RBF-FD discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations using staggered nodes

Tianyi Chu, Oliver T. Schmidt

Published 2022-06-13Version 1

A semi-implicit fractional-step method that uses a staggered node layout and radial basis function-finite differences (RBF-FD) to solve the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is developed. Polyharmonic splines (PHS) with polynomial augmentation (PHS+poly) are used to construct the global differentiation matrices. A systematic parameter study identifies a combination of stencil size, PHS exponent, and polynomial degree that minimizes the truncation error for a wave-like test function on scattered nodes. Classical modified wavenumber analysis is extended to RBF-FDs on heterogeneous node distributions and used to confirm that the accuracy of the selected 28-point stencil is comparable to that of spectral-like, 6th-order Pad\'e-type finite differences. The Navier-Stokes solver is demonstrated on two benchmark problems, internal flow in a lid-driven cavity in the Reynolds number regime $10^2 \leq \mathrm{Re}\leq 10^4$, and open flow around a cylinder at $\mathrm{Re}= 100$ and $200$. The combination of grid staggering and careful parameter selection facilitates accurate and stable simulations at significantly lower resolutions than previously reported, using more compact RBF-FD stencils, without special treatment near solid walls, and without the need for hyperviscosity or other means of regularization.