Finite-Element Solution Procedures for Solving the Incompressible, Navier-Stokes Equations Using Equal Order Variable Interpolation

Abstract

The conventional finite-element formulation of the equations of motion (written in pressure-velocity variables) requires that the order of interpolation for pressure be one less than that used for the velocity components. This constraint is inconvenient and can be argued to be physically inconsistent when inertial effects are dominant. The origins of the constraint are discussed and three new finite-element formulations are advanced that permit equal order representation of pressure and velocity. Of these, the velocity correction scheme, similar to that commonly used in finite-difference procedures, offers superior performance for the examples examined in this paper.