Meshless $h$-adaptive Solution for non-Newtonian Natural Convection in a Differentially Heated Cavity

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Rot, Miha, Kosec, Gregor
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Rot, Miha
Kosec, Gregor
author_facet Rot, Miha
Kosec, Gregor
contents One of the main challenges in numerically solving partial differential equations is finding a discretisation for the computational domain that balances the accurate representation of the underlying field with computational efficiency. Meshless methods approximate differential operators based on the values of the field in computational nodes, offering a natural approach to adaptivity. The density of computational nodes can either be increased to enhance accuracy or decreased to reduce the number of numerical operations, depending on the properties of the intermediate solution. In this paper, we utilise an adaptive discretisation approach for the numerical simulation of natural convection in non-Newtonian fluid flow. The shear-thinning behaviour is interesting both due to its numerous occurrences in nature, blood being a prime example, and due to its properties, as the decreasing viscosity with increasing shear rate results in sharper flow structures. We focus on the de Vahl Davis test case, a natural convection driven flow in a differentially heated rectangular cavity. The thin boundary layer flow along the vertical boundaries makes this an ideal test case for refinement. We demonstrate that adaptively refining the node density enhances computational efficiency and examine how the parameters for adaptive refinement affect the solution.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_21858
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Meshless $h$-adaptive Solution for non-Newtonian Natural Convection in a Differentially Heated Cavity
Rot, Miha
Kosec, Gregor
Fluid Dynamics
Numerical Analysis
Computational Physics
One of the main challenges in numerically solving partial differential equations is finding a discretisation for the computational domain that balances the accurate representation of the underlying field with computational efficiency. Meshless methods approximate differential operators based on the values of the field in computational nodes, offering a natural approach to adaptivity. The density of computational nodes can either be increased to enhance accuracy or decreased to reduce the number of numerical operations, depending on the properties of the intermediate solution. In this paper, we utilise an adaptive discretisation approach for the numerical simulation of natural convection in non-Newtonian fluid flow. The shear-thinning behaviour is interesting both due to its numerous occurrences in nature, blood being a prime example, and due to its properties, as the decreasing viscosity with increasing shear rate results in sharper flow structures. We focus on the de Vahl Davis test case, a natural convection driven flow in a differentially heated rectangular cavity. The thin boundary layer flow along the vertical boundaries makes this an ideal test case for refinement. We demonstrate that adaptively refining the node density enhances computational efficiency and examine how the parameters for adaptive refinement affect the solution.
title Meshless $h$-adaptive Solution for non-Newtonian Natural Convection in a Differentially Heated Cavity
topic Fluid Dynamics
Numerical Analysis
Computational Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.21858