A 2ND-ORDER HYBRID FINITE-ELEMENT VOLUME METHOD FOR VISCOELASTIC FLOWS/

A second-order accurate cell-vertex finite volume/finite element hybri d scheme is proposed. A finite volume method is used for the hyperboli c stress equations and a finite element method for the balance equatio ns. The finite volume implementation incorporates the recent advanceme nt on fluctuation distribution schemes for advection equations. Accura cy results are presented for a pure convection problem, for which fluc tuation distribution has been developed, and an Oldroyd-B benchmark pr oblem. When source terms are included consistently, second-order accur acy can be achieved. However, a loss of accuracy is observed for both benchmark problems, when the flow near a boundary is (almost) parallel to it. Accuracy can be recovered in an elegant manner by taking advan tage of the quadratic representations on the parent finite element mes h. Compared to the finite element method, the second-order accurate fi nite volume implementation is 10 times as efficient. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.