Eulerian vs Lagrangian Method for Low Computational Resources: A Comparison of 2D Dam Break Case

Abstract

It is well known that computational fluid dynamics has been challenging for low-computational-resourced students and researchers. In this study, we performed a 2D dam break simulation by Eulerian approach-finite volume method of OpenFOAM and Lagrangian approach-finite volume particle method (FVP) in a low-specification personal computer. We compared those approaches’ results qualitatively and quantitatively against experimental data and measured their simulation time for 6 different grid sizes. We compared the visualization results and their pressure and velocity using ParaView and VisIt. At the same time, a quantitative comparison was made by determining the waterfront position each time using the Tracker video analyzer. It was found that OpenFOAM resulted in better visualization results, lower error by 28-68 %, and more reasonable pressure and velocity profiles. It can also simulate smaller grid sizes and 10 to 200 times faster than FVP, but it can’t produce the air-liquid interface’s sharpness as good as FVP. Thus, to simulate cases where interfaces are not important, Eulerian-based OpenFOAM is best suited to perform in a low-specification computer.