A least-squares meshfree method for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations: A satisfactory solenoidal velocity field via a staggered-variable arrangement

Abstract

Incompressible flow solvers based on strong-form meshfree methods represent arbitrary geometries without the need for a global mesh system. However, their local evaluations make it difficult to satisfy incompressibility at the discrete level. Moreover, the collocated arrangement of velocity and pressure variables tends to induce a zero-energy mode, leading to decoupling between the two variables. In projection-based approaches, a spatial discretization scheme based on a conventional node-based moving least-squares method for the pressure causes inconsistency between the discrete operators on both sides of the Poisson equation. Thus, a solenoidal velocity field cannot be ensured numerically. In this study, a numerical method for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is developed by introducing a local primal-dual grid into the mesh-constrained discrete point method, enabling consistent discrete operators. The \textit{virtual} dual cell constructed is based on the local connectivity among nodes, and therefore our method remains truly meshfree. To achieve a consistent coupling between velocity and pressure variables under the primal-dual arrangement, time evolution converting is applied to evolve the velocity on cell interfaces. For numerical validation, a linear acoustic equation is solved to confirm the effectiveness of the staggered-variable arrangement based on the local primal-dual grid. Then, incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved, and the proposed method is demonstrated to satisfy the condition of a solenoidal velocity field at the discrete level, achieve the expected spatial convergence order, and accurately reproduce flow features over a wide range of Reynolds numbers.