A general reconstruction algorithm for simulating flows with complex 3D immersed boundaries on Cartesian grids

In the present note a general reconstruction algorithm for simulating incompressible flows with complex immersed boundaries on Cartesian grids is presented. In the proposed method an arbitrary three-dimensional solid surface im mersed in the fluid is discretized using an unstructured, triangular mesh, and all the Cartesian grid nodes near the interface are identified. Then, the solution at these nodes is reconstructed via linear interpolation along the local normal to the body, in a way that the desired boundary conditions for both pressure and velocity fields are enforced. The overall accuracy of the resulting solver is second-order, as it is demonstrated in two test cases involving laminar flow past a sphere. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.