More Like this

1. An efficient tree-topological local mesh refinement on Cartesian grids for multiple moving objects in incompressible flow

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2023.111983  

   Zhang, W. ; Pan, Y. ; Wang, J. ; Di Santo, V. ; Lauder, G. ; Dong, H. ( April 2023 , Journal of Computational Physics)

   This paper develops a tree-topological local mesh refinement (TLMR) method on Cartesian grids for the simulation of bio-inspired flow with multiple moving objects. The TLMR nests refinement mesh blocks of structured grids to the target regions and arrange the blocks in a tree topology. The method solves the time-dependent incompressible flow using a fractional-step method and discretizes the Navier-Stokes equation using a finite-difference formulation with an immersed boundary method to resolve the complex boundaries. When iteratively solving the discretized equations across the coarse and fine TLMR blocks, for better accuracy and faster convergence, the momentum equation is solved on all blocks simultaneously, while the Poisson equation is solved recursively from the coarsest block to the finest ones. When the refined blocks of the same block are connected, the parallel Schwarz method is used to iteratively solve both the momentum and Poisson equations. Convergence studies show that the algorithm is second-order accurate in space for both velocity and pressure, and the developed mesh refinement technique is benchmarked and demonstrated by several canonical flow problems. The TLMR enables a fast solution to an incompressible flow problem with complex boundaries or multiple moving objects. Various bio-inspired flows of multiple moving objects show that the solver can save over 80% computational time, proportional to the grid reduction when refinement is applied. 

   more » « less
2. A C 0 finite element method for the biharmonic problem with Navier boundary conditions in a polygonal domain

   https://doi.org/10.1093/imanum/drac026  

   Li, Hengguang ; Yin, Peimeng ; Zhang, Zhimin ( July 2022 , IMA Journal of Numerical Analysis)

   Abstract In this paper we study the biharmonic equation with Navier boundary conditions in a polygonal domain. In particular, we propose a method that effectively decouples the fourth-order problem as a system of Poisson equations. Our method differs from the naive mixed method that leads to two Poisson problems but only applies to convex domains; our decomposition involves a third Poisson equation to confine the solution in the correct function space, and therefore can be used in both convex and nonconvex domains. A $C^0$ finite element algorithm is in turn proposed to solve the resulting system. In addition, we derive optimal error estimates for the numerical solution on both quasi-uniform meshes and graded meshes. Numerical test results are presented to justify the theoretical findings. 

   more » « less
3. A generalized Rayleigh-Plesset equation for ions with solvent fluctuations

   Fan, C. ; Li, B. ; White, M. ( June 2021 , SIAM journal on applied mathematics)

   null (Ed.)

   We introduce a mathematical modeling framework for the conformational dynamics of charged molecules (i.e., solutes) in an aqueous solvent (i.e., water or salted water). The solvent is treated as an incompressible fluid, and its fluctuating motion is described by the Stokes equation with the Landau–Lifschitz stochastic stress. The motion of the solute-solvent interface (i.e., the dielectric boundary) is determined by the fluid velocity together with the balance of the viscous force,hydrostatic pressure, surface tension, solute-solvent van der Waals interaction force, and electrostatic force. The electrostatic interactions are described by the dielectric Poisson–Boltzmann theory.Within such a framework, we derive a generalized Rayleigh–Plesset equation, a nonlinear stochastic ordinary differential equation (SODE), for the radius of a spherical charged molecule, such as anion. The spherical average of the stochastic stress leads to a multiplicative noise. We design and test numerical methods for solving the SODE and use the equation, together with explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations, to study the effective radius of a single ion. Potentially, our general modeling framework can be used to efficiently determine the solute-solvent interfacial structures and predict the free energies of more complex molecular systems. 

   more » « less
4. An efficient partial-differential-equation-based method to compute pressure boundary conditions in regional geodynamic models

   https://doi.org/10.5194/se-13-1107-2022  

   Jourdon, Anthony ; May, Dave A. ( January 2022 , Solid Earth)

   Abstract. Modelling the pressure in the Earth's interior is a common problem in Earth sciences. In this study we propose a method based on the conservation of the momentum of a fluid by using a hydrostatic scenario or a uniformly moving fluid to approximate the pressure. This results in a partial differential equation (PDE) that can be solved using classical numerical methods. In hydrostatic cases, the computed pressure is the lithostatic pressure. In non-hydrostatic cases, we show that this PDE-based approach better approximates the total pressure than the classical 1D depth-integrated approach. To illustrate the performance of this PDE-based formulation we present several hydrostatic and non-hydrostatic 2D models in which we compute the lithostatic pressure or an approximation of the total pressure, respectively. Moreover, we also present a 3D rift model that uses that approximated pressure as a time-dependent boundary condition to simulate far-field normal stresses. This model shows a high degree of non-cylindrical deformation, resulting from the stress boundary condition, that is accommodated by strike-slip shear zones. We compare the result of this numerical model with a traditional rift model employing free-slip boundary conditions to demonstrate the first-order implications of considering “open” boundary conditions in 3D thermo-mechanical rift models. 

   more » « less
5. Uniform stability for local discontinuous Galerkin methods with implicit-explicit Runge-Kutta time discretizations for linear convection-diffusion equation

   https://doi.org/10.1090/mcom/3842  

   Wang, Haijin ; Li, Fengyan ; Shu, Chi-Wang ; Zhang, Qiang ( November 2023 , Mathematics of Computation)

   In this paper, we consider the linear convection-diffusion equation in one dimension with periodic boundary conditions, and analyze the stability of fully discrete methods that are defined with local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) methods in space and several implicit-explicit (IMEX) Runge-Kutta methods in time. By using the forward temporal differences and backward temporal differences, respectively, we establish two general frameworks of the energy-method based stability analysis. From here, the fully discrete schemes being considered are shown to have monotonicity stability, i.e. the$L^2$norm of the numerical solution does not increase in time, under the time step condition$\tau \le \mathcal {F}(h/c, d/c^2)$, with the convection coefficient$c$, the diffusion coefficient$d$, and the mesh size$h$. The function$\mathcal {F}$depends on the specific IMEX temporal method, the polynomial degree$k$of the discrete space, and the mesh regularity parameter. Moreover, the time step condition becomes$\tau \lesssim h/c$in the convection-dominated regime and it becomes$\tau \lesssim d/c^2$in the diffusion-dominated regime. The result is improved for a first order IMEX-LDG method. To complement the theoretical analysis, numerical experiments are further carried out, leading to slightly stricter time step conditions that can be used by practitioners. Uniform stability with respect to the strength of the convection and diffusion effects can especially be relevant to guide the choice of time step sizes in practice, e.g. when the convection-diffusion equations are convection-dominated in some sub-regions.

    

   more » « less