Numerical Solutions of the Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations in Two and Three-Dimensional Coordinates

Book excerpt: One of the most important applications of finite difference lies in the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In particular, the solution to the Navier-Stokes equation grants us insight into the behavior of many physical systems. The 2-D and 3-D incompressible Navier-Stokes equation has been studied extensively due to its analogous nature to many practical applications, and several numerical schemes have been developed to provide solutions dedicated to different environmental conditions (such as different Reynolds numbers). This research also covers the assignment of boundary conditions, starting with the simple case of driven cavity flow problem. In addition, several parts of the equations are given implicitly, which requires efficient ways of solving large systems of equations.We also considered numerical solution methods for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations discretized on staggered grids in general coordinates. Numerical experiments are carried out on a vector computer. Robustness and efficiency of these methods are studied. It appears that good methods result from suitable combinations of multigrid methods.Numerically solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is known to be time-consuming and expensive; hence this research presents some MATLAB codes for obtaining numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible flow through flow cavities, using method of lines, in three-dimensional space (3-D). The code treats the laminar flow over a two-dimensional backward-facing step, and the results of the computations over the backward-facing step are in excellent agreement with experimental results.