Conservative high-order finite-difference schemes for low-Mach number flows

Three finite-difference algorithms are proposed to solve a low-Mach number approximation for the Navier-Stokes equations. These algorithms exhibit fourth-order spatial and second-order temporal accuracy. They are dissipation-free, and thus well suited for DNS and LES of turbulent flows. The key ingredient common to each of the methods presented is a Poisson equation with variable coefficient that is solved for the hydrodynamic pressure. This feature ensures that the velocity field is constrained correctly. It is shown that this approach is needed to avoid violation of the conservation of kinetic energy in the inviscid limit which would otherwise arise through the pressure term in the momentum equation. An existing set of finite-difference formulae for incompressible flow is generalized to handle arbitrary large density fluctuations with no violation of conservation through the non-linear convective terms. An algorithm which conserves mass, momentum, and kinetic energy fully is obtained when an approximate equation of state is used instead of the exact one. Results from a model problem are used to show both spatial and temporal convergence rates and several test cases are presented to illustrate the performance of the algorithms. (C) 2000 Academic Press.