arXiv subjects

Brian C. Vermeire

Publications and source records attributed to Brian C. Vermeire.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

On the Strong Stability Preserving Property of Runge-Kutta Methods for Hyperbolic Problems

Strong Stability Preserving (SSP) time integration schemes maintain stability of the forward Euler method for any initial value problem. However, only a small subset of Runge-Kutta (RK) methods are SSP, and many efficient high-order time integration schemes do not formally belong to this class. In this work, we introduce a mathematical strategy to analyze the nonlinear stability of RK schemes that may not necessarily belong to the SSP class. With this approach, we mathematically demonstrate that there are time integration schemes outside the class of SSP schemes that can maintain entropy stability and positivity of density and pressure for the Lax-Friedrichs discretization, and Total Variation Diminishing stability for the first-order upwind and the second-order MUSCL schemes. As a result, for these problems, a broader range of RK methods, including the classical fourth-order, four-stage RK scheme, can be used while the numerical integration remains stable. Numerical experiments confirm these theoretical findings, and additional experiments demonstrate similar observations for a wider class of space discretizatins.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Gradient-Free Aeroacoustic Shape Optimization Using Large Eddy Simulation

We present an aeroacoustic shape optimization framework that relies on high-order Flux Reconstruction (FR), the gradient-free Mesh Adaptive Direct Search (MADS) optimization algorithm, and Large Eddy Simulation (LES). Our parallel implementation ensures consistent runtime for each optimization iteration, regardless of the number of design parameters, provided sufficient resources are available. The objective is to minimize the Overall Sound Pressure Level (OASPL) at a near-field observer by computing it directly from the flow field. We evaluate this framework across three problems. First, an open deep cavity is considered at a free-stream Mach number of $M_\infty=0.15$ and Reynolds number of $Re=1500$, reducing the OASPL by $12.9~dB$. Next, we considered tandem cylinders at $Re=1000$ and $M_\infty=0.2$, achieving over $11~dB$ noise reduction by optimizing cylinder spacing and diameter ratio. Lastly, a baseline NACA0012 airfoil at $Re=23000$ and $M_\infty=0.2$ is optimized to generate a new 4-digit NACA airfoil at an appropriate angle of attack to minimize the OASPL while ensuring the baseline time-averaged lift coefficient is maintained and prevent any increase in the baseline time-averaged drag coefficient. The OASPL and mean drag coefficient are reduced by $5.7~dB$ and more than $7\%$, respectively. These results highlight the feasibility and effectiveness of our aeroacoustic shape optimization framework.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Quasi-Orthogonal Runge-Kutta Projection Methods

A wide range of physical phenomena exhibit auxiliary admissibility criteria, such as conservation of entropy or various energies, which arise implicitly under exact solution of their governing PDEs. However, standard temporal schemes, such as classical Runge-Kutta (RK) methods, do not enforce these constraints, leading to a loss of accuracy and stability. Projection is an efficient way to address this shortcoming by correcting the RK solution at the end of each time step. Here we introduce a novel projection method for explicit RK schemes, called a \textit{quasi-orthogonal} projection method. This method can be employed for systems containing a single (not necessarily convex) invariant functional, for dissipative systems, and for the systems containing multiple invariants. It works by projecting the orthogonal search direction(s) into the solution space spanned by the RK stage derivatives. With this approach linear invariants of the problem are preserved, the time step size remains fixed, additional computational cost is minimal, and these optimal search direction(s) preserve the order of accuracy of the base RK method. This presents significant advantages over existing projection methods. Numerical results demonstrate that these properties are observed in practice for a range of applications.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

PyFR v2.0.3: Towards Industrial Adoption of Scale-Resolving Simulations

PyFR is an open-source cross-platform computational fluid dynamics framework based on the high-order Flux Reconstruction approach, specifically designed for undertaking high-accuracy scale-resolving simulations in the vicinity of complex engineering geometries. Since the initial release of PyFR v0.1.0 in 2013, a range of new capabilities have been added to the framework, with a view to enabling industrial adoption of the capability. This paper provides details of those enhancements as released in PyFR v2.0.3, explains efforts to grow an engaged developer and user community, and provides latest performance and scaling results on up to 1024 AMD Instinct MI250X accelerators of Frontier at ORNL (each with two GCDs), and up to 2048 NVIDIA GH200 GPUs on Alps at CSCS.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2024

Hybridized Implicit-Explicit Flux Reconstruction Methods

For turbulent problems of industrial scale, computational cost may become prohibitive due to the stability constraints associated with explicit time discretization of the underlying conservation laws. On the other hand, implicit methods allow for larger time-step sizes but require exorbitant computational resources. Implicit-explicit (IMEX) formulations combine both temporal approaches, using an explicit method in nonstiff portions of the domain and implicit in stiff portions. While these methods can be shown to be orders of magnitude faster than typical explicit discretizations, they are still limited by their implicit discretization in terms of cost. Hybridization reduces the scaling of these systems to an effective lower dimension, which allows the system to be solved at significant speedup factors compared to standard implicit methods. This work proposes an IMEX scheme that combines hybridized and standard flux reconstriction (FR) methods to tackle geometry-induced stiffness. By using the so-called transmission conditions, an overall conservative formulation can be obtained after combining both explicit FR and hybridized implicit FR methods. We verify and apply our approach to a series of numerical examples, including a multi-element airfoil at Reynolds number 1.7 million. Results demonstrate speedup factors of four against standard IMEX formulations and at least 15 against standard explicit formulations for the same problem.

math.NA↗

arXiv2024

Energy Conservative Relaxation-Free Runge-Kutta Schemes

A wide range of physical phenomena exhibit auxiliary admissibility criteria, such as conservation of entropy or various energies, which arise implicitly under the exact solution of their governing PDEs. However, standard temporal schemes, such as classical Runge-Kutta (RK) methods, do not enforce these constraints, leading to a loss of accuracy and stability. Previously, the Incremental Directional Technique RK (IDT-RK) and Relaxation Runge-Kutta (R-RK) approaches have been proposed to address this. However, these lead to a loss of accuracy in the case of IDT-RK, or a loss of step size control in the case of R-RK. In the current work we propose Relaxation-Free Runge- Kutta (RF-RK) schemes, which conserve energy, maintain order of accuracy, and maintain a constant step size, alleviating many of the limitations of the aforementioned techniques. Importantly, they do so with minimal additional computational cost compared to the base RK scheme. Numerical results demonstrate that these properties are observed in practice for a range of applications. Therefore, the proposed RF-RK framework is a promising approach for energy conservative time integration of systems of PDEs.

math.NA↗

arXiv2023

Hybridized Formulations of Flux Reconstruction Schemes for Advection-Diffusion Problems

We present the hybridization of flux reconstruction methods for advection-diffusion problems. Hybridization introduces a new variable into the problem so that it can be reduced via static condensation. This allows the solution of implicit discretizations to be done more efficiently. We derive an energy statement from a stability analysis considering a range of correction functions on hybridized and embedded flux reconstruction schemes. Then, we establish connections to standard formulations. We devise a post-processing scheme that leverages existing flux reconstruction operators to enhance accuracy for diffusion-dominated problems. Results show that the implicit convergence of these methods for advection-diffusion problems can result in performance benefits of over an order of magnitude. In addition, we observe that the superconvergence property of hybridized methods can be extended to the family of FR schemes for a range of correction functions.

math.NA↗