Finite volume

From CFD-Wiki

The Finite Volume Method (FVM) is one of the most versatile discretization techniques used in CFD. Based on the control volume formulation of analytical fluid dynamics, the first step in the FVM is to divide the domain into a number of control volumes (aka cells, elements) where the variable of interest is located at the centroid of the control volume. The next step is to integrate the differential form of the governing equations (very similar to the control volume approach) over each control volume. Interpolation profiles are then assumed in order to describe the variation of the concerned variable between cell centroids. The resulting equation is called the discretized or discretization equation. In this manner, the discretization equation expresses the conservation principle for the variable inside the control volume.

The most compelling feature of the FVM is that the resulting solution holds the conservation properties of quantities such as mass, momentum, energy, and species. This is exactely satisfied for any control volume as well as for the whole computational domain and for any number of control volumes. Even a coarse grid solution exhibits exact integral balances. Return to Numerical Methods