Uniform error estimates for Navier-Stokes flow with an exact moving boundary using the immersed interface method
This provides rigorous error bounds for a numerical method used in fluid dynamics with moving interfaces, addressing a known gap in theoretical guarantees.
The paper proves that the immersed interface method achieves almost second-order uniform accuracy for Navier-Stokes flow with a moving boundary, with velocity error O(h^2|log h|^2) and pressure error O(h^2|log h|^3).
We prove that uniform accuracy of almost second order can be achieved with a finite difference method applied to Navier-Stokes flow at low Reynolds number with a moving boundary, or interface, creating jumps in the velocity gradient and pressure. Difference operators are corrected to $O(h)$ near the interface using the immersed interface method, adding terms related to the jumps, on a regular grid with spacing $h$ and periodic boundary conditions. The force at the interface is assumed known within an error tolerance; errors in the interface location are not taken into account. The error in velocity is shown to be uniformly $O(h^2|\log{h}|^2)$, even at grid points near the interface, and, up to a constant, the pressure has error $O(h^2|\log{h}|^3)$. The proof uses estimates for finite difference versions of Poisson and diffusion equations which exhibit a gain in regularity in maximum norm.