Vortex methods with spatially varying cores (Q1577030)

The accuracy of vortex methods employing smooth vortex particles/blobs is determined by the blob size, which can be viewed as a mollifier of the vorticity field. For computational efficiency, this core size needs to be spatially variable as particles are used to discretize different parts of the flow field, e.g. the boundary layer and the wake in bluff body flows. Here the authors derive a consistent approximation of viscous Navier-Stokes equations using variable-size vortex particles. This derivation is based on the implementation of mappings that allow a consistent formulation of diffusion and convection operators of Navier-Stokes equations in the context of vortex methods. Several local mappings can be combined, giving the capability of ``mesh-embedding'' of vortex methods. It is shown that the proposed method offers a significant improvement on the computational efficiency of constant core size methods, while maintaining the adaptive character of these methods. The method is ideally suited for flows such as wakes and shear layers, and the validity of the approach is illustrated by showing results on cylinder flows and wall-vortex interactions. The numerical simulations of cylinders undergoing rotary oscillations at high Reynolds numbers become attainable with the offered scheme, and reveal an interesting mechanism for drastic drag reduction.