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Application of a modified finite element method to the time-dependent thermal convection of a liquid metal

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5890884

Starting with the Galerkin finite-element method and the simplest appropriate isoparametric element for modeling the Navier-Stokes equations, the spatial approximation is modified in two ways in the interest of cost-effectiveness: the mass matrix is lumped and all coefficient matrices are generated via one-point quadrature. After appending a correction term to the diffusion matrices, the modified semi-discretized equations are integrated in time using the explicit Euler method in a special way to compensate for that portion of the time truncation error which is intolerable for advection-dominated flows. The scheme is completed by the introduction of a subcycling strategy which permits less frequent updates of the pressure field with little loss of accuracy. After summarizing these techniques, a simulation of free convection in a two-dimensional box at Ra = 10/sup 5/ and Pr = 0.01 is described.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
5890884
Report Number(s):
UCRL-88990; CONF-830803-8; ON: DE83009847
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English