A collocated finite volume embedding method for simulation of flow past stationary and moving body

Abstract

A simple and conservative numerical scheme is introduced in this paper to simulate unsteady flow around stationary and moving body. Based on the embedding method (immersed boundary (IB) + volume of fluid (VOF)) implemented in the finite-volume framework, flow past the arbitrarily complex geometry can be readily computed on any existing mesh system. Flow variables stored at cell centers, including those residing within the immersed body, are computed where the induced effect on the flow due to the immersed body is realised via a simple acceleration term (forcing function) derived based on the VOF value. In the current work, an identical VOF value is used for all momentum equations, in contrast to that of the pre-existing method, whereby numerical interpolation is required. The method is verified with a number of flow cases, including flow in a 2D square cavity, flow past a stationary and oscillating cylinder and flow induced by a flapping ellipse in an enclosure. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.