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Protostellar formation in rotating interstellar clouds. I - Numerical methods and tests

Attention is given to numerical methods and tests of a series of gravitational hydrodynamics computer codes constructed in order to numerically follow the dynamic collapse of spherically symmetric (1-D), axisymmetric (2-D), and non-axisymmetric (3-D) isothermal interstellar clouds. A spherical harmonic expansion is used to solve the Poisson equation for the gravitational potential. It is shown that the use of explicit donor-cell hydrodynamics on a moving spherical coordinate grid ensures mass and momentum conservation and allows the grid to follow the collapse of the fluid. Finally, the performance of the codes is examined.

Boss, A. P.

Numerical method for predicting flow characteristics and performance of nonaxisymmetric nozzles. Part 2: Applications

A computer implemented numerical method for predicting the flow in and about an isolated three dimensional jet exhaust nozzle is summarized. The approach is based on an implicit numerical method to solve the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations in a boundary conforming curvilinear coordinate system. Recent improvements to the original numerical algorithm are summarized. Equations are given for evaluating nozzle thrust and discharge coefficient in terms of computed flowfield data. The final formulation of models that are used to simulate flow turbulence effect is presented. Results are presented from numerical experiments to explore the effect of various quantities on the rate of convergence to steady state and on the final flowfield solution. Detailed flowfield predictions for several two and three dimensional nozzle configurations are presented and compared with wind tunnel experimental data.

Thomas, P. D.

Numerical method for the solution of large systems of differential equations of the boundary layer type

A numerical method for the solution of large systems of nonlinear differential equations of the boundary-layer type is described. The method is a modification of the technique for satisfying asymptotic boundary conditions. The present method employs inverse interpolation instead of the Newton method to adjust the initial conditions of the related initial-value problem. This eliminates the so-called perturbation equations. The elimination of the perturbation equations not only reduces the user's preliminary work in the application of the method, but also reduces the number of time-consuming initial-value problems to be numerically solved at each iteration. For further ease of application, the solution of the overdetermined system for the unknown initial conditions is obtained automatically by applying Golub's linear least-squares algorithm. The relative ease of application of the proposed numerical method increases directly as the order of the differential-equation system increases. Hence, the method is especially attractive for the solution of large-order systems. After the method is described, it is applied to a fifth-order problem from boundary-layer theory.

Green, M. J.

Analytical-numerical methods of calculations of energy and three-dimensional particle distributions in electromagnetic cascades

Analytical and numerical methods of calculation of the energy and three dimensional EPS characteristics are reported. The angular and lateral functions of electrons in EPS have been obtained by the Landau and small angle approximations A and B and compared with earlier data. A numerical method of solution of cascade equations for the EPS distribution function moments has been constructed. Considering the equilibrium rms angle as an example, errors appearing when approximating the elementary process cross sections by their asymptotic expressions are analyzed.

Ivanenko, I. P.

Simple numerical method for predicting steady compressible flows

A numerical method for solving the isenthalpic form of the governing equations for compressible viscous and inviscid flows was developed. The method was based on the concept of flux vector splitting in its implicit form. The method was tested on several demanding inviscid and viscous configurations. Two different forms of the implicit operator were investigated. The time marching to steady state was accelerated by the implementation of the multigrid procedure. Its various forms very effectively increased the rate of convergence of the present scheme. High quality steady state results were obtained in most of the test cases; these required only short computational times due to the relative efficiency of the basic method.

Vonlavante, Ernst

Integrated numerical methods for hypersonic aircraft cooling systems analysis

Numerical methods have been developed for the analysis of hypersonic aircraft cooling systems. A general purpose finite difference thermal analysis code is used to determine areas which must be cooled. Complex cooling networks of series and parallel flow can be analyzed using a finite difference computer program. Both internal fluid flow and heat transfer are analyzed, because increased heat flow causes a decrease in the flow of the coolant. The steady state solution is a successive point iterative method. The transient analysis uses implicit forward-backward differencing. Several examples of the use of the program in studies of hypersonic aircraft and rockets are provided.

Petley, Dennis H.

A numerical method for solving the Navier-Stokes equations with application to shock-boundary layer interactions

A numerical method for solving the compressible form of the unsteady Navier-Stokes equations is described. This method was originally presented in 1970 and has since been modified during the development of computer programs at Ames for implementing models that account for the effects of turbulence in shock-induced separated flows. Although this paper does not describe the turbulence models themselves, a complete description of the basic numerical method is given with emphasis on the choice of a computational mesh for high Reynolds number flows, finite-difference approximations for mixed partial derivatives, extension of the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy stability condition for viscous flows, mesh boundary conditions, and numerical smoothing for strong shock-wave calculations.

Maccormack, R. W.

Perception of numerical methods in rarefied gasdynamics

The relationships between various numerical methods applied to problems in rarefied gasdynamics are discussed, with emphasis on conflicting viewpoints and computational requirements associated with physical simulation versus the numerical solution of the Boltzmann equation. The basic differences between the molecular dynamics and direct simulation methods are shown to affect their applicability to dense and rarefied flows. Methods for the probabilistic selection of representative collision in the direct simulation Monte Carlo method are reviewed. A method combining the most desirable features of the earlier methods is presented.

Bird, G. A.

A numerical method for three-dimensional incompressible flows using nonorthogonal body-fitted coordinate systems

In the present paper, a numerical method for solving the equations of motion of three-dimensional incompressible flows in nonorthogonal body-fitted coordinate (BEC) systems has been developed and evaluated. The equations of motion are transformed to a generalized curvilinear coordinate system from which the transformed equations are discretized using finite difference approximations in the transformed domain. The hybrid scheme and a central differencing plus artificial dissipation scheme are used to approximate the convection terms in the governing equations. Effects of these two schemes on the accuracy of numerical predictions are studied. Solutions of the finite difference equations are obtained iteratively by using a pressure-velocity correction algorithm, SIMPLE-C. Numerical examples of two- and three-dimensional, laminar and turbulent flow problems are employed to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of the present numerical method.

Chen, Y. S.

Simple numerical method for predicting steady compressible flows

The present numerical method for the solution of the isenthalpic form of the governing equations for compressible viscous and inviscid flows has its basis in the concept of flux vector splitting in its implicit form, and has been tested in the cases of several difficult viscous and inviscid configurations. An acceleration of time-marching to steady state is accomplished by implementing a multigrid procedure which effectively increases the convergence rate. The steady state results obtained are largely of good quality, and required only short computational times.

Von Lavante, E.

Simple numerical method for solving the steady Euler equations

A numerical method for solving the isenthalpic form of the governing equations for compressible inviscid flows is developed. The method is based on the concept of flux vector splitting in its implicit form and is tested on several demanding configurations. Time marching to steady state is accelerated by the implementation of the multigrid procedure which very effectively increases the rate of convergence. Steady-state results are obtained for various test cases. Only short computational times are required due to the relative efficiency of the basic method.

Von Lavante, E.

Numerical Methods For Chemically Reacting Flows

Issues related to numerical stability, accuracy, and resolution discussed. Technical memorandum presents issues in numerical solution of hyperbolic conservation laws containing "stiff" (relatively large and rapidly changing) source terms. Such equations often used to represent chemically reacting flows. Usually solved by finite-difference numerical methods. Source terms generally necessitate use of small time and/or space steps to obtain sufficient resolution, especially at discontinuities, where incorrect mathematical modeling results in unphysical solutions.

Leveque, R. J.

A three-dimensional, compressible, laminar boundary-layer method for general fuselages. Volume 1: Numerical method

A procedure for calculating 3-D, compressible laminar boundary layer flow on general fuselage shapes is described. The boundary layer solutions can be obtained in either nonorthogonal 'body oriented' coordinates or orthogonal streamline coordinates. The numerical procedure is 'second order' accurate, efficient and independent of the cross flow velocity direction. Numerical results are presented for several test cases, including a sharp cone, an ellipsoid of revolution, and a general aircraft fuselage at angle of attack. Comparisons are made between numerical results obtained using nonorthogonal curvilinear 'body oriented' coordinates and streamline coordinates.

Wie, Yong-Sun

A numerical method for determining the temperature structure of planetary atmospheres.

A numerical method for calculating the time-average, vertical temperature structure of planetary atmospheres is presented. It is assumed that the atmospheres are in radiative-convective equilibrium, which is a good first approximation to many situations. Numerical tests of the rate of convergence and accuracy of the answer are presented. The method can readily handle molecular sources of opacity. Accurate results can be obtained with a minimum of computer time, because the number of iterations needed (about 4) is small and the number of pressure levels at which the net flux needs to be evaluated (about 10) is small. As an application of this procedure, some model atmospheres of Jupiter are calculated.

Pollack, J. B.

A numerical method for predicting hypersonic flowfields

The flow about a body traveling at hypersonic speed is energetic enough to cause the atmospheric gases to chemically react and reach states in thermal nonequilibrium. The prediction of hypersonic flowfields requires a numerical method capable of solving the conservation equations of fluid flow, the chemical rate equations for specie formation and dissociation, and the transfer of energy relations between translational and vibrational temperature states. Because the number of equations to be solved is large, the numerical method should also be as efficient as possible. The proposed paper presents a fully implicit method that fully couples the solution of the fluid flow equations with the gas physics and chemistry relations. The method flux splits the inviscid flow terms, central differences of the viscous terms, preserves element conservation in the strong chemistry source terms, and solves the resulting block matrix equation by Gauss Seidel line relaxation.

Maccormack, Robert W.