FEM simulation of non-stationary incompressible viscous fluids

Purpose - To present a numerical method for the solution of the unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in a generic setting. Design/methodology/approach - The equations are discretized in space by the finite element method, and in time by a semi-implicit finite difference scheme, using a fractional-step method to enforce incompressibility. Findings - The presented results demonstrate the satisfactory accuracy of the method in the simulation of vortical flows in laminar regime and the stability of the solution in presence of a strong boundary layer. Originality/value - The successful integration of the CFD into the industrial design depends on its capability to produce accurate and reliable simulations of real life applications. These considerations drive the development of the proposed method: it can be used in conjunction with finite elements of any order of accuracy, providing accurate and numerically stable results for complex flows. Moreover, the computational requirements are low when compared with other similar strategies. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.