A high-order finite volume method for solving one-dimensional convection and diffusion equations

ABSTRACT

A spatially high-order finite volume method for solving convection and diffusion equations is developed and tested in this work. The method performs a high-order piecewise polynomial reconstruction of the local flow field based on the relationship between Taylor’s series expansion and the volume-averaged flow quantities. A 5 × 5 matrix inversion for each cell is done to compute the cell-center variables and derivatives up to fourth order. While a fixed symmetric grid stencil is maintained in smooth flow regions, a detector for large change in linear data slopes is developed to trigger the use of ENO stencil around flow discontinuities. Regular time integration scheme such as the four-stage Runge–Kutta method or the Euler implicit method is used for time integration. The present finite volume method is shown to be spatially fifth-order accurate for the linear convection equation, fourth-order accurate for the linear diffusion equation, and fourth-order accurate for the linear convection–diffusion equation. The shocks captured in solving the inviscid Burger’s equation are sharp and oscillation free. For the system of Euler equations, a characteristic limiter is further developed to limit the growth of total variation of the solution. Test examples solving shock-tube problems and the interactions of two blast waves show that various flow discontinuities are captured sharply without spurious oscillations.

Acknowledgments

The support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, Republic of China under project MOST104-2221-E006-148 and MOST105-2221-E006-108 is highly appreciated.