Studies of a numerical method in fluid mechanics

A numerical investigation was carried out using the steady state Navier-Stokes equations. These steady solutions were achieved by an iteration procedure, which normally requires less computing time than do time marching procedures.

Primitive variables were used, since they are more suitable for extension to three-dimensional flows, turbulence, etc., than are the vorticity-stream function methods.

A decay scheme was chosen, since it has wider adaptability than either the central-difference, or the upwind-difference techniques.

The method was used to study flow in a cavity and the results were compared with published results. The second application was to model and study flow inside a radiant furnace. This problem was the main interest in the study. The numerical resutlts obtained were analyzed for accuracy and consistency.