Application of a fractional-step method to incompressible Navier-Stokes equations (Q1068622)

A numerical method for computing three-dimensional, time-dependent incompressible flows is presented. The method is based on a fractional-step, or time-splitting, scheme in conjunction with the approximate- factorization technique. It is shown that the use of velocity boundary conditions for the intermediate velocity field can lead to inconsistent numerical solutions. Appropriate boundary conditions for the intermediate velocity field are derived and tested. Numerical solutions for flows inside a driven cavity and over a backward-facing step are presented and compared with experimental data and other numerical results.