Numerical Simulation of the 2D Lid Driven Cavity Benchmark Problem Using a Finite Volume Based Method

The lid-driven cavity problem is a benchmark flow case in CFD due its simplicity and the unambiguous nature of its boundary conditions. Considerable work has been done since the 1980s in this area, particularly with the increase of mesh refinement and Reynolds numbers. In this project, the 2D lid driven cavity problem was solved using a second-order Adams Bashforth explicit time integration scheme. The pressure poisson equation which results from the manipulation of the continuity equation was solved using a Gauss Seidel solver.

A staggered grid was used in this work to negate the effects of checkerboard pressure oscillations and to alleviate pressure velocity decoupling. The computations were carried out for multiple grid sizes which are: 32 × 32, 64 × 64, and 128 × 128. The results obtained were compared with existing data from literature which eventually showed good coherence.