Stretched Cartesian grids for solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations

Two Cartesian grid stretching functions are investigated for solving the unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using the pressure-velocity formulation. The first function is developed for the Fourier method and is a generalization of earlier work. This function concentrates more points at the centre of the computational box while allowing the box to remain finite. The second stretching function is for the second-order central finite difference scheme, which uses a staggered grid in the computational domain. This function is derived to allow a direct discretization of the Laplacian operator in the pressure equation while preserving the consistent behaviour exhibited by the uniform grid scheme. Both functions are analysed for their effects on the matrix of the discretized pressure equation. It is shown that while the second function does not spoil the matrix diagonal dominance, the first one can. Limits to stretching of the first method are derived for the cases of mappings in one and two directions. A limit is also derived for the second function in order to prevent a strong distortion of a sine wave. The performances of the two types of stretching are examined in simulations of periodic co-flowing jets and a time developing boundary layer. Copyright (C) 2000 John Whey & Sons, Ltd.