Name, Matr.-No., Signature: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Exam
Computational Fluid Dynamics II
March 12th 2013
Institute of Aerodynamics, RWTH Aachen University

Problem 4:
The heat conduction equation for two-dimensional problems with a heat source which is
proportional to the temperature should be solved on an equidistant mesh (xi = ix, yj =
jy, tn = nt):
Tt (Txx + Tyy ) = cT
a) Specify the type of the equation (no derivation required). Give arguments for your
answer.
b) Discretize the equation and formulate an explicit solution scheme based on a RungeKutta method.
c) Discretize the equation and formulate an implicit solution scheme based on an approximate factorization method.
d) Discuss, which of the two above time integration methods is suitable also for unstructured meshes based on triangles.

Problem 5:
The following system of PDEs is given:
v
u
+2
=0
t
x
v v u
+
+
=0
t x x
a) Determine the type of the equation system and the slopes of the characteristic lines.
b) Can the system of PDEs have discontinuous solutions? Give arguments for your
answer.
c) Discretize the system of equations on an equidistant mesh xi = ix, tn = nt with
an explicit scheme and central differences for the spatial derivatives. Apply the CFL
condition to determine a stability condition. Will the solution scheme be stable, if
the stability condition is fulfilled?
d) Recast the equations into the following form:
Vt + F x = 0
and determine the flux Jacobians

F
V

e) Transform the equations into the characteristic form.

Hint: The characteristic variables are obtained from:
dW = T 1 dV
where V is the vector of independent variables and T is the eigenvectormatrix of
the flux Jacobian.
f) Formulate an upwind discretization of the equations based on a flux-difference splitting.

Problem 6:
The following equation should be solved with a numerical method, where u and v are
known functions of (x, y):

+
+u
+
+v
=0
t
x
x
y
y
a) Recast the equation into a form such that a finite volume method can be used for
its solution.
b) The equation should be solved on the following hybrid meshes:

P2

P1
P2

y
x

Sketch and define meaningful finite volumes with corresponding surfaces in your
solution sheets for point P1 in the node-centered (left sketch) and the two points P2
in the cell-centered arrangement (right sketch).
c) Formulate a discrete finite volume method for the solution of the equation and
explain how the variables are interpolated onto the surfaces of the finite volumes.
d) Discuss, how the order of the interpolation of the variables onto the surfaces changes
the spatial truncation error of your scheme. What is the maximum spatial accuracy
of your finite volume formulation? Give arguments for your answer.