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A finite-volume gas-kinetic method for the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2016

M. Righi*
Affiliation:
Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Winterthur, Switzerland
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Abstract

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Gas-kinetic theory is also valid in the continuum regime: the Euler and Navier-Stokes equations can be obtained as projection of the Boltzmann equation on to the physical space (x,t). The numerical schemes derived from gas-kinetic theory are computationally more expensive than Navier-Stokes based ones, but offer advantages which have been attracting a growing level of attention: they can (i) accommodate discontinuities at cells interface, (ii) provide high-resolution fluxes, (iii) provide advantages in the simulation of turbulence, (iv) handle hypersonic and/or rarefied flows. This study extends the validation of gas-kinetic schemes investigating a few turbulent flow cases. At a slightly higher computational cost, gas-kinetic schemes provide results comparable to those obtained with well-validated Navier-Stokes schemes using the same turbulence model, grid and reconstruction order. In the case of shock-separated flows, the results obtained with the gas-kinetic scheme are even closer to experimental data. These findings are consistent with the idea that gas-kinetic theory is a physically more consistent framework for investigating the mechanics of fluids.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2013