Two-dimensional fluid-hammer problems by the method of nearcharacteristics

A numerical technique based on the method of nearcharacteristics is considered for solving propagation of fluid-hammer waves in a two-dimensional geometry. The solution is constructed by relating flow conditions by compatibility equations along lines called nearcharacteristics. Three choices are considered in the numerical scheme that are accurate within an error of the order of magnitude of the time step. Since the nearcharacteristics lie in the coordinate planes, the technique provides an efficient method requiring only simple interpolations in the initial plane. On the other hand, the nearcharacteristics fall outside the characteristics cone. Thus the solution procedure directly refers to conditions outside the true domain of dependence. The effect of this is studied through numerical calculation of a simple example problem and comparison with results obtained by a bicharacteristic method. Comparison is also made with existing analytical solutions and experiments. Furthermore, the three solution schemes considered are examined for numerical stability by the vonNeumann test. Two of the schemes were found to be unstable; the third yielded a stability criterion equivalent to that of the bicharacteristic formulation. The stability-analysis results were confirmed by numerical experimentation. (auth)