Numerical simulations with a first-order BSSN formulation of Einstein's field equations

We present a new fully first-order strongly hyperbolic representation of the Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura formulation of Einstein's equations with optional constraint damping terms. We describe the characteristic fields of the system, discuss its hyperbolicity properties, and present two numerical implementations and simulations: one using finite differences, adaptive mesh refinement, and, in particular, binary black holes, and another one using the discontinuous Galerkin method in spherical symmetry. The results of this paper constitute a first step in an effort to combine the robustness of Baumgarte-Shapiro-Shibata-Nakamura evolutions with very high accuracy numerical techniques, such as spectral collocation multidomain or discontinuous Galerkin methods.

Modélisation, analyse mathématique et simulation numérique de la dynamique des glaciers

Guillaume Jouvet

We address the free boundary problem that consists in finding the shape of a three dimensional glacier over a given period and under given climatic conditions. Glacier surface moves by sliding, internal shear and external exchange of mass. Ice is modelled as a non Newtonian fluid. Given the shape of the glacier, the velocity of ice is obtained by solving a stationary non-linear Stokes problem with a sliding law along the bedrock-ice interface. The shape of the glacier is updated by computing a Volume Of Fluid (VOF) function, which satisfies a transport equation. Climatic effects (accumulation and ablation of ice) are taken into account in the source term of this equation. A decoupling algorithm with a two-grid method allows the velocity of ice and the VOF to be computed using different numerical techniques, such that a Finite Element Method (FEM) and a characteristics method. On a theoretical level, we prove the well-posedness of the non-linear Stokes problem. A priori estimates for the convergence of the FEM are established by using a quasi-norm technique. Eventually, convergence of the linearisation schemes, such that a fixed point method and a Newton method, is proved. Several applications demonstrate the potential of the numerical method to simulate the motion of a glacier during a long period. The first one consists in the simulation of Rhone et Aletsch glacier from 1880 to 2100 by using climatic data provided by glaciologists. The glacier reconstructions over the last 120 years are validated against measurements. Afterwards, several different climatic scenarios are investigated in order to predict the shape the glaciers until 2100. A dramatic retreat during the 21st century is anticipated for both glaciers. The second application is an inverse problem. It aims to find a climate parametrization allowing a glacier to fit some of its moraines. Two other aspects of glaciology are also addressed in this thesis. The first one consists in modeling and in simulating ice collapse during the calving process. The previous ice flow model is supplemented by a Damage variable which describes the presence of micro crack in ice. An additional numerical scheme allows the Damage field to be solved and a two dimensional simulation of calving to be performed. The second problem aims to prove the existence of stationary ice sheet when considering shallow ice model and a simplified geometry. Numerical investigation confirms the theoretical result and shows physical properties of the solution.

EPFL2010

Numerical simulation of free surface flows

Vincent Maronnier, Marco Picasso, Jacques Rappaz

A numerical model is presented for the simulation of complex fluid flows with free surfaces. The unknowns are the velocity and pressure fields in the liquid region, together with a function defining the volume fraction of liquid. Although the mathematical formulation of the model is similar to the volume of fluid (VOF) method, the numerical schemes used to solve the problem are different. A splitting method is used for the time discretization. At each time step, two advection problems and a generalized Stokes problem are to be solved. Two different grids are used for the space discretization. The two advection problems are solved on a fixed, structured grid made out of small rectangular cells, using a forward characteristic method. The generalized Stokes problem is solved using a finite element method on a fixed, unstructured mesh. Numerical results are presented for several test cases: the filling of an S-shaped channel, the filling of a disk with core, the broken dam in a confined domain. (C) 1999 Academic Press.

1999

Numerical simulation of thermal problems coupled with magnetohydrodynamic effects in aluminium cell

Jacques Rappaz

A system of partial differential equations describing the thermal behavior of aluminium cell coupled with magnetohydrodynamic effects is numerically solved. The thermal model is considered its a two-phases Stefan problem which consists of a non-linear convection-diffusion heat equation with Joule effect as a source. The magnetohydrodynamic fields are governed by Navier-Stokes and by static Maxwell equations. A pseudo-evolutionary scheme (Chernoff) is used to obtain the stationary solution giving the temperature and the frozen layer profile for the simulation of the ledges in the cell. A numerical approximation using a finite element method is formulated to obtain the fluid velocity, electrical potential, magnetic induction and temperature. An iterative algorithm and 3-D numerical results are presented. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Elsevier2009

Modélisation, analyse mathématique et simulation numérique de la dynamique des glaciers

Guillaume Jouvet

EPFL2010