A Petrov-Galerkin technique for the solution of transonic and supersonic flows

Published in Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. Vol. 95(1), pp. 49-70, 1992
doi: 10.1016/0045-7825(92)90081-T

Abstract

This paper is both the description of a streamline-upwind/Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) formulation and the documentation of the development of a code for the finite element solution of transonic and supersonic flows. The aim of this work is to present a formulation to be able to treat domains of any configuration and to use the appropriate physical boundary conditions, which are the major stumbling blocks of the finite difference schemes. The implemented code has the following features: the Hughes' SUPG-type formulation with an oscillation-free shock-capturing operator, adaptive refinement, explicit integration with local time-step and hourglassing control. An automatic scheme for dealing with slip boundary conditions and a boundary-augmented lumped mass matrix for speeding up convergence. The theoretical background of the SUPG formulation is described briefly. How the foregoing formulation was used in the finite element code and which are the appropriate boundary conditions to be used are also described. Finally some results obtained with this code are discussed.