Numerical Solution of Partial Differential Equations in Arbitrary Shaped Domains Using Cartesian Cut-Stencil Finite Difference Method. Part I: Concepts and Fundamentals

Abstract

A new finite difference (FD) method, referred to as "Cartesian cut-stencil FD", is introduced to obtain the numerical solution of partial differential equations on any arbitrary irregular shaped domain. The 2^nd-order accurate two-dimensional Cartesian cut-stencil FD method utilizes a 5-point stencil and relies on the construction of a unique mapping of each physical stencil, rather than a cell, in any arbitrary domain to a generic uniform computational stencil. The treatment of boundary conditions and quantification of the solution accuracy using the local truncation error are discussed. Numerical solutions of the steady convection-diffusion equation on sample complex domains have been obtained and the results have been compared to exact solutions for manufactured partial differential equations (PDEs) and other numerical solutions.