Asymptotic solutions of numerical transport problems in optically thick, diffusive regimes (Q1092649)

An asymptotic analysis is made of spatial differencing schemes for the discrete-ordinates transport equations for a diffusive medium using spatial cells that are not optically thin. The analysis mimics the asymptotic expansion that describes the analytic transition from transport to diffusion theory. The expansion is applied to the spatially discretized discrete-ordinates equations but with no requirement that the spatial cells be optically thin. If a proper diffusion description results for the cell-average or cell-edge fluxes, the appropriate flux is regarded as having a diffusion limit. Several transport differencing schemes including some new ones motivated by the present analysis are considered. Numerical examples indicate that differencing schemes having a particular diffusion limit are considerably more reliable in the regime applying to the limit, than those that do not.