THEORY AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SEMIIMPLICIT FINITE-ELEMENT METHOD FORVISCOUS INCOMPRESSIBLE-FLOW

A numerical procedure for solving the time-dependent, incompressible N avier-Stokes equations is derived based on the operator-splitting tech nique. This operator split allows separate operations on each of the v ariable fields to enable pressure-velocity coupling. Discretizations o f the equations are formed on a nonstaggered finite element mesh and t he solutions are obtained in a time-marching fashion. Several benchmar k problems, including a standing vortex problem, a lid-driven cavity a nd a flow around a rectangular cylinder, are studied to demonstrate th e robustness and accuracy of the present algorithm.