Computational Fluid Dynamics

Finite volume method

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FINITE VOLUME METHOD
• The finite volume method (FVM) is based on the approximate solution of
the integral form of the conservation equations.

• The problem domain is divided into a set of non-overlapping control

volumes (called finite volumes). The conservation equations are applied to
each finite volume.

• The integrals occurring in the conservation equations are evaluated using

function values at computational nodes (which are usually taken as centroids
of finite volumes).

• This process involves use of approximate integral formulae & interpolation

methods (to obtain the values of variables at surfaces of the CVs).

• The FVM can accommodate any type of grid, and hence, it is naturally
suitable for complex geometries. This explains its popularity for commercial
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Integral form of governing equation

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Integral form of governing equation
• Solution domain is sub-divided into a finite number of small control
volume (CVs) by a grid.

• The grid defines the CV boundaries, not the computational modes. The
integral conservation equation applies to each CV as well as to the solution
domain as a whole.

• To obtain an algebraic equation for each CV, the surface and volume
integrals are approximated using quadrature formulae. Thus, the overall
finite volume solution process involves the following steps

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Integral form of governing equation
Discretize the solution domain by a grid (i.e. a set of finite volumes),
and define the computational nodes at which variables are to be evaluated.

Apply the integral form of conservation law to each control volume.

Approximate the surface and volume integrals using appropriate quadrature
formulae in terms of the function values at computational nodes.

Collect the algebraic equations for all the finite volumes to obtain a
system of algebraic equations in terms of unknown values of the variable at
computational nodes.

Solve the resulting system of algebraic equations to obtain values of the

variable at each computational node.

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Types of FV grids
There are two common approaches to finite volume discretization: (a) cell-
centred and (b) face centred grids
Cell-centred approach: CVs are defined by a suitable grid (structured
or unstructured) and computational nodes are assigned at the CV centre.
Face-centred approach: Nodal locations are defined first, and CVs are
then constructed around them so that CV faces lie midway between the
nodes. It can be used only with structured grids.
Considering versatility, the first approach is commonly employed.

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Compass notation
For structured Cartesian grids, compass notation is employed for computational
nodes as shown in Figures for 2-D and 3-D. CV surfaces can be subdivided into 4
(in 2-D) or 6 (in 3-D) plane faces denoted by lower case letters corresponding to
their direction (e, w, s, n, t and b) with respects to the central node P.

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APPROXIMATION OF SURFACE INTEGRALS

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APPROXIMATION OF SURFACE INTEGRALS

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APPROXIMATION OF VOLUME INTEGRALS

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FINITE VOLUME INTERPOLATION SCHEMES

The approximation of surface and volume integrals may require values of the
variable at locations other than the computational nodes of the CV. Values at
these locations are obtained using interpolation formulae

UPWIND INTERPOLATION
The upwind interpolation (UDS) for approximating the value of a variable at
the east face of a control volume is given by

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FINITE VOLUME INTERPOLATION SCHEMES

LINEAR INTERPOLATION (CDS)

We can approximate the value of the variable at CV face centre by linear
interpolation of the values at two nearest computational nodes. Thus, at
location ‘e’ on a Cartesian grid, the variable value is approximated by

The linear interpolation is equivalent to the use of central difference formula

of the first order derivative, and hence, this scheme is also termed as central
difference scheme (CDS).

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FINITE VOLUME INTERPOLATION SCHEMES

QUADRATIC UPWIND INTERPOLATION (QUICK)

A quadratic upwind interpolation (QUICK) scheme can be derived using
polynomial fitting. The QUICK interpolation on a uniform Cartesian grid is
given by

where D, U and UU denote the downstream, the first upstream and the
second upstream node respectively (E, P, and W or P, E and EE depending on
the flow direction).

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APPLICATION OF FVM TO 1-D DIFFUSION PROBLEM

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APPLICATION OF FVM TO 1-D DIFFUSION PROBLEM

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APPLICATION OF FVM TO 1-D DIFFUSION PROBLEM

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APPLICATION OF FVM TO 1-D DIFFUSION PROBLEM

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APPLICATION OF FVM TO 1-D DIFFUSION PROBLEM

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APPLICATION OF FVM TO 1-D DIFFUSION PROBLEM

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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EXAMPLE

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Two dimensional diffusion problem

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Two dimensional diffusion problem

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Two dimensional diffusion problem

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Two dimensional diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem
With central difference scheme

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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One dimensional steady state convection diffusion problem

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Upwind differencing scheme

One of the major inadequacies of the central differencing scheme is its inability
to identify flow direction.

The value of property φ at a west cell face is always influenced by both φP and
φW in central differencing.

In a strongly convective flow from west to east, the above treatment is unsuitable
because the west cell face should receive much stronger influencing from node W
than from node P.

The upwind differencing or ‘donor cell’ differencing scheme takes into account
the flow direction when determining the value at a cell face: the convected value of
φ at a cell face is taken to be equal to the value at the upstream node.

In Figure 5.10 we show the nodal values used to calculate cell face values when
the flow is in the positive direction (west to east) and in Figure 5.11 those for the
negative direction.
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Upwind differencing scheme

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Upwind differencing scheme

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Upwind differencing scheme

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Upwind differencing scheme
Solve the problem considered in Example 1 using the upwind differencing scheme
for (i) u = 0.1 m/s, (ii) u = 2.5 m/s with the coarse five-point grid.

The grid shown in Figure is used here for the discretisation. The discretisation
equation at internal nodes 2, 3 and 4 and the relevant neighbor coefficients are
given by (5.31) and its accompanying tables. Note that in this example F = Fe = Fw
= ρu and D = De = Dw = Γ/δx everywhere.
At the boundary node 1, the use of upwind differencing for the convective terms
gives
FeφP − FAφA = De(φE − φP) − DA(φP − φA) (5.32)
And at node 5
FBφP − FwφW = DB(φB − φP) − Dw(φP − φW) (5.33)
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Upwind differencing scheme
At the boundary nodes we have D = DA = DB = 2Γ/δx =2D and FA = FB = F, and
as usual the boundary conditions enter the discretised equations as source
contributions:

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Upwind differencing scheme

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Upwind differencing scheme

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Quadratic upwind differencing scheme: the QUICK scheme

The face value of φ is obtained from a quadratic function passing through two
bracketing nodes (on each side of the face) and a node on the upstream side

For example, when uw > 0 and ue > 0 a quadratic fit through WW, W and P is used
to evaluate φw, and a further quadratic fit through W, P and E to calculate φe. For
uw < 0 and ue < 0 values of φ at W, P and E are used for φw, and values at P, E
and EE for φe. It can be shown that for a uniform grid the value of φ at the cell
face between two bracketing nodes i and i − 1 and upstream node i − 2 is given by
the following formula
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Quadratic upwind differencing scheme: the QUICK scheme

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Quadratic upwind differencing scheme: the QUICK scheme

So the QUICK scheme can be summaries as,

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