Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

www.elsevier.com/locate/comp¯uid

Numerical simulation of natural convection in a square

cavity by SIMPLE-generalized di€erential quadrature method
C. Shu *, K.H.A. Wee
Department of Mechanical and Production Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent,
Singapore 119260, Singapore
Received 1 July 1999; received in revised form 22 July 2000; accepted 17 January 2001

Abstract
This is the ®rst endeavor whereby the two-dimensional incompressible Navier±Stokes equations in
primitive variable form are solved by using the generalized di€erential quadrature method with SIMPLE
strategy. A new approach is proposed to enforce the continuity condition on the boundary and to im-
plement the boundary condition for pressure correction equation. It is demonstrated that accurate nu-
merical results can be obtained by the present method using a few grid points. It is also shown that the
`multi-stage' process can enhance the convergence rate of numerical simulation. Ó 2001 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Natural convection; Generalized di€erential quadrature; Numerical accuracy and eciency; Finite
di€erence; Pressure-correction method; Pressure boundary condition

1. Introduction

Di€erential quadrature (DQ) is a global method, which was proposed by Bellman et al. [1,2].
DQ approximates the derivative of a smooth function by a weighted linear sum of all the func-
tional values at the grid points. The key to DQ is the computation of weighting coecients.
Bellman et al. proposed two methods to determine the weighting coecients for the ®rst-order
derivative. The ®rst method is by solving a system of algebraic equations. The second method is
by simple algebraic formulation whereby the coordinates of the grid points are chosen as the
roots of the shifted Legendre polynomial. The ®rst method [3,4] of determining the weighting
coecients is popular, since the grid points can be chosen arbitrarily. Unfortunately, its matrix

*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +65-874-6476; fax: +65-779-1459.
E-mail address: mpeshuc@nus.edu.sg (C. Shu).

0045-7930/02/$ - see front matter Ó 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 4 5 - 7 9 3 0 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 2 4 - X
210 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

becomes ill conditioned when the number of grid points is large, hence, it is very dicult to obtain
the weighting coecients by this method. To overcome this diculty, Shu [5], Shu and Richards
[6] developed a generalized di€erential quadrature (GDQ) to determine the weighting coecients.
GDQ is based on the analysis of a high order polynomial approximation and the analysis of a
linear vector space. It computes the weighting coecients of the ®rst-order derivative by a simple
algebraic formulation, and the weighting coecients of the second and higher-order derivatives by
a recurrence relationship.
Thus far, the GDQ method has been eciently applied to solve the two-dimensional incom-
pressible Navier±Stokes equations with the vorticity-stream function …x; w† formulation [5±7].
The main advantage of such formulation [8,9] is that, the pressure gradient terms in the mo-
mentum equations are transformed into an equation governing x, thus eliminating problems
related to the velocity-pressure decoupling. Furthermore, instead of solving for the three variables
…u; v; p†, only two variables …x; w† are required to be solved. Hence, less computational e€ort and
storage are needed. The pressure ®eld, which is an important result required for the calculation of
¯uid density and other properties, can be obtained from the converged solutions of x and w.
However, the main disadvantage is that when it is extended to the three-dimensional case, the
computational e€ort required is much larger than the original form. For example, the vorticity-
based methods proposed by Aziz and Hellums [10] and Davis et al. [11] for the three-dimensional
case are more complex as compared to the primitive variable form. This is a serious limitation for
vorticity-stream function formulation as most practical problems are three-dimensional in nature.
In contrast, the primitive variable …u-v-p† formulation [12,13] can be easily extended to three-
dimensional problems and has been used successfully. However, the primitive variable formula-
tion su€ers from two limitations. The ®rst limitation is that there is no transport equation for
pressure. Although the pressure gradient term appears in the momentum equations, there is no
apparent equation to solve for the pressure. This is di€erent from the compressible ¯ow, whereby
the continuity equation is taken as the transport equation for density, the energy equation is taken
as the transport equation for temperature and the pressure is then obtained from the density and
temperature by using the equation of state. Therefore, special techniques are required to solve the
primitive variable form of the incompressible Navier±Stokes equations. The SIMPLE algorithm
and its various versions [14±19] are such techniques. These methods are essentially iterative guess-
and-correct procedures. Generally, they consist of solving the momentum equations by using a
guessed pressure ®eld to obtain an intermediate velocity ®eld. The pressure-correction equation,
which is obtained using the continuity equation, is solved using the intermediate velocities. The
pressure and velocities are corrected using the pressure-correction. The process is repeated until
the continuity equation is satis®ed. The second limitation is that, there is no speci®c boundary
condition for pressure and pressure correction. Patankar [20] noted that for problems with given
pressure ®eld, the guessed intermediate pressure ®eld can be set equal to the given pressure ®eld.
Then the pressure-correction at the boundary can be easily set to zero. However, in most prob-
lems, the pressure ®eld is unknown, but it can be determined from the momentum equations. In
general, the SIMPLE algorithm is applied with low order ®nite di€erence or ®nite volume dis-
cretization on a staggered grid, in which the velocity components and pressure are de®ned at
di€erent mesh points. Although the use of staggered grids brings much e€ort into the computer
programming, it guarantees that the continuity equation is automatically satis®ed on the
boundary. It is noted that the satisfying of continuity equation on the boundary is necessary.
 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226 211

Otherwise, the boundary point would act like a hole, through which there is mass ¯ow in or out,
and as a consequence, the considered problem is changed.
To overcome the drawbacks of the vorticity-stream function formulation, this paper seeks to
eciently solve the incompressible Navier±Stokes equations in primitive variable form by using
SIMPLE strategy with GDQ discretization. As shown by Shu et al. [21], for a speci®ed accuracy,
GDQ requires much less computational e€ort as compared with the second order ®nite di€erence
scheme. Furthermore, GDQ can achieve very high order of accuracy which cannot be reached by
the second order ®nite di€erence scheme. On the other hand, we should indicate that the GDQ
discretization is based on a non-staggered grid. When it is applied with SIMPLE strategy, the
continuity equation may not be satis®ed on the boundary. As discussed earlier on, to obtain an
accurate numerical solution, the continuity condition on the boundary should be enforced. This
paper proposes an ecient method to impose the continuity condition on the boundary, and the
boundary condition for pressure correction equation. The paper also proposes a `multi-stage'
process to further enhance the convergence rate of numerical simulation. The numerical results
obtained by SIMPLE-GDQ method will be validated by the benchmark solution of natural
convection in a square cavity published by de Vahl Davis [22], Mahdi and Kinney [23], Hortmann
and Peric [24] and Le Quere [25].

2. Generalized di€erential quadrature

GDQ approach was developed by Shu and coworkers [5±7] based on the (DQ) technique [1]. It
approximates the spatial derivative of a function at a given grid point as a weighted linear sum of
all the functional values at all grid points in the whole domain. The computation of weighting
coecients by GDQ is based on the analysis of a high order polynomial approximation and the
analysis of a linear vector space. The weighting coecients of the ®rst-order derivative are cal-
culated by a simple algebraic formulation, and the weighting coecients of the second- and
higher-order derivatives are given by a recurrence relationship. The details of GDQ method can
be found in Refs. [5±7]. Some two-dimensional results are described as follows. For a smooth
function f …x; y†, GDQ discretizes its nth order derivative with respect to x, and the mth order
derivative with respect to y, at the grid point …xi ; yj † as

X
N
…n†
fx…n† …xi ; yj † ˆ wik f …xk ; yj †; n ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N 1; …1a†
kˆ1

X
M
…m†
fy…m† …xi ; yj † ˆ wjk f …xi ; yk †; m ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M 1; …1b†
kˆ1

for i ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N ; j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M;
…n† …m†
where N , M are the number of grid points in the x and y direction respectively, wik , wjk are the
weighting coecients to be determined as follows:
212 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

weighting coecients for the ®rst-order derivative

…1† A…1† …xi †
wij ˆ ; i; j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N ; but j 6ˆ i; …2a†
…xi xj †A…1† …xj †

…1† B…1† …yi †

wij ˆ ; i; j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M; but j 6ˆ i; …2b†
…yi yj †B…1† …yj †
where
Y
N Y
M
A…1† …xi † ˆ …xi xj †; B…1† …yi † ˆ …yi yj †:
jˆ1;j6ˆi jˆ1;j6ˆi

weighting coecients for the second- and higher-order derivatives

…n 1†
!
…n† …n 1† …1† wij
wij ˆ n wii wij for i; j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N ; but j 6ˆ i; n ˆ 2; 3; . . . ; N 1; …3a†
xi xj

… m 1†
!
…m† …m 1† …1† wij
wij ˆm wii wij for i; j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M; but j 6ˆ i; m ˆ 2; 3; . . . ; M 1:
yi yj
…3b†
When j ˆ i, the weighting coecients are given by

…n†
X
N
…n†
wii ˆ wij ; i ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N ; n ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N 1; …4a†
jˆ1;j6ˆi

…m†
X
M
…m†
wii ˆ wij ; i ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M; m ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M 1: …4b†
jˆ1;j6ˆi

It is obvious from above equations that the weighting coecients of the second- and higher-order
derivatives can be completely determined from those of the ®rst-order derivatives. When the
coordinates of grid points are known, the weighting coecients for the discretization of deriva-
tives can be easily calculated from Eqs. (2a)±(4b). Then using Eqs. (1a) and (1b), all the spatial
derivatives can be discretized using a similar form. The di€erence for the respective derivatives is
to use di€erent weighting coecients, which are usually computed in advance. This avails as an
easily implementable scheme on the computer with greatly simpli®ed code-editing features.

3. Governing equations and numerical algorithms

The non-dimensional governing equations for the natural convection in a square cavity are
given by the two-dimensional incompressible Navier±Stokes equations in primitive variable form
as
 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226 213

ou ov
‡ ˆ 0; …5†
ox oy
 2 
ou ou ou op o u o2 u
‡u ‡v ˆ ‡ Pr ‡ ; …6†
ot ox oy ox ox2 oy 2
 2 
ov ov ov op o v o2 v
‡u ‡v ˆ ‡ Pr ‡ ‡ Pr Ra T ; …7†
ot ox oy oy ox2 oy 2

oT oT oT o2 T o2 T
‡u ‡v ˆ 2‡ 2; …8†
ot ox oy ox oy

where Pr ˆ Prandtl number, Ra ˆ Rayleigh number.

The x-momentum equation (6) and y-momentum equation (7) can be rearranged as

ou op
ˆA ; …9†
ot ox
ov op
ˆB ; …10†
ot oy

where
 
o2 u o2 u ou ou
A ˆ Pr ‡ u v ;
ox2 oy 2 ox oy
 
o2 v o2 v ov ov
B ˆ Pr ‡ ‡ Pr Ra T u v :
ox2 oy 2 ox oy

The geometry of the natural convection in a square cavity is shown in Fig. 1. For this problem, the
boundary conditions are

u ˆ v ˆ 0; T ˆ 1; at x ˆ 0; 0 6 y 6 1; …11a†

u ˆ v ˆ T ˆ 0; at x ˆ 1; 0 6 y 6 1; …11b†

oT
u ˆ v ˆ 0; ˆ 0; at y ˆ 0; 1; 0 < x < 1: …11c†
oy

On the other hand, we note from Eq. (5) that when the continuity equation is satis®ed on the four
boundaries, the following Neumann condition for velocity can be derived

ou
ˆ 0; on the left and right boundaries; x ˆ 0; 1; 0 < y < 1; …12a†
ox
214 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

Fig. 1. Geometry of natural convection in a square cavity.

ov
ˆ 0; on the bottom and top boundaries; y ˆ 0; 1; 0 6 x 6 1: …12b†
oy

4. SIMPLE-generalized di€erential quadrature algorithm

The SIMPLE strategy, which is an iterative procedure, is used to solve the primitive varia-
ble form of incompressible Navier±Stokes equations. Unlike the conventional application of
SIMPLE algorithm, in this work, all the spatial derivatives are discretized by GDQ method on a
non-staggered grid. To initiate the process, a guessed pressure ®eld, p , is needed. Then the in-
termediate velocity ®eld, u and v is calculated from the discretized momentum equations. The
pressure-correction equation, which is derived from the continuity equation, is solved to yield the
pressure-correction, p0 , using the intermediate velocity. The intermediate pressure and velocity
®elds are then corrected using the pressure-correction.
With an initial guess of pressure ®eld and the velocity ®eld at the time level n, the application of
GDQ method to the spatial derivatives and the ®rst-order forward di€erence scheme to the
temporal derivatives of Eqs. (9) and (10) gives
" #
X
N
…1†
ui;j ˆ uni;j ‡ Dt Ani;j 
wi;k pk;j ; …13†
kˆ1

" #
X
M
…1† 
vi;j ˆ vni;j ‡ Dt Bni;j wj;k pi;k ; …14†
kˆ1

where
 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226 215
!
X
N
…2†
X
M
…2†
X
N
…1†
X
M
…1†
Ani;j ˆ Pr wi;k unk;j ‡ wj;k uni;k uni;j wi;k unk;j vni;j wj;k uni;k ;
kˆ1 kˆ1 kˆ1 kˆ1
!
X
N
…2†
X
M
…2†
X
N
…1†
X
M
…1†
Bni;j ˆ Pr wi;k vnk;j ‡ wj;k vni;k ‡ Pr Ra Ti;j uni;j wi;k vnk;j vni;j wj;k vni;k :
kˆ1 kˆ1 kˆ1 kˆ1

…1† …2†
wi;j , wi;j are the weighting coecients of the ®rst- and second-order derivatives in the x-direction,
…1† …2†
while wi;j , wi;j are the weighting coecients of the ®rst- and second-order derivatives in the
y-direction.
The intermediate velocity ®eld u and v at the time level n ‡ 1, given from Eqs. (13) and (14),
may not satisfy the continuity equation (5). To satisfy Eq. (5), a correction is needed for the
velocity and pressure ®elds, that is

un‡1 ˆ u ‡ u0 ; …15a†

vn‡1 ˆ v ‡ v0 ; …15b†

pn‡1 ˆ p ‡ p0 : …15c†

With the corrected values of un‡1 , vn‡1 and pn‡1 , it is assumed that Eqs. (5), (9) and (10) are
satis®ed. Thus, using the same method, we can obtain
" #
X
N
…1†
un‡1 n n
i;j ˆ ui;j ‡ Dt Ai;j
n‡1
wi;k pk;j ; …16†
kˆ1
" #
X
M
…1† n‡1
vn‡1 n n
i;j ˆ vi;j ‡ Dt Bi;j wj;k pi;k ; …17†
kˆ1

X
N
…1†
X
M
…1†
wi;k u0k;j ‡ wj;k v0i;k ˆ 
Si;j ; …18†
kˆ1 kˆ1

where
X
N
…1†
X
M
…1†

Si;j ˆ wi;k uk;j ‡ wj;k vi;k :
kˆ1 kˆ1

Obviously, subtracting Eq. (13) from Eq. (16) gives

X
N
…1†
u0i;j ˆ Dt 0
wi;k pk;j ; …19†
kˆ1

and subtracting Eq. (14) from Eq. (17) leads to

X
M
…1†
v0i;j ˆ Dt 0
wj;k pi;k : …20†
kˆ1
216 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

Note that the velocity correction u0 , v0 on the boundary are always zero during the iteration
process. Thus, when Eqs. (19) and (20) are substituted into Eq. (18), we can get

X
N
…2†
X
M
…2†
0 0 
Wi;k pk;j ‡ W j;k pi;k ˆ Si;j =Dt; …21†
kˆ1 kˆ1

where

…2†
X
N 1
…1† …1† …2†
X
M 1
…1† …1†
Wi;k ˆ wi;k1 wk1;k ; W j;k ˆ wj;k1 wk1;k :
k1ˆ2 k1ˆ2

The use of Eqs. (13)±(15c) and (19)±(21) forms an iterative process of SIMPLE-GDQ algo-
rithm. At beginning, the initial guess of velocity and pressure ®elds are given. Then from Eqs. (13)
and (14), the intermediate velocity u and v are computed. The resulting values of u and v are
then substituted into Eq. (21) to solve for the pressure correction p0 . From the pressure correction
p0 , the velocity correction u0 and v0 can be calculated by Eqs. (19) and (20). Next, by using Eqs.
(15a)±(15c), the improved velocity and pressure ®elds can be obtained. After that, we need to
check the convergence criteria. If the convergence criteria are satis®ed, the computation would be
stopped. Otherwise, the improved velocity and pressure ®elds are taken as the new initial guess
and the above process is repeated until the convergence criteria are satis®ed.
During the above iterative process, there are two major concerns. One is the numerical im-
plementation of boundary condition for pressure correction equation since the physical condition
for pressure correction does not exist. It is observed from Eqs. (15a)±(15c) that p is the initial
guess of the pressure while p0 is the pressure correction. If for a problem, the pressure is given on
the boundary, p should always be chosen as the given value. Then for this case, p0 should be taken
as zero on the boundary. For a general case, the pressure is usually not given on the boundary, but
it can be computed from the momentum equations. For the test problem shown above, the
pressure on the boundary can be computed from

op o2 u
ˆ Pr 2 ; on the left and right boundaries; x ˆ 0; 1; 0 < y < 1; …22a†
ox ox

op o2 v
ˆ Pr 2 ‡ Pr Ra T ; on the bottom and top boundaries; y ˆ 0; 1; 0 6 x 6 1: …22b†
oy oy

Using GDQ method to discretize the spatial derivatives in Eqs. (22a) and (22b), the pressure on
the boundary can be calculated by
" #
1  …1† …1†
 N 1
X …1† …1† …1† …1†

p1;j ˆ wN ;N C1;j w1;N CN ;j ‡ wN ;k w1;N w1;k wN ;N pk;j ; …23a†
AXN kˆ2
" #
1  …1† …1†
 N 1
X …1† …1† …1† …1†

pN ;j ˆ wN ;1 C1;j w1;1 CN ;j ‡ wN ;k w1;1 w1;k wN ;1 pk;j ; …23b†
AXN kˆ2
 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226 217
" #
1   XM 1 
…1† …1† …1† …1† …1† …1†
pi;1 ˆ wM;M Di;1 w1;M Di;M ‡ wM;k w1;M w1;k wM;M pi;k ; …23c†
AYM kˆ2
" #
1  …1† …1†
 M 1
X …1† …1† …1† …1†

pi;M ˆ wM;1 Di;1 w1;1 Di;M ‡ wM;k w1;1 w1;k wM;1 pi;k ; …23d†
AYM kˆ2

for i ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N , j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M,

where
…1† …1† …1† …1† …1† …1† …1† …1†
AXN ˆ w1;1 wN ;N wN;1 w1;N ; AYM ˆ w1;1 wM;M wM;1 w1;M ;

X
N
…2†
X
N
…2†
C1;j ˆ Pr w1;k uk;j ; CN;j ˆ Pr wN;k uk;j ;
kˆ1 kˆ1

X
M
…2†
X
M
…2†
Di;1 ˆ Pr w1;k vi;k ‡ Pr Ra Ti;1 ; Di;M ˆ Pr wM;k vi;k ‡ Pr Ra Ti;M :
kˆ1 kˆ1

When pressure on the boundary is determined by Eqs. (23a)±(23d), the pressure correction on the
boundary can be speci®ed as p0 ˆ 0. Then Eq. (21) can be solved by SOR method.
The other concern is how to enforce the continuity condition on the boundary. As mentioned
earlier on, GDQ discretization is based on a non-staggered grid. Thus, unlike the low order ®-
nite volume method that is based on the staggered grid, the satisfying of continuity equation on
the boundary is not automatic in the GDQ computation. Since Eqs. (12a) and (12b) is derived
from the continuity equation on the boundary, the enforcement of continuity condition on the
boundary is equivalent to applying Eqs. (12a) and (12b). Eqs. (11a)±(11c) provides one boundary
condition for the velocity at each boundary point. So, when Eqs. (12a) and (12b) is also applied,
there will be two boundary conditions for the velocity. One condition can be considered as the
equation for the boundary point itself, and the other condition (derivative condition) is converted
to the equation for its neighboring point. After GDQ discretization of derivatives in Eqs. (12a)
and (12b), the velocity on the boundary and its neighbouring points can be computed by

u1;j ˆ 0; uN ;j ˆ 0; ui;1 ˆ 0; ui;M ˆ 0; …24a†

v1;j ˆ 0; vN ;j ˆ 0; vi;1 ˆ 0; vi;M ˆ 0; …24b†

" #
N 2
X 
1 …1† …1† …1† …1†
u2;j ˆ …1† …1† …1† …1†
wN;k w1;N 1 w1;k wN ;N 1 uk;j ; …25a†
w1;2 wN ;N 1 wN ;2 w1;N 1 kˆ3

" #
N 2
X 
1 …1† …1† …1† …1†
uN 1;j ˆ …1† …1† …1† …1†
wN ;k w1;2 w1;k wN ;2 uk;j ; …25b†
wN;2 w1;N 1 w1;2 wN;N 1 kˆ3
218 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226
" #
M 2
X 
1 …1† …1† …1† …1†
vi;2 ˆ …1† …1† …1† …1†
wM;k w1;M 1 w1;k wM;M 1 vi;k ; …26a†
w1;2 wM;M 1 wM;2 w1;M 1 kˆ3

" #
M 2
X 
1 …1† …1† …1† …1†
vi;M 1 ˆ …1† …1† …1† …1†
wM;k w1;2 w1;k wM;2 vi;k ; …26b†
wM;2 w1;M 1 w1;2 wM;M 1 kˆ3

for i ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N ; j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M.
It is noted that in this approach, the momentum equations are satis®ed at all points including
the boundary points, but the continuity equation may not be satis®ed at grid points along i ˆ 2,
i ˆ N 1, j ˆ 2 and j ˆ M 1 lines. Eqs. (15a)±(15c) is only applied to the interior mesh points.
Since the pressure on the boundary is directly computed from the momentum equations, the
pressure ®eld obtained by this approach is a true ®eld.
At each time level, when the velocity and pressure ®elds are determined by above process,
the temperature can be computed from the energy equation. Application of GDQ to the spa-
tial derivatives and the ®rst-order forward di€erence scheme to the temporal derivative in Eq. (8)
gives
!
XN
…2† n
XM
…2† n
X
N
…1† n
X
M
…1† n
n‡1 n n‡1 n‡1
Tij ˆ Tij ‡ Dt wik Tkj ‡ wjk Tik uij wik Tkj vij wjk Tik : …27†
kˆ1 kˆ1 kˆ1 kˆ1

Similarly, the derivative in the boundary condition for temperature can be discretized by GDQ
method. As a result, the numerical condition for temperature can be written as
T1;j ˆ 1; TN ;j ˆ 0; …28a†
" #
M 1
X 
1 …1† …1† …1† …1†
Ti;1 ˆ …1† …1† …1† …1†
wM;k w1;M w1;k wM;M Ti;k ; …28b†
w1;1 wM;M wM;1 w1;M kˆ2

" #
M 1
X 
1 …1† …1† …1† …1†
Ti;M ˆ …1† …1† …1† …1†
wM;k w1;1 w1;k wM;1 Ti;k ; …28c†
w1;M wM;1 wM;M w1;1 kˆ2

for i ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; N and j ˆ 1; 2; . . . ; M.

5. Numerical results and discussion

To show the eciency and accuracy of SIMPLE-GDQ algorithm, the following quantities are
calculated and compared with available data in the literature.

umax the maximum horizontal velocity on the vertical mid-plane of the cavity (together with its
location)
vmax the maximum vertical velocity on the horizontal mid-plane of the cavity (together with its
location)
Nu the average Nusselt number throughout the cavity
 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226 219

Nu1=2 the average Nusselt number on the vertical mid-plane of the cavity
Nu0 the average Nusselt number on the vertical boundary of the cavity at x ˆ 0

5.1. Grid-dependence study

The grid-dependence study is very important for a numerical simulation. It shows the mini-
mum mesh size to get accurate numerical solution. Through extensive numerical studies, it was
found that the minimum mesh size to get the grid-independent solution by SIMPLE-GDQ ap-
proach is 11  11, 19  19, 25  25 and 33  33 respectively for Ra ˆ 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 . It is noted
that when the mesh size is above the minimum one, the numerical results will not change or just
change a little. This can be clearly observed from Table 1, in which the numerical results using
®ve mesh sizes (17  17, 19  19, 21  21, 23  23, 25  25) are shown for Ra ˆ 105 . Obviously,
when the mesh size is above 23  23 for Ra ˆ 105 , all the above-de®ned quantities change very
little. With the guidance of grid-dependence study, the mesh sizes of 11  11, 19  19,
25  25 and 33  33 are used to compute the SIMPLE-GDQ results for Ra ˆ 103 , 104 , 105 , 106
respectively.

5.2. Comparison of SIMPLE-generalised di€erential quadrature results with available data

The SIMPLE-GDQ results are validated using the standard FD method and the benchmark
solutions published by de Vahl Davis [22]. The standard FD method used for the comparison is
based on the vorticity-stream function formulation. The numerical results are obtained by solving
the vorticity equation and stream function equation using the strongly implicit procedure (SIP)
for a uniform mesh size of 51  51. Other validations are also made using the FV adaptive upwind
convection method published by Mahdi and Kinney [23], FV multi-grid technique published by
Hortmann and Peric [24] and Chebyshev algorithm published by Le Quere [25].
The numerical results obtained by using GDQ and various discretization methods are tabulated
in Tables 2±5. It can be seen from the tables that the numerical results obtained by GDQ com-
pares very well with the benchmark solution for Ra ˆ 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 . The relative di€er-
ence for all the quantities is less than 0.5%. It can also be observed from the tables that the

Table 1
Grid-dependence study of SIMPLE-GDQ results for Ra ˆ 105
Mesh size 17  17 19  19 21  21 23  23 25  25
Umax 34.567 34.695 34.715 34.720 34.721
y 0.850 0.850 0.850 0.850 0.850
Vmax 68.327 68.413 68.460 68.463 68.462
x 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07
Nu0 4.561 4.561 4.531 4.519 4.518
Nu1=2 4.527 4.524 4.518 4.519 4.519
Nu 4.525 4.523 4.518 4.518 4.519
220 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

Table 2
Numerical results of natural convection in a square cavity for Ra ˆ 103
Benchmark [22] GDQ Present FD Present FV [23]
Mesh size 81  81 11  11 51  51 21  21
Umax 3.649 3.648 3.677 3.649
y 0.813 0.81 0.82 0.813
Vmax 3.697 3.696 3.729 3.690
x 0.178 0.18 0.18 0.179
Nu0 1.117 1.118 1.122 1.109
Nu1=2 1.118 1.118 1.121 1.118
Nu 1.118 1.118 1.122 1.113

Table 3
Numerical results of natural convection in a square cavity for Ra ˆ 104
Benchmark [22] GDQ Present FD Present FV [23]
Mesh size 81  81 19  19 51  51 21  21
Umax 16.178 16.182 16.273 16.189
y 0.823 0.82 0.82 0.822
Vmax 19.617 19.628 19.821 19.606
x 0.119 0.12 0.12 0.120
Nu0 2.238 2.244 2.289 2.310
Nu1=2 2.243 2.244 2.268 2.243
Nu 2.243 2.244 2.276 2.248

Table 4
Numerical results of natural convection in a square cavity for Ra ˆ 105
Benchmark [22] GDQ Present FD Present FV [24]
Mesh size 81  81 25  25 51  51 40  40
Umax 34.722 34.721 35.185 34.632
y 0.855 0.85 0.86 0.851
Vmax 68.590 68.462 71.334 68.090
x 0.066 0.07 0.06 0.073
Nu0 4.509 4.518 4.768 ±
Nu1=2 4.519 4.519 4.654 ±
Nu 4.519 4.519 4.665 4.537

Table 5
Numerical results of natural convection in a square cavity for Ra ˆ 106
Benchmark [22] GDQ Present FD Present FV [25]
Mesh size 81  81 33  33 51  51 72  72
Umax 64.630 64.855 65.497 64.834
y 0.850 0.85 0.84 0.850
Vmax 219.360 220.072 244.510 220.599
x 0.0379 0.04 0.04 0.038
Nu0 8.817 8.822 9.833 8.8252
Nu1=2 8.799 8.820 9.152 8.8252
Nu 8.800 8.814 9.134 ±
 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226 221

Fig. 2. Contours and convergence history for natural convection in a square cavity by SIMPLE-GDQ method for a
11  11 mesh with Ra ˆ 103 , (a) U ± velocity contour, (b) V ± velocity contour, (c) temperature contour, (d) conver-
gence history.

accurate numerical results can be obtained by the present method using a few grid points. This is
due to the fact that the GDQ is a global method as it approximates the derivative, with respect to
a coordinate direction, at a grid point by using all the functional values in that direction. So, the
order of truncation error in the GDQ discretization is very high. The present predictions for the
velocity and temperature show good qualitative agreement with the benchmark solution pub-
lished by de Vahl Davis [22]. The computed velocity and temperature contours as well as the
convergence history for Ra ˆ 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 are displayed in Figs. 2±5. It is observed from the
velocity contours that the velocity is zero at the center of the cavity and the velocity gradient
increases near the walls and corners of the cavity as Ra increases. It is also observed from
the temperature contours that the temperature contours undergo an inversion at the central re-
gion of the cavity. Similarly, the temperature gradient is increased near the cold and hot walls
as Ra increases. The fast convergence of SIMPLE-GDQ method is clearly revealed in these
®gures.
The eciency of the SIMPLE-GDQ computation and FD computation of the vorticity stream
function formulation can be assessed by comparing their run time required on IBM compatible
222 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

Fig. 3. Contours and convergence history for natural convection in a square cavity by SIMPLE-GDQ method for a
19  19 mesh with Ra ˆ 104 , (a) U ± velocity contour, (b) V ± velocity contour, (c) temperature contour, (d) conver-
gence history.

PII 400 to obtain a solution of approximately the same accuracy starting from the same initial
guess. The run time required by these two computations for a grid-independent solution is tabu-
lated in Table 6. It is observed that the SIMPLE-GDQ computation is approximately 78 times
and 3 times faster than the FD computation of the vorticity stream function formulation for
Ra ˆ 103 and 104 respectively. On the other hand, it can be observed from Table 6 that as Ra
increases, the required run time by the SIMPLE-GDQ computation is increased greatly. This is
because in the present computation, the discrete momentum equations are solved by Euler explicit
scheme, and the time step size is very sensitive to the number of grid points. In other words, as the
number of grid points increases a little, the time step size will be reduced considerably due to the
stability condition. It is expected that this drawback can be overcome by the use of implicit
scheme or multi-grid acceleration. The run time of FD computation of the vorticity stream
function formulation for Ra ˆ 105 and 106 was not listed in Table 6 because for these two
Rayleigh numbers, the grid-independent solution requires very large mesh sizes, causing the use of
large memory and very slow computation.
 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226 223

Fig. 4. Contours and convergence history for natural convection in a square cavity by SIMPLE-GDQ method for a
25  25 mesh with Ra ˆ 105 , (a) U ± velocity contour, (b) V ± velocity contour, (c) temperature contour, (d) conver-
gence history.

5.3. Improvement of convergence rate by multi-stage process

The convergence rate of the simulation can be further enhanced using a `multi-stage' process.
Firstly, the solution is obtained on a coarse grid 1 and then extrapolated to the next ®ner grid 2
and used as the starting guess values. When the grid 2 is completed, the solution is extrapolated to
the next ®ner grid 3 and so on. Evidently, the run time would be reduced due to good starting
guesses for all variables. To illustrate this, we consider a case of Ra ˆ 104 . The `multi-stage'
process employed consists of two stages; the ®rst stage using the mesh size of 11  11 and the
second stage using the mesh size of 19  19. Firstly, the numerical result is obtained for a 11  11
mesh size. The ¯ow ®eld parameters (u, v, P and T), that are obtained using the mesh size of
11  11, are then extrapolated on a 19  19 mesh and used as the new initial guess. It was found
that the numerical result obtained with `multi-stage' process has the same accuracy as the one
without using the `multi-stage' process. However, the required number of iterations and run time
for a convergent solution by using the `multi-stage' process are much less than those without using
the `multi-stage' process. This can be seen clearly in Table 7. It can be observed from this table
224 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

Fig. 5. Contours and convergence history for natural convection in a square cavity by SIMPLE-GDQ method for a
33  33 mesh with Ra ˆ 106 , (a) U ± velocity contour, (b) V ± velocity contour, (c) temperature contour, (d) conver-
gence history.

Table 6
Run time required for the SIMPLE-GDQ method and FD method
Ra Present SIMPLE-GDQ Present FD
Mesh size Run time (s) Mesh size Run time (s)
103 11  11 8 71  71 625
104 19  19 328 81  81 869
105 25  25 2274 ±a ±a
106 33  33 12773 ±a ±a
a
Run time is not obtained due to extensive computing e€ort required.

Table 7
Comparison of iteration number and run time with and without the `multi-stage' process for Ra ˆ 104 with a mesh size
of 19  19
SIMPLE-GDQ SIMPLE-GDQ with `multi-stage' process
No. of iterations 1983 741
Run time (s) 328 90
 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226 225

that the number of iterations required is reduced by three times and the corresponding run time is
reduced by four times.

6. Conclusions

In this paper, a new approach is presented to solve the two-dimensional incompressible Navier±
Stokes equations in primitive-variable form. The new approach combines the SIMPLE strategy
with global discretization by GDQ method. The SIMPLE-GDQ method is based on a non-
staggered grid. The present work proposes an ecient way to enforce the continuity equation on
the boundary and to implement the boundary condition for pressure correction equation. The
proposed approach is validated by its application to simulate the natural convection in a square
cavity. As compared with the benchmark solution for the test problem, it was found that the
present approach can obtain very accurate numerical results by using just a few grid points. It is
also demonstrated that the convergence rate of the simulation can be greatly enhanced by using
the `multi-stage' process.

References

[1] Bellman RE, Kashef BG, Casti J. Di€erential quadrature: a technique for the rapid solution of nonlinear partial
di€erential equations. J Comput Phys 1972;10:40±52.
[2] Bellman RE. Methods of non-linear analysis. New York: Academic Press; vol.12, 1973 [chapter 16].
[3] Civan F, Sliepcevich CM. Di€erential quadrature for multi-dimensional problems. J Math Anal Appl 1984;93:206±
21.
[4] Jang SK, Bert CM, Striz AG. Application of di€erential quadrature to static analysis of structural components. Int
J Numer Meth Engng 1989;28:561±77.
[5] Shu C. Generalised di€erential-integral quadrature and application to the simulation of incompressible viscous
¯ows including parallel computation. PhD Thesis, University of Glasgow, July 1991.
[6] Shu C, Richards BE. Application of generalized di€erential quadrature to solve 2-dimensional incompressible
Navier±Stokes equations. Int J Numer Meth Fluids 1992;15:791±8.
[7] Shu C, Khoo BC, Yeo KS. Numerical solutions of incompressible Navier±Stokes equations by generalised
di€erential quadrature. Finite Elements Anal Design 1994;18:83±97.
[8] Shay W, Schuktz DH. A second-order approximation to natural convection for large Rayleigh numbers and small
Prandtl numbers. Int J Numer Meth Fluids 1985;5:427±38.
[9] Chaviaropoulos P, Giannakoglou K. A vorticity-stream function formulation for steady two-dimensional ¯ows.
Int J Numer Meth Fluids 1996;23:431±44.
[10] Aziz K, Hellums JD. Numerical solutions of the three-dimensional equations of motion for laminar natural
convection. Phys Fluids 1967;10:314.
[11] Davis RL, Carter JE, Hafez M. Three dimensional viscous ¯ow solution with a vorticity stream function
formulation. AIAA J 1989;27:892±900.
[12] Ghia KN, Sokhey JS. Laminar incompressible viscous ¯ow in curved ducts of rectangular cross-sections. J Fluids
Eng 1977;99:640±5.
[13] Briley WR, McDonald H. Analysis and computation of viscous subsonic primary and secondary ¯ows. AIAA
paper, 1979. p. 79±1453.
[14] Patankar SV, Spalding DB. A calculation procedure for heat, mass and momentum transfer in three dimensional
parabolic ¯ows. Int J Heat Mass Transfer 1972;15:1787±806.
226 C. Shu, K.H.A. Wee / Computers & Fluids 31 (2002) 209±226

[15] Patankar SV. A calculation procedure for two dimensional elliptic situations. Numer Heat Transfer 1985;14:409±
25.
[16] Van Doormaal JP, Raithby GD. Enhancements of the SIMPLE method for predicting incompressible ¯uid ¯ows.
Numer Heat Transfer 1984;7:147±63.
[17] Issa RI. Solution of the implicit discretised ¯uid ¯ow equations by operator splitting. J Comp Phys 1986;62:40±65.
[18] Issa RI, Gosman AD, Watkins AP. The computation of compressible and incompressible recirculating ¯ows by a
non-iterative implicit scheme. J Comp Phys 1986;62:66±82.
[19] Gresho PM, Sani RL. On pressure boundary conditions for Navier±Stokes equations. Int J Numer Methods Fluids
1987;7:1111±45.
[20] Patankar SV. Numerical heat transfer and ¯uid ¯ow. New York: Hemisphere;1980, p. 113±34.
[21] Shu C, Yeo KS, Yao Q. On the performance of three iterative methods for solution of GDQ algebraic equations.
Comput Method Appl Mech Engng 1998;167:1±15.
[22] de Vahl Davis G. Natural convection of air in a square cavity: a bench mark numerical solution. Int J Numer
Methods Fluids 1983;3:249±64.
[23] Mahdi HS, Kinney RB. Time-dependent natural convection in a square cavity: application of a new ®nite volume
method. Int J Numer Methods Fluids 1990;11:57±86.
[24] Hortmann M, Peric M. Finite volume multigrid prediction of laminar natural convection: Bench-mark solutions.
Int J Numer Methods Fluids 1990;11:189±207.
[25] Quere PLe. Accurate solutions to the square thermally driven cavity at high Rayleigh number. Comput Fluids
1991;20:29±41.