Solution Accuracy (solution + accuracy)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


2-D/3-D multiply transmitted, converted and reflected arrivals in complex layered media with the modified shortest path method

GEOPHYSICAL JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2009
Chao-Ying Bai
SUMMARY Grid-cell based schemes for tracing seismic arrivals, such as the finite difference eikonal equation solver or the shortest path method (SPM), are conventionally confined to locating first arrivals only. However, later arrivals are numerous and sometimes of greater amplitude than the first arrivals, making them valuable information, with the potential to be used for precise earthquake location, high-resolution seismic tomography, real-time automatic onset picking and identification of multiple events on seismic exploration data. The purpose of this study is to introduce a modified SPM (MSPM) for tracking multiple arrivals comprising any kind of combination of transmissions, conversions and reflections in complex 2-D/3-D layered media. A practical approach known as the multistage scheme is incorporated into the MSPM to propagate seismic wave fronts from one interface (or subsurface structure for 3-D application) to the next. By treating each layer that the wave front enters as an independent computational domain, one obtains a transmitted and/or converted branch of later arrivals by reinitializing it in the adjacent layer, and a reflected and/or converted branch of later arrivals by reinitializing it in the incident layer. A simple local grid refinement scheme at the layer interface is used to maintain the same accuracy as in the one-stage MSPM application in tracing first arrivals. Benchmark tests against the multistage fast marching method are undertaken to assess the solution accuracy and the computational efficiency. Several examples are presented that demonstrate the viability of the multistage MSPM in highly complex layered media. Even in the presence of velocity variations, such as the Marmousi model, or interfaces exhibiting a relatively high curvature, later arrivals composed of any combination of the transmitted, converted and reflected events are tracked accurately. This is because the multistage MSPM retains the desirable properties of a single-stage MSPM: high computational efficiency and a high accuracy compared with the multistage FMM scheme. [source]


Appropriate vertical discretization of Richards' equation for two-dimensional watershed-scale modelling

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 1 2004
Charles W. Downer
Abstract A number of watershed-scale hydrological models include Richards' equation (RE) solutions, but the literature is sparse on information as to the appropriate application of RE at the watershed scale. In most published applications of RE in distributed watershed-scale hydrological modelling, coarse vertical resolutions are used to decrease the computational burden. Compared to point- or field-scale studies, application at the watershed scale is complicated by diverse runoff production mechanisms, groundwater effects on runoff production, runon phenomena and heterogeneous watershed characteristics. An essential element of the numerical solution of RE is that the solution converges as the spatial resolution increases. Spatial convergence studies can be used to identify the proper resolution that accurately describes the solution with maximum computational efficiency, when using physically realistic parameter values. In this study, spatial convergence studies are conducted using the two-dimensional, distributed-parameter, gridded surface subsurface hydrological analysis (GSSHA) model, which solves RE to simulate vadose zone fluxes. Tests to determine if the required discretization is strongly a function of dominant runoff production mechanism are conducted using data from two very different watersheds, the Hortonian Goodwin Creek Experimental Watershed and the non-Hortonian Muddy Brook watershed. Total infiltration, stream flow and evapotranspiration for the entire simulation period are used to compute comparison statistics. The influences of upper and lower boundary conditions on the solution accuracy are also explored. Results indicate that to simulate hydrological fluxes accurately at both watersheds small vertical cell sizes, of the order of 1 cm, are required near the soil surface, but not throughout the soil column. The appropriate choice of approximations for calculating the near soil-surface unsaturated hydraulic conductivity can yield modest increases in the required cell size. Results for both watersheds are quite similar, even though the soils and runoff production mechanisms differ greatly between the two catchments. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


On the computation of steady-state compressible flows using a discontinuous Galerkin method

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2008
Hong Luo
Abstract Computation of compressible steady-state flows using a high-order discontinuous Galerkin finite element method is presented in this paper. An accurate representation of the boundary normals based on the definition of the geometries is used for imposing solid wall boundary conditions for curved geometries. Particular attention is given to the impact and importance of slope limiters on the solution accuracy for flows with strong discontinuities. A physics-based shock detector is introduced to effectively make a distinction between a smooth extremum and a shock wave. A recently developed, fast, low-storage p -multigrid method is used for solving the governing compressible Euler equations to obtain steady-state solutions. The method is applied to compute a variety of compressible flow problems on unstructured grids. Numerical experiments for a wide range of flow conditions in both 2D and 3D configurations are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the developed discontinuous Galerkin method for computing compressible steady-state flows. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A vertex-based finite volume method applied to non-linear material problems in computational solid mechanics

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 4 2003
G. A. Taylor
Abstract A vertex-based finite volume (FV) method is presented for the computational solution of quasi-static solid mechanics problems involving material non-linearity and infinitesimal strains. The problems are analysed numerically with fully unstructured meshes that consist of a variety of two- and three-dimensional element types. A detailed comparison between the vertex-based FV and the standard Galerkin FE methods is provided with regard to discretization, solution accuracy and computational efficiency. For some problem classes a direct equivalence of the two methods is demonstrated, both theoretically and numerically. However, for other problems some interesting advantages and disadvantages of the FV formulation over the Galerkin FE method are highlighted. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Computations of two passing-by high-speed trains by a relaxation overset-grid algorithm

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 12 2004
Jenn-Long Liu
Abstract This paper presents a relaxation algorithm, which is based on the overset grid technology, an unsteady three-dimensional Navier,Stokes flow solver, and an inner- and outer-relaxation method, for simulation of the unsteady flows of moving high-speed trains. The flow solutions on the overlapped grids can be accurately updated by introducing a grid tracking technique and the inner- and outer-relaxation method. To evaluate the capability and solution accuracy of the present algorithm, the computational static pressure distribution of a single stationary TGV high-speed train inside a long tunnel is investigated numerically, and is compared with the experimental data from low-speed wind tunnel test. Further, the unsteady flows of two TGV high-speed trains passing by each other inside a long tunnel and at the tunnel entrance are simulated. A series of time histories of pressure distributions and aerodynamic loads acting on the train and tunnel surfaces are depicted for detailed discussions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


A parallel cell-based DSMC method on unstructured adaptive meshes

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 12 2004
Min Gyu Kim
Abstract A parallel DSMC method based on a cell-based data structure is developed for the efficient simulation of rarefied gas flows on PC-clusters. Parallel computation is made by decomposing the computational domain into several subdomains. Dynamic load balancing between processors is achieved based on the number of simulation particles and the number of cells allocated in each subdomain. Adjustment of cell size is also made through mesh adaptation for the improvement of solution accuracy and the efficient usage of meshes. Applications were made for a two-dimensional supersonic leading-edge flow, the axi-symmetric Rothe's nozzle, and the open hollow cylinder flare flow for validation. It was found that the present method is an efficient tool for the simulation of rarefied gas flows on PC-based parallel machines. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The effect of overall discretization scheme on Jacobian structure, convergence rate, and solution accuracy within the local rectangular refinement method

NUMERICAL LINEAR ALGEBRA WITH APPLICATIONS, Issue 8 2001
Beth Anne V. Bennett
Abstract The local rectangular refinement (LRR) solution-adaptive gridding method automatically produces orthogonal unstructured adaptive grids and incorporates multiple-scale finite differences to discretize systems of elliptic governing partial differential equations (PDEs). The coupled non-linear discretized equations are solved simultaneously via Newton's method with a Bi-CGSTAB linear system solver. The grids' unstructured nature produces a nonstandard sparsity pattern within the Jacobian. The effects of two discretization schemes (LRR multiple-scale stencils and traditional single-scale stencils) on Jacobian bandwidth, convergence speed, and solution accuracy are studied. With various point orderings, for two simple problems with analytical solutions, the LRR multiple-scale stencils are seen to: (1) produce Jacobians of smaller bandwidths than those resulting from the traditional single-scale stencils; (2) lead to significantly faster Newton's method convergence than the single-scale stencils; and (3) produce more accurate solutions than the single-scale stencils. The LRR method, including the LRR multiple-scale stencils, is finally applied to an engineering problem governed by strongly coupled, highly non-linear PDEs: a steady-state lean Bunsen flame with complex chemistry, multicomponent transport, and radiation modeling. Very good agreement is observed between the computed flame height and previously published experimental data. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Application of Richardson extrapolation to the numerical solution of partial differential equations

NUMERICAL METHODS FOR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS, Issue 4 2009
Clarence Burg
Abstract Richardson extrapolation is a methodology for improving the order of accuracy of numerical solutions that involve the use of a discretization size h. By combining the results from numerical solutions using a sequence of related discretization sizes, the leading order error terms can be methodically removed, resulting in higher order accurate results. Richardson extrapolation is commonly used within the numerical approximation of partial differential equations to improve certain predictive quantities such as the drag or lift of an airfoil, once these quantities are calculated on a sequence of meshes, but it is not widely used to determine the numerical solution of partial differential equations. Within this article, Richardson extrapolation is applied directly to the solution algorithm used within existing numerical solvers of partial differential equations to increase the order of accuracy of the numerical result without referring to the details of the methodology or its implementation within the numerical code. Only the order of accuracy of the existing solver and certain interpolations required to pass information between the mesh levels are needed to improve the order of accuracy and the overall solution accuracy. Using the proposed methodology, Richardson extrapolation is used to increase the order of accuracy of numerical solutions of the linear heat and wave equations and of the nonlinear St. Venant equations in one-dimension. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2009 [source]


Performance and numerical behavior of the second-order scheme of precise time-step integration for transient dynamic analysis

NUMERICAL METHODS FOR PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS, Issue 6 2007
Hang Ma
Abstract Spurious high-frequency responses resulting from spatial discretization in time-step algorithms for structural dynamic analysis have long been an issue of concern in the framework of traditional finite difference methods. Such algorithms should be not only numerically dissipative in a controllable manner, but also unconditionally stable so that the time-step size can be governed solely by the accuracy requirement. In this article, the issue is considered in the framework of the second-order scheme of the precise integration method (PIM). Taking the Newmark-, method as a reference, the performance and numerical behavior of the second-order PIM for elasto-dynamic impact-response problems are studied in detail. In this analysis, the differential quadrature method is used for spatial discretization. The effects of spatial discretization, numerical damping, and time step on solution accuracy are explored by analyzing longitudinal vibrations of a shock-excited rod with rectangular, half-triangular, and Heaviside step impact. Both the analysis and numerical tests show that under the framework of the PIM, the spatial discretization used here can provide a reasonable number of model types for any given error tolerance. In the analysis of dynamic response, an appropriate spatial discretization scheme for a given structure is usually required in order to obtain an accurate and meaningful numerical solution, especially for describing the fine details of traction responses with sharp changes. Under the framework of the PIM, the numerical damping that is often required in traditional integration schemes is found to be unnecessary, and there is no restriction on the size of time steps, because the PIM can usually produce results with machine-like precision and is an unconditionally stable explicit method. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2007 [source]