EFFICIENT SOLUTION OF 2-DIMENSIONAL STEADY SEPARATED FLOWS

This work is concerned with the numerical solution of two-dimensional incompressible steady laminar separated flows at moderate-to-high values of Re. The vorticity-stream function Navier-Stokes equations, as well as approximate models based upon the boundary-layer theory, will be considered. The main objective of the paper is to present the development of an efficient approach for solving a class of problems usually referred to as "high Re weakly separated flows". A description is given of a block-alternating-direction-implicit method, which applies the approximate factorization scheme of Beam and Warming to the vorticity-stream function equations, using the delta form of the deferred correction procedure of Khosla and Rubin to combine the stability of upwind schemes with the accuracy of central differences. The logical steps which led to the development of a more efficient incremental block-line Gauss-Seidel method and to a simple multigrid strategy particularly suited for this kind of numerical scheme are then outlined. Finally, benchmark-quality solutions for separated flows inside diffusers and channels with smooth as well as sudden expansions are presented.