A comparison of finite-element methods for solving flow past a sphere (Q1067891)

Three finite element methods for calculating the drag coefficient for a sphere in steady, laminar flow at low or intermediate Reynolds numbers are compared. The flow equations are solved either for the stream function and the vorticity or for the velocity and pressure, with different boundary conditions applied far from the sphere. It is found that accurate values of the drag coefficient can be obtained on coarser grids using a velocity-pressure formulation, even though a physically realistic boundary condition can be applied closer to the sphere with the stream-function-vorticity formulation. In addition calculated values of the drag coefficient are compared with accepted correlations.