Fully Threaded Tree for Adaptive Refinement Fluid Dynamics Simulations

Abstract

A fully threaded tree (FTT) for adaptive refinement of regular meshes is described. By using a tree threaded at all levels, tree traversals for finding nearest neighbors are avoided. All operations on a tree including tree modifications are O(N), where N is a number of cells, and are performed in parallel. An efficient implementation of the tree is described that requires 2N words of memory. A filtering algorithm for removing high-frequency noise during mesh refinement is described. A FTT can be used in various numerical applications. In this paper, it is applied to the integration of the Euler equations of fluid dynamics. An adaptive-mesh time stepping algorithm is described in which different time steps are used at different levels of the tree. Time stepping and mesh refinement are interleaved to avoid extensive buffer layers of fine mesh which were otherwise required ahead of moving shocks. Test examples are presented, and the FTT performance is evaluated. The three-dimensional simulation of the interaction of a shock wave and a spherical bubble is carried out that shows the development of azimuthal perturbations on the bubble surface.