Axial Green's function method for steady Stokes flow in geometrically complex domains

Axial Green's function method (AGM) is developed for the simulation of Stokes flow in geometrically complex solution domains. The AGM formulation systematically decomposes the multidimensional steady-state Stokes equations into 1D forms. The representation formula for the solution variables can then be derived using the 1D Green's functions only, from which a system of 1D integral equations is obtained. Furthermore, the explicit representation formula for the pressure variable enable the unique AGM approach to facilitating the stabilization issue caused by the saddle structure between velocity and pressure. The convergence of numerical solutions, the simple axial discretization of complex solution domains, and the nature of integral schemes are demonstrated through a variety of numerical examples. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.