Performance of Some Finite Elements in Numerical Simulation of Complex Incompressible Three Dimensional Flow

Abstract

A numerical approach is applied to study the flow in some three-dimensional flow configurations. A physical problem has been discretizied using a finite element method based on mixed approximation of the velocity and pressure space. The effectiveness of the method is confirmed by the computational examples representing the class of internal flows having one inlet and more than one outlet. The selected outflow boundary conditions enable the avoidance of mass split-ratio. The computational examples showed that the choice of function spaces for approximation of velocity and pressure has a critical effect on physically meaningful solutions. It was illustrated that the lack of element mass balance limits the application of the well known Taylor-Hood elements for particular types of flow. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003.