How Can Numerical Stability Be Achieved in Unsteady Laminar Flow Equations?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion focuses on achieving numerical stability in the context of unsteady laminar flow equations, specifically within a pipe. Participants explore the stability analysis of a discretized form of the governing equations, addressing challenges encountered during the analysis.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Mathematical reasoning

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents the unsteady laminar flow equation and its discretization, expressing difficulty in performing stability analysis due to a complex term involving the Euler number.
  • Another participant suggests taking the natural log and multiplying by its conjugate base as a potential method to simplify the stability analysis.
  • A third participant advises looking up the answer instead of getting stuck, emphasizing the importance of understanding the solution rather than just finding it.
  • A later reply mentions a discussion with a professor who was uncertain about handling a constant term but noted that stability analysis should primarily depend on the unsteady and viscous terms, and also points out a correction regarding a coefficient's sign.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on how to approach the stability analysis, with no consensus on a definitive method to resolve the complexities involved. Some participants advocate for independent research while others focus on collaborative problem-solving.

Contextual Notes

Participants highlight potential limitations in their approaches, including unresolved mathematical steps and dependencies on specific terms in the equations. The discussion reflects uncertainty regarding the treatment of certain terms in the stability analysis.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students and practitioners in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), particularly those dealing with numerical stability in unsteady flow problems.

Aero51
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I took a CFD class last semester (had to leave school though due to personal garbage). I am making a come back this fall and as some extra credit I am trying to numerically solve the unsteady laminar flow equation in a pipe. The equation is

\dot{U} + U'' + K = 0
where dots denote the time derivative and primes denote spatial derivatives (in this case the radius, r)

The discretization of the equation is:
(U^{n+1}_{i}-U^{n}_{i})/\Delta T + (U^{n}_{i+1} - 2U^{n}_i+U^n_{i-1})/(\Delta R)^2 + K

However, when I try to do the stability analysis I get this really ugly problem:
CFL = 1-2{\Delta T}/(\Delta R)^2 * (cosh(\Delta R)-1)-K\Delta T e^{i K_m R}

Any ideas how to eliminate that last euler number to make the stability analysis more feasible?
 
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Update: I am going to try to take the natural log and multiply by its conjugate base and see what happens
 
Since you are already retaking this class, I would just look up the answer. You have tried your hardest to solve it, now find the answer. It just isn't worth the energy to get stuck on something like this.

PS. And of course I mean, find the answer and try to understand it, read more online, etc.
 
I talked it over with my professor, he actually wasn't sure how to deal with the constant term either. However, he did mention that he was certain the stability analysis was only dependent on the unsteady and viscus terms. Also, I had a coefficient negative when it should have been positive...
 

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