Cylinder dia 40mm

Boundary conditions

The left vertical edge of the rectangular domain was considered as the inlet. At the inlet
various uniform velocity profiles were described. The vertical velocity (v) in the y-
direction was always kept zero.
The outlet boundary condition was prescribed at the right vertical edge of the domain.
The pressure here was kept constant at atmospheric pressure (1bar).

The edge of the circular cylinder and the top and bottom sides of the domain were kept as
walls. Throughout the circular edge of the cylinder, no slip condition was prescribed.
49

However, at the top and bottom walls, a uniform free stream velocity was enforced in the
x-direction. This is to prevent the influence of the boundary layer from affecting the flow
conditions at the cylinder walls. The y-directional velocity was kept zero at all the wall.

Inlet: u=uinf, v=0

Walls (circular cylinder): u=0, v=0

Walls (domain boundaries): u=uinf, v=0

Outlet: P=Patm.


Results

Figure shows the separation length of separation non-dimensionalized by the cylinder
diameter, D for the Reynolds number, Re=40.



50


Figure 7.6: Length of vortex vs time




The shedding frequency was calculated using the formula (n1d/u), where n1
is the frequency of vortex shedding. In experimental setups , the fluctuating
velocity or pressure signals were captured using measurement apparatus The
output would be amplified and then fed into an oscilloscope. Typically a
sinusoidal wave is observed for each eddy frequency.

In the present numerical study, pressure variation with time was monitored
at a point behind the cylinder. These values were plotted to get a sinusoidal
wave. The frequency response was obtained after taking Fast Fourier
Ls
51

transform of the pressure-time plot. Using the dominant frequency, the
Strouhal number has been calculated for each Reynolds number.


Figure 7.7: Strouhal Number vs Reynolds number









52






Re=216
Re=400
Re=1000
53


The above figures are contour plots of the vorticity function across the
domain. It can be seen that the vortex shedding is minimum in the first plot,
Re=100. As the Reynolds number increases, vortex shedding increases and
becomes irregular.

7.3. Flow over a Backward facing step

Using the same geometry used in the previous chapter, the unified
formulation code was run for with air as fluid.

The flow phenomenon observed for air as fluid are somewhat different
observed for water. Length of the primary separated-flow region is predicted
to increase nonlinearly with Reynolds number up to Re 420. The ensuing
decrease with Reynolds number is caused by the additional region of
separated flow that occurs on the wall opposite to the step and a t Reynolds
numbers larger than Re > 420. The longitudinal dimensions of this
additional region of separated flow are predicted to increase with Reynolds
number up to Re 980,above which two more regions of recirculating flow
are predicted. Both are located on the channel wall with the step; one inside
the primary region of separated flow and the other downstream of its
reattachment line.
The two-dimensional flow predictions using the code also yielded multiple
regions of separated flow according to experimental observations. In order to
compute the flow inside these regions accurately, the grid distribution would
require further refinements, i.e. more grid points would be needed inside the
computational domain, especially in the region where the additional
54

separated-flow regions occur. Converged and grid-independent solutions
could be obtained that are in good agreement with experimental findings up
to a Reynolds number Re 400. For Reynolds numbers in excess of this value
the numerical results also show multiple regions of separated (recirculating)
flow at the wall opposite to the two-dimensional step and on the channel side
where the step is located. Unfortunately, with the occurrence of more than
one separated flow region, the flow in the experiments becomes three-
dimensional in the region downstream of the step, and this prevents direct
comparison between the experimental and theoretical results.

The following are the numerical results compared along with experimental
findings.

Figure 7.8:Reattachment length vs Reynolds number



55

CHAPTER 8

ORIFICE METER

An orifice meter is a device used for measuring the volumetric flow rate. It uses the same
principle as a Venturi nozzle, namely Bernoulli's principle which states that there is a
relationship between the pressure of the fluid and the velocity of the fluid. When the
velocity increases, the pressure decreases and vice versa.

An orifice plate is a thin plate with a hole in the middle. It is usually placed in a pipe in
which fluid flows. When the fluid reaches the orifice plate, the fluid is forced to converge
to go through the small hole; the point of maximum convergence actually occurs shortly
downstream of the physical orifice, at the so-called vena contracta point. As it does so,
the velocity and the pressure changes. Beyond the vena contracta, the fluid expands and
the velocity and pressure change once again. By measuring the difference in fluid
pressure between the normal pipe section and at the vena contracta, the volumetric and
mass flow rates can be obtained from Bernoulli's equation.



The code developed was applied to the problem of flow through an orifice
meter. To measure the flow rate using an orifice meter, the pressure needs to
be measured between two points upstream and downstream of the plate.
However, it is observed that due to vortex formation immediately after the
plate, the pressure cannot be tapped until the flow attains steady state.

An alternative design proposes to use multiple holes in the plate. It is
proposed that this arrangement would reduce the vortex formation and hence
enable pressure measurement closer to the plate. This would lead to
56

considerable savings in the cost of the material as the length of the pipe can
be shortened.

The unified formulation code is applied to this problem to observe
qualitatively if the vortex size is reduced when multiple holes are used.



Figure 8.1:U-velocity contour map for single hole plat

Two symmetric vortices are observed within the pipe immediately after the plate.
The vortices grow in size as time progresses until steady state is attained. The pressure is
tapped through sensors kept at the wall.


57


Figure 8.2:U-velocity contour map for triple hole slit

Figure shows the multiple vortices that develop immediately after each hole. Comparing
the above two figures it is seen that the vortex size is considerably smaller in the triple
hole plate case.


















58

Chapter 8

Conclusions

In this work, a unified formulation to solve incompressible and compressible
flow regardless of the fluid has been suggested. This formulation based on
the fractional step algorithm is a new approach. Many validation test cases
have been done in this thesis work. The results of the test cases suggest that
the unified formulation with the fractional step algorithm is Mach number-
independent regardless of the medium. More comprehensive validation is
necessary to make a definitive conclusion of this approach. However, in
general, a unified approach can be very useful for many engineering
applications where flow speed is in a wide range or where both
incompressible and compressible flow coexist, such as in a multi-material or
multi-phase flow.

In future, the formulation can be extended to simulate even multi-phase,
flow mixing and cavitation.









59

NOMENCLATURE

Density ,Kg/m
3

Cp Specific heat , J/KgK
K Conductivity, W/mK
T Temperature, K
t Time, sec
Thermal Diffusivity,m
2
/s
N
i
, N
j
Shape functions
h Heat transfer coefficient, W/m
2
K
Q Heat generated per unit volume, J/m
3

t Time step
L Characteristic length of the element, m
T Ambient temperature, K
























60


APPENDIX A

Conjugate Gradient method


In Implicit formulation, equation 3.9will takes the form AX=B, Which is a system of
linear equations. The discrete system of equations from the finite element method must
be solved by a numerical solver. The Conjugate Gradient method is chosen as a method
for solving systems of linear equations. The method requires a symmetric positive
definite (SPD) system of equations that is a system of the form:
Algorithm for CG method is given below.
AX=B
x
0
=Initial guess vector.
Theoretically the Conjugate Gradient method will converge and reach the exact
solution in at most N steps for N degrees of freedom. Each step k projects the exact
solution into the k-dimensional solution space spanned by the A conjugate basis vectors.
In practice, each step will not be solved exactly due to round-off error in the
61

computations. The method will however in general converge to an acceptable error-
tolerance in far less than N iterations. This rapid convergence is one of the greatest
strengths of the method.




Appendix B

EVALUATION OF MATRICES

1. Mass matrix, M
The mass matrix is defined as

M =
V
NiNjdA
(
(

}


= | |
1
2 1 2 3
3
L
L L L L dA
L
( (
( (
( (
( (

}


=
2
1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3
3 1 3 2 3 3
L L L L L
L L L L L L dA
L L L L L L
( (
( (
( (
( (

}


=
2!0!0! 1!0!0! 1!0!0!
(2 2 0 0)! (2 2 0 0)! (2 2 0 0)!
1!0!0! 2!0!0! 1!0!0!
2
(2 2 0 0)! (2 2 0 0)! (2 2 0 0)!
1!0!0! 1!0!0! 2!0!0!
(2 2 0 0)! (2 2 0 0)! (2 2 0 0)!
A
(
(
+ + + + + + + + +
(
(
(
+ + + + + + + + +
(
(
(
+ + + + + + + + +



=
2 1 1
1 2 1
12
1 1 2
A
(
(
(
(



Lumping the mass matrix:

62

LM =
4 0 0
0 4 0
12
0 0 4
A
(
(
(
(


=
1 0 0
0 1 0
3
0 0 1
A
(
(
(
(




2. Advection Matrix, A

A =
V
j j
Ni u v dA
x y
( cN cN
+
(
c c

}


A =
1 2 3
1 1 1
1 2 3
2 2 2
1 2 3
3 3 3
A
N N N
N N N
x x x
N N N
u N N N
x x x
N N N
N N N
x x x
c c c (
(
c c c
(
c c c
(
(
c c c
(
c c c
(
( c c c

}



1 2 3
1 1 1
1 2 3
2 2 2
1 2 3
3 3 3
A
N N N
N N N
y y y
N N N
v N N N
y y y
N N N
N N N
y y y
( c c c
(
c c c
(
( c c c
+
(
c c c
(
( c c c
(
c c c

}


=
1 2 3
1 2 3
3
1 2 3
b b b
A
u b b b
b b b
(
(
(
(

1 2 3
1 2 3
3
1 2 3
c c c
A
v c c c
c c c
(
(
+
(
(




3. Upwind matrix, U

The upwind matrix is obtained as:

U =
2 2
i j i j i j i j
A
N N N N N N N N
u uv vu v dA
x x x y y x y y
( | | c c c c c c c c
+ + +
( |
c c c c c c c c
\ .
}


63

=
1 1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3
2
3 1 3 2 3 3
A
N N N N N N
x x x x x x
N N N N N N
u dA
x x x x x x
N N N N N N
x x x x x x
c c c c c c (
(
c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
(
c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
( c c c c c c

}


+
1 1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3
3 1 3 2 3 3
A
N N N N N N
x y x y x y
N N N N N N
uv dA
x y x y x y
N N N N N N
x y x y x y
( c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
( c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
( c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c

}

+
1 1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3
2
3 1 3 2 3 3
A
N N N N N N
y y y y y y
N N N N N N
v dA
y y y y y y
N N N N N N
y y y y y y
( c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
( c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
( c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c

}


=
2 2
1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 3
3 1 3 2 3 3 3 1 2 2 2 3 3 1 3 2 3 3
b b b b b b b c b c b c c c c c c c
A u b b b b b b uv b c b c b c v c c c c c c
b b b b b b b c b c b c c c c c c c
| | ( ( (
|
( ( (
+ +
|
( ( (
|
( ( (
\ .


4. Stiffness Matrix

The stiffness matrix is given as :

K =
i j i j
A
N N N N
dA
x x x y
( | | c c c c
+
( |
c c c c
\ .
}


=
1 1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3
3 1 3 2 3 3
A
N N N N N N
x x x x x x
N N N N N N
dA
x x x x x x
N N N N N N
x x x x x x
c c c c c c (
(
c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
(
c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
( c c c c c c

}


64


1 1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3
3 1 3 2 3 3
A
N N N N N N
y y y y y y
N N N N N N
dA
y y y y y y
N N N N N N
y y y y y y
( c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c
(
( c c c c c c
+
(
c c c c c c
(
( c c c c c c
(
c c c c c c

}


=
1 1 1 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 1 3
2 2 2 2 3 2 1 2 2 2 3
3 1 3 2 3 3 3 1 3 2 3 3
1
b b b b b b c c c c c c
b b b b b b c c c c c c
b b b b b b c c c c c c
| | ( (
|
( (
A +
|
( (
|
( (
\ .


































65

APPENDIX C


THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL HEAT CODUCTION EQUATION
AND ITS NUMERICAL MODELLING

In this chapter the governing equations for unsteady two dimensional heat
conduction and its boundary conditions are explained first .The finite element
formulation and solution technique is explained next.

C.1. The governing equations and boundary conditions.

The two dimensional unsteady heat conduction governing equation is given by

p
T
T
Ky
Kx
y T x
C Q
x x y
o
o
o
o
o
o

o o
( (
(
( (
(
c

(
= + +
( c
(


Valid over surface S bounded by a line L with

-
T T T
Kx nx Ky ny Kz nz
x y z
o o o
o o o
(
+ +
(

=q
Over a portion L
b
of the boundary line L, a heat flux q is applied. Over the rest of the
boundary line L
a,
T=Ts


Figure C.1:Two-dimensional surface

66

Over the portion L
a
of the boundary line where T is specified, the gradient terms
and q are zero. The quantities nx, ny are the direction cosines of the unit vectors normal
to the respective surfaces. Applying Galerkin weak formulation of the method of
weighted residuals to the governing equation the above equation becomes


S S
T Nj T Ni T
Ni Cp dxdy Kx Ky dxdy
t x x y y

| | c c c c c
+ +
|
c c c c c
\ .
} }

0
S L
T T
NiQdxdy Ni Kx nx Ky dL
x y
( c c
+ =
(
c c

} }


This equation can be further modified to the generalized Galerkin statement


j j
i i
p i j x y j
S S
N N
N N
C N N dxdy K K dxdy T
x x y y
o o

o o o o
( (
+ +
( (

} }


Q 0
i i
S L
N dxdy N qds + =
} }




Figure C.2:Triangular Element
with Boundary Condition
enforced on 1 side
In the matrix form as


CT + KT+ F = 0

Where C is the capacitance matrix, K is the conductivity matrix and F is the load vector

.
.
67

Where C= | |
1
2 1 2 3
3
p
N
C N N N N dxdy
N

( (
( (
( (
( (

}



j j
i i
x y
S
N N
N N
K K K dxdy
x x y y
c c ( c c
= +
(
c c c c

}



i i
S L
F N Qdxdy N qdL = +
} }


In this general equation any type of 2-D element can be chosen. We have used
three noded linear triangular elements throughout the work.
The elemental matrices for a typical triangular element can be written as follows.
The shape functions for the linear triangle is given as

N= [N
1
N
2
N
3
]

The capacitance matrix for constant Cp is given as

C
p
C NiNjdxdy
(
= =

}
| |
1
2 1 2 3
3
N
Cp N N N N dxdy
N

( (
( (
( (
( (

}

which can be simplified to

C=
2 1 1
1 2 1
12
1 1 2
p
A C
(
(
(
(






The conductivity matrix is given as

K=
j j
i i
x y
N N
N N
K K
x x y y
c c ( c c
+
(
c c c c

}
dxdy

68

=area*
1 1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3
3 1 3 3 3
2
x
b b b b b b
K b b b b b b
b b b b b b
(
(
(
(

+area*
1 1 1 2 1 3
2 1 2 2 2 3
3 1 3 2 3 3
y
c c c c c c
K c c c c c c
c c c c c c
(
(
(
(



Where

2 3
1
2
y y
b
A

=

3 2
1
2
x x
c
A

=


1 2 2 1 3 1 1 3 2 3 3 2
2 ( ) ( ) ( ) A x y x y x y x y x y x y = + +


The load vector is evaluated as

F=F
Q
+ Fq

F
Q
=
S
NiQdxdy =
}
=
1
1 3
QA (
(



( )
q
l
F Niq dl =
}
=
1
1 2
ql (
(



=
2 1 0
1 2 0
6
0 0 0
hl
(
(
(
(

[T-T]

Where l is the length of the edge where the boundary condition is applied.
To integrate this equation in time, both implicit and explicit schemes can be used.

C.2. Explicit Time integration

In the current chapter explicit time integration is explained ,which is
the most simplest formulation and also easily understandable. A s a continuation from the
previous chapter the unsteady heat conduction equation can be written in matrix form as
0...........( .1) CT KT F C + + =

69

Where ,
C, Capacitance or mass matrix
K, Stiffness or conductance matrix
F, Load matrix

| | | | | |
1
0...........( .2)
n n
n
n
T T
C K T F C
t
+
(
+ + =
(
A


Above form can be written in explicit scheme as,

To avoid inversion of the capacitance matrix lumping of that matrix is employed.
Here all the elements in a row are added together and written in the diagonal as explained
below. The original matrix is called the consistent mass matrix and the resulting diagonal
matrix is called the lumped mass matrix.

[C]=
2 1 1
1 2 1
12
1 1 2
p
A C
(
(
(
(

=
4 0 0
0 4 0
12
0 0 4
p
A C
(
(
(
(

=
1 0 0
0 1 0
3
0 0 1
p
A C
(
(
(
(



Using the lumped matrix equation, (3.2) can be written as
| | | | | | | |
( )
1
...........( .3)
n
n n n
C T C T t K T F C
+
= A +

From the equation 3.4 it is clear that all the terms in the RHS are known values.
Explicit schemes are restricted by the stability criterion given by
2
0.5...........( .4)
t
C
L
oA
s
A


Where L is the characteristic length of the element. The t for the numerical
integration is derived from the above equation.

C.2 Implicit time integration

C.2.1Pure implicit scheme

The equation 2.1 can be written in implicit formulation as
70


| | | | | |
1
1
0...........( .5)
n n
n
n
T T
C K T F C
t
+
+
(
+ + =
(
A



This scheme is highly stable and gives non-oscillatory solutions for very large
time step. But it is first order accurate.


C.2.2.Crank-Nicholson Scheme

| | | | | |
1 1
1
0...........( .6)
2
n n n n
n T T T T
C K F C
t
+ +
+ ( ( +
+ + =
( (
A



This scheme is second order accurate, but gives oscillatory solution for large time steps.

C.2.3.Three point scheme.

| | | | | |
1 1 1 1
1
0..........( .7)
2 3
n n n n n
n T T T T T
C K F C
t
+ +
+ ( ( + +
+ + =
( (
A



This scheme is useful for non-iterative solutions of non-linear equations. But this
scheme is not self starting, since it requires starting solutions at t = n-1 and t = n.
From the pure implicit scheme equation 3.6 can be written as

| | | |
| |
1
0.............( .8)
n n
C C
K T T F C
t t
+
( (
+ = =
( (
A A



Knowing the initial condition profile at t=0.0,which will be generally ambient
condition, this system can be solved repeatedly solve for different time steps. Since this is
a symmetric linear system of equations, we have used iterative Conjugate Gradient
solver. The details of this solver are explained in appendix.
For nonlinear equation, matrices C and K depends on temperature(T).In implicit
scheme they have to be evaluated at (n+1)
th
level. This requires an iterative solution till
convergence. After each iteration the temperature is evaluated as follows.
(1 ) ............( .9)
new new old
T T T C e e = +

71


is called as relaxation factor. When <1 is called under relaxation and >1 is
called over relaxation. Their value varies depending on the non-linearity of the problem.


A C++ code has been written based on the above finite element
formulation (explicit as well as implicit) and the flow chart of the same is shown in fig .

Figure C.3:Flow chart of algorithm


C.3. Semi-infinite media

This is a validation problem for the unsteady two-dimensional heat equation solver.
A semi-infinite solid is an idealized body that has a single plane surface and extends to
infinity in all directions, as shown in Fig. 4.16. This idealized body is used to indicate
that the temperature change in the part of the body in which we are interested (the region
close to the surface) is due to the thermal conditions on a single surface. The earth, for
72

example, can be considered to be a semi-infinite medium in determining the variation of
temperature near its surface. Also, a thick wall can be modeled as a semi-infinite medium
if all we are interested in is the variation of temperature in the region near one of the
surfaces, and the other surface is too far to have any impact on the region of interest
during the time of observation.

Consider a semi-infinite solid that is at a uniform temperature Ti. At time t=0 , the
surface of the solid at x=0 is exposed to convection by fluid at a constant temperature ,
with a heat transfer coefficient h . This problem can be formulated as a partial differential
equation, which can be solved analytically for the transient temperature distribution
T(x,t) .

The exact solution of the transient one dimensional heat conduction problem in a semi-
infinite medium that is initially at a uniform temperature of Ti and is suddenly subjected
to convection at time t=0 has been obtained, and is expressed as



Where the quantity erfc() is the complementary error function, defined as



Using the two-dimensional heat equation solver described in this chapter, the problem of
semi-infinite media with convective heat flux and convection boundary conditions on one
surface have been solved. All other surfaces are insulated.
The various constants used in the formulation are explained above along with their values
C3.1.Convective boundary Condition

Properties used are
Density, =1000 kg/m
3
73


Specific heat, C
p
=2000 J/kgK

Conductivity=20 W/ m
2
K

Boundary conditions

At X=0.0mm

h=1500 W/m
2
K

T=2200 K

All other faces are insulated.

I nitial condition

T(x,y,0) =T0= 300.0 K




Figure C.3.Temperature contour inside the rod after 1 sec

74


Figure C.4. Graph showing solver result with the analytical solution for convective boundary condition.
From the graph it is observed that the code results match with the analytical results. Hence the code is
validated for convection boundary condition

C3.2.Heat flux boundary condition

Properties used are

Density, =1000 kg/m
3

Specific heat, C
p
=2000 J/kgK

Conductivity=20 W/ m
2
K

Boundary conditions

At X=0.0

q=10000 W/m
2

All other faces are insulated

I nitial condition

T(x,y,z,0) =T
0
= 300.0 K
Temperature vs X
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
0 20 40 60
X(mm)
T
(
K
)
analytical
results(1sec)
computed
results(1sec)
computed
results(5sec)
analytical
results(5sec)
75



Figure C.5. Graph showing comparison of solver result with analytical solution for heat flux boundary
condition

























299.5
300
300.5
301
301.5
302
302.5
303
303.5
304
304.5
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
x
T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
(
K
)
Computed
results(1sec)
Analytical
results(1sec)
Computed
results(5sec)
Analytical
results(5sec)
76

REFERENCES


[1] Darell W pepper, Juan C Henrich; Finite element methodHemishere publishing
company
[2] Frank P Incropera , David P. Dewitt 'Fundamentals of heat and mass transfer',
WILEY INDIA Edition.

[3] Blazek, Computational Fluid Dynamics

[4]Dochan Cetin, Kwak&Kiris, Computation of Viscous Incompressible Flows, Springer
publications

[5] B.F. Armaly, F.C. Durst, J.C. Pereira and B. Schonung, Experimental and theoretical
investigation of backward facings step flow
[6]G. Biswas, M. Breur, F. Durst, Backward facing step flows for various expansion
ratios at low and moderate Reynolds numbers.
[7]AIAA-85-1689, On the Accuracy of the Pseudo compressibility method in Solving
incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations, S.E. Rogers, D.Kwak and U. Kaul
[8]An upwind differencing scheme for the time-accurate incompressible Navier-Stokes
Equations, Stuart E. Rogers, DochanKwak
[9] Three Dimensional instability in flow over a backard facing step, Dwight Barkley, M.
Gabriela, M . Gomes and Ronald D. Henderson
[10] John D. Anderson, Computational Fluid Dynamics, the Basic applications