A high-order finite-volume method with block-structured local grid refinement

Abstract

Time-dependent vortex-dominated flows are computed accurately with a high-order finite-volume method on structured grids. In order to attain the required grid resolution in the vortex region, blockwise local grid refinement is employed. A new topology-based blockrefinement algorithm allows the efficient generation of such block-wise refined meshes. The high-order finite-volume method is extended with high-order interpolation to deal with the partially continuous grids at block interfaces that result from the refinement. Results are presented for three applications: one time-accurate RANS computation of a helicopter flow case and two hybrid RANS–LES computations of strongly separated flows.