FINITE VOLUME SIMULATION OF 2-D STEADY SQUARE LID DRIVEN CAVITY FLOW AT HIGH REYNOLDS NUMBERS

Abstract

In this work, computer simulation results of steady incompressible flow in a 2-D square lid-driven cavity up to Reynolds number (Re) 65000 are presented and compared with those of earlier studies. The governing flow equations are solved by using the finite volume approach. Quadratic upstream interpolation for convective kinematics (QUICK) is used for the approximation of the convective terms in the flow equations. In the implementation of QUICK, the deferred correction technique is adopted. A non-uniform staggered grid arrangement of 768x768 is employed to discretize the flow geometry. Algebraic forms of the coupled flow equations are then solved through the iterative SIMPLE (Semi-Implicit Method for Pressure-Linked Equation) algorithm. The outlined computational methodology allows one to meet the main objective of this work, which is to address the computational convergence and wiggled flow problems encountered at high Reynolds and Peclet (Pe) numbers. Furthermore, after Re >= 25000 additional vortexes appear at the bottom left and right corners that have not been observed in earlier studies.