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Numerical methods are one of the ways to solve problems represented by differential equations; these methods are implemented through algorithms and must be submitted to a numerical verification process to obtain reliable values. The verification of two numerical methods is presented in this study: the Fourier pseudo-spectral method (FPSM) and the finite-volume method (FVM), with and without the immersed boundary method (IBM). Both methodologies are used for incompressible two-dimensional flows, where the use of the IBM allows the modeling of flows involving complex geometries. The present study evaluates the accuracy and convergence rate of the FPSM and FVM using the Taylor-Green decaying vortex problem. The results show that, with the use of the IBM, FPSM and FVM reach the fourth and second order of numerical convergence, respectively, with a longer processing time in simulations with the FPSM.

The immersed boundary method has attracted considerable interest in the last few years. The method is a computational cheap alternative to represent the boundaries of a geometrically complex body, while using a cartesian mesh, by adding a force term in the momentum equation. The advantage of this is that bodies of any arbitrary shape can be added without grid restructuring, a procedure which is often time-consuming. Furthermore, multiple bodies may be simulated, and relative motion of those bodies may be accomplished at reasonable computational cost. The numerical platform in development has a parallel distributed-memory implementation to solve the Navier-Stokes equations. The Finite Volume Method is used in the spatial discretization where the diffusive terms are approximated by the central difference method. The temporal discretization is accomplished using the Adams-Bashforth method. Both temporal and spatial discretizations are second-order accurate. The Velocity-pressure coupling is done using the fractional-step method of two steps. The present work applies the immersed boundary method to simulate a Newtonian laminar flow through a three-dimensional sudden contraction. Results are compared to published literature. Flow patterns upstream and downstream of the contraction region are analysed at various Reynolds number in the range 44 ≤ R e D ≤ 993 for the large tube and 87 ≤ R e D ≤ 1956 for the small tube, considerating a contraction ratio of β = 1 . 97 . Comparison between numerical and experimental velocity profiles has shown good agreement.

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The natural convection at low and moderate Rayleigh numbers (Ra) incylindrical horizontal annuli with imposed temperatures in both surfaces isnumerically studied. This flow inside concentric cylinders classic configuration has a wide range of practical and technological applications, which justifies its growing studies efforts. In this work, the governing equations are discretized by the volume finite technique over a staggered grid, with second-order accuracy in space and time. The flow pattern is presented by several Rayleigh numbers, with an analysis of the heat transfer coefficient and flow properties. Furthermore, a three-dimensional field is shown at a moderate Ra number. The results showed a good agreement with the experimental data.

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