Space-time coupled spectral/hp least-squares finite element formulation for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

We consider least-squares finite element models for the numerical solution of the non-stationary Navier-Stokes equations governing viscous incompressible fluid flows. The paper presents a formulation where the effects of space and time are coupled, resulting in a true space-time least-squares minimization procedure, as opposed to a space-time decoupled formulation where a least-squares minimization procedure is performed in space at each time step. The formulation is first presented for the linear advection-diffusion equation and then extended to the Navier-Stokes equations. The formulation has no time step stability restrictions and is spectrally accurate in both space and time. To allow the use of practical C-0 element expansions in the resulting finite element model, the Navier-Stokes equations are expressed as an equivalent set of first-order equations by introducing vorticity as an additional independent variable and the least-squares method is used to develop the finite element model of the governing equations. High-order element expansions are used to construct the discrete model. The discrete model thus obtained is linearized by Newton's method, resulting in a linear system of equations with a symmetric positive definite coefficient matrix that is solved in a fully coupled manner by a preconditioned conjugate gradient method in matrix-free form. Spectral convergence of the L, least-squares functional and L, error norms in space-time is verified using a smooth solution to the two-dimensional non-stationary incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Numerical results are presented for impulsively started lid-driven cavity flow, oscillatory lid-driven cavity flow, transient flow over a backward-facing step, and flow around a circular cylinder; the results demonstrate the predictive capability and robustness of the proposed formulation. Even though the space-time coupled formulation is emphasized, we also present the formulation and numerical results for least-squares space-time decoupled finite element models. The numerical results show that the space-time coupled formulation has superior predictive capabilities for flows demanding high space-time resolution, exemplified here by the transient flow over a backward-facing step. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.