Abstract:
This paper reports on a pressure-based coupled algorithm for the solution of laminar incompressible flow problems. The implicit pressure-velocity coupling is accomplished by deriving a pressure equation in a way similar to a segregated SIMPLE algorithm with the extended set of equations solved simultaneously and having diagonally dominant coefficients. The superiority of the coupled approach over the segregated approach is demonstrated by solving the liddriven flow in a square cavity problem using both methodologies and comparing their computational costs. Results indicate that the number of iterations needed by the coupled solver is grid independent. Moreover, recorded CPU time values reveal that the coupled approach substantially reduces the computational cost with the reduction rate for the problem solved increasing as the grid size increases and reaching a value as high as 115. © 2008 American Institute of Physics.