A face-centred finite volume solver for viscous laminar incompressible flows using OpenFOAM

(English) Incompressible flow simulations are crucial for numerous scientific and engineering applications, from automotive aerodynamics to biomedical device design. Traditional finite volume (FV) methods, such as the cell-centered finite volume (CCFV) approach used by OpenFOAM, face significant cha...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Cortellessa, Davide
Tipo de recurso: tesis doctoral
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:CBUC, CESCA
Repositorio:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
OAI Identifier:oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/693987
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10803/693987
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Face-centred finite volume
OpenFOAM
Hybrid pressure FCFV
Navier-Stokes equations
Incompressible flows
Laminar flows
Steady-state problems
Transient problems
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria civil
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria mecànica
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Descripción
Sumario:(English) Incompressible flow simulations are crucial for numerous scientific and engineering applications, from automotive aerodynamics to biomedical device design. Traditional finite volume (FV) methods, such as the cell-centered finite volume (CCFV) approach used by OpenFOAM, face significant challenges related to mesh quality, particularly non-orthogonality and skewness. These issues often result in accuracy loss and lead to a complex and time-consuming mesh generation procedure, especially for complex geometries. This thesis addresses these issues by developing and implementing a face-centered finite volume (FCFV) solver for viscous laminar incompressible flows within the OpenFOAM framework. The FCFV method can be seen as a hybridisable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) method using the lowest order approximation. It achieves first-order convergence for velocity, pressure, and velocity gradient without requiring reconstruction, thus significantly reducing mesh sensitivity. Additionally, the face-centered finite volume method circumvents the Ladyzhenskaya-Babuška-Brezzi (LBB) condition, enabling monolithic solution strategies that solve for velocity and pressure simultaneously or staggered approaches based on algebraic splitting that avoid the introduction of non-physical boundary conditions, unlike standard OpenFOAM solvers. The primary contribution of this thesis is the seamless integration of an efficient FCFV solver into OpenFOAM, offering a robust alternative for cases dealing with complex geometries and/or distorted meshes. This development includes both steady-state and transient formulations and introduces a novel hybrid pressure FCFV formulation to enhance accuracy for higher Reynolds number simulations. Extensive benchmarking and validation against well-known test problems, always compared with standard OpenFOAM solvers, demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the FCFV solvers, particularly on meshes with high non-orthogonality and skewness. The results indicate that the FCFV method always maintains optimal first-order convergence for all variables and outperforms the standard CCFV solvers currently available within OpenFOAM in cases with distorted meshes. The developed FCFV solvers offer a valuable alternative for OpenFOAM users dealing with complex geometries, enabling the use of unstructured and stretched meshes without sacrificing accuracy or stability.