An implicit difference scheme for a moving boundary hyperbolic problem (Q686532)

The authors propose an implicit finite difference scheme for the numerical solution of a moving boundary hyperbolic problem. This problem describes the shock front propagation into the known state ahead of the shock due to a time-dependent velocity impact at the end of a thin rod. At first, using the fact that the moving boundary is an increasing function of time, the original problem is reformulated to a fixed boundary domain by means of a transformation of variables. Then, an implicit difference scheme is established in the fixed domain which is consistent because the truncation errors tend to zero. Furthermore, using different iteration processes the resolution of the nonlinear discrete scheme at each time level is discussed. Based on numerical experiments for a model problem a discrete perturbation stability analysis is then considered. Moreover, the comparison between the numerical results and the approximate similarity solution indicates the numerical convergence of the scheme. Finally, a possible way is suggested to assess the numerical accuracy when the similarity solution does not exist.