D. Z. Turner

D. Z. Turner, K. B. Nakshatrala, K. D. Hjelmstad

In this paper we investigate the relationship between stabilized and enriched finite element formulations for the Stokes problem. We also present a new stabilized mixed formulation for which the stability parameter is derived purely by the method of weighted residuals. This new formulation allows equal order interpolation for the velocity and pressure fields. Finally, we show by counterexample that a direct equivalence between subgrid-based stabilized finite element methods and Galerkin methods enriched by bubble functions cannot be constructed for quadrilateral and hexahedral elements using standard bubble functions.

D. Z. Turner, K. B. Nakshatrala, K. D. Hjelmstad

In the following paper, we present a consistent Newton-Schur solution approach for variational multiscale formulations of the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations in three dimensions. The main contributions of this work are a systematic study of the variational multiscale method for three-dimensional problems, and an implementation of a consistent formulation suitable for large problems with high nonlinearity, unstructured meshes, and non-symmetric matrices. In addition to the quadratic convergence characteristics of a Newton-Raphson based scheme, the Newton-Schur approach increases computational efficiency and parallel scalability by implementing the tangent stiffness matrix in Schur complement form. As a result, more computations are performed at the element level. Using a variational multiscale framework, we construct a two-level approach to stabilizing the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations based on a coarse and fine-scale subproblem. We then derive the Schur complement form of the consistent tangent matrix. We demonstrate the performance of the method for a number of three-dimensional problems for Reynolds number up to 1000 including steady and time-dependent flows.

D. Z. Turner, K. B. Nakshatrala, M. J. Martinez

In this paper, we consider the flow of an incompressible fluid in a deformable porous solid. We present a mathematical model using the framework offered by the theory of interacting continua. In its most general form, this framework provides a mechanism for capturing multiphase flow, deformation, chemical reactions and thermal processes, as well as interactions between the various physics in a conveniently implemented fashion. To simplify the presentation of the framework, results are presented for a particular model than can be seen as an extension of Darcy's equation (which assumes that the porous solid is rigid) that takes into account elastic deformation of the porous solid. The model also considers the effect of deformation on porosity. We show that using this model one can recover identical results as in the framework proposed by Biot and Terzaghi. Some salient features of the framework are as follows: (a) It is a consistent mixture theory model, and adheres to the laws and principles of continuum thermodynamics, (b) the model is capable of simulating various important phenomena like consolidation and surface subsidence, and (c) the model is amenable to several extensions. We also present numerical coupling algorithms to obtain coupled flow-deformation response. Several representative numerical examples are presented to illustrate the capability of the mathematical model and the performance of the computational framework.

D. Z. Turner, K. B. Nakshatrala, K. D. Hjelmstad

The following work presents a generalized (extended) finite element formulation for the advection-diffusion equation. Using enrichment functions that represent the exponential nature of the exact solution, smooth numerical solutions are obtained for problems with steep gradients and high Peclet numbers (up to Pe = 25) in one and two-dimensions. As opposed to traditional stabilized methods that require the construction of stability parameters and stabilization terms, the present work avoids numerical instabilities by improving the classical Galerkin solution with an enrichment function. To contextualize this method among other stabilized methods, we show by decomposition of the solution (in a multiscale manner) an equivalence to both Galerkin/least-squares type methods and those that use bubble functions. This work also presents a strategy for constructing the enrichment function for problems with complex geometries by employing a global-local approach.

D. Z. Turner, K. B. Nakshatrala, K. D. Hjelmstad

The following paper compares a consistent Newton-Raphson and fixed-point iteration based solution strategy for a variational multiscale finite element formulation for incompressible Navier-Stokes. The main contributions of this work include a consistent linearization of the Navier-Stokes equations, which provides an avenue for advanced algorithms that require origins in a consistent method. We also present a comparison between formulations that differ only in their linearization, but maintain all other equivalences. Using the variational multiscale concept, we construct a stabilized formulation (that may be considered an extension of the MINI element to nonlinear Navier-Stokes). We then linearize the problem using fixed-point iteration and by deriving a consistent tangent matrix for the update equation to obtain the solution via Newton-Raphson iterations. We show that the consistent formulation converges in fewer iterations, as expected, for several test problems. We also show that the consistent formulation converges for problems for which fixed-point iteration diverges. We present the results of both methods for problems of Reynold's number up to 5000.

K. B. Nakshatrala, D. Z. Turner

In this paper we consider a modification to Darcy equation by taking into account the dependence of viscosity on the pressure. We present a stabilized mixed formulation for the resulting governing equations. Equal-order interpolation for the velocity and pressure is considered, and shown to be stable (which is not the case under the classical mixed formulation). The proposed mixed formulation is tested using a wide variety of numerical examples. The proposed formulation is also implemented in a parallel setting, and the performance of the formulation for large-scale problems is illustrated using a representative problem. Two practical and technologically important problems, one each on enhanced oil recovery and geological carbon-dioxide sequestration, are solved using the proposed formulation. The numerical examples show that the predictions based on Darcy model are qualitatively and quantitatively different from that of the predictions based on the modified Darcy model, which takes into account the dependence of the viscosity on the pressure. In particular, the numerical example on the geological carbon-dioxide sequestration shows that Darcy model over-predicts the leakage into an abandoned well when compared to that of the modified Darcy model. On the other hand, the modified Darcy model predicts higher pressures and higher pressure gradients near the injection well. These predictions have dire consequences in predicting damage and fracture zones, and designing the seal, whose integrity is crucial to the safety of a geological carbon-dioxide sequestration geosystem.

D. Z. Turner, K. B. Nakshatrala, P. K. Notz

The following work compares two popular mixed finite elements used to model subsurface flow and transport in heterogeneous porous media; the lowest order Raviart-Thomas element and the variational multiscale stabilized element. Comparison is made based on performance for several problems of engineering relevance that involve highly heterogenous material properties (permeability ratios of up to $1\times10^5$), open flow boundary conditions (pressure driven flows), and large scale domains in two dimensions. Numerical experiments are performed to show the degree to which mass conservation is violated when a flow field computed using either element is used as the advection velocity in a transport model. The results reveal that the variational multiscale element shows considerable mass production or loss for problems that involve flow tangential to layers of differing permeability, but marginal violation of local mass balance for problems of less orthogonality in the permeability. The results are useful in establishing rudimentary estimates of the error produced by using the variational mutliscale element for several different types of problems.