A Least Squares Finite Element Method For Incompressible Navier Stokes Problems

A Least-Squares Finite Element Method for Incompressible Navier-Stokes Problems

A least-squares finite element method, based on the velocity-pressure-vorticity formulation, is developed for solving steady incompressible Navier-Stokes problems. This method leads to a minimization problem rather than to a saddle-point problem by the classic mixed method, and can thus accommodate equal-order interpolations. This method has no parameter to tune. The associated algebraic system is symmetric, and positive definite. Numerical results for the cavity flow at Reynolds number up to 10,000 and the backward-facing step flow at Reynolds number up to 900 are presented. Jiang, Bo-Nan Glenn Research Center NASA ORDER C-99066-G; RTOP 505-62-21...

A Least-squares Finite Element Method for Incompressible Navier-Stokes Problems

The Least-Squares Finite Element Method

Here is a comprehensive introduction to the least-squares finite element method (LSFEM) for numerical solution of PDEs. It covers the theory for first-order systems, particularly the div-curl and the div-curl-grad system. Then LSFEM is applied systematically to permissible boundary conditions for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations, to show that the divergence equations in the Maxwell equations are not redundant, and to derive equivalent second-order versions of the Navier-Stokes equations and the Maxwell equations. LSFEM is simple, efficient and robust, and can solve a wide range of problems in fluid dynamics and electromagnetics, including incompressible viscous flows, rotational inviscid flows, low-Mach-number compressible flows, two-fluid and convective flows, scattering waves, etc.