Numerical Simulation of a Lid-Driven Cavity Problem by Solving General Pressure Equation Using OPENFOAM: A Solver Validation

Abstract

Using general pressure equations, a CFD method was employed to simulate the unsteady viscous incompressible flow. OpenFOAM-v2012 solvers have gotten a lot of attention from academicians, researchers, and professionals in recent years. Access to the code in its entirety, quick solver development, customization, and a large and open user community are only a few of the software’s main features. The lid-driven cavity is a basic problem in which the algorithm can be successfully tested. In this case, the lid-driven cavity problem was solved using the OpenFOAM-v2012 platform by solving the general pressure equation. One of the configurations is the square cavity. The results of Ghia et al. (J Comput Phys 48:387–411, 1982) are compared to the patterns of constant flow produced by OpenFOAM-v2012 for various Re ranging from 100 to 3200. For various Re, the square cavity’s isothermal flow is explored in detail. Stream function and vorticity discretized equations are computed using an implicit approach. “Streamline pattern and vorticity contours at different Reynolds number Re = 100, 400, 1000, and 3200 are analyzed. The lid-driven cavity problem was solved using the CFD tool OpenFOAM-v2012 and a high-resolution scheme, that is, second order centered schemes in space and a third order Runge–Kutta scheme in time. The computational results show that as Re increases from 100 to 3200, secondary vortices begin to develop and grow larger in size”. For lower Reynolds numbers, the primary vortex’s center is toward the corner on the top right. With increasing Re, it travels closer to the geometric center of the cavity.