A finite element method to solve the Navier‐Stokes equations using the method of characteristics

Abstract We present a simple and efficient finite element method to solve the Navier‐Stokes equations in primitive variables V, p. It uses (a) an explicit advection step, by upwind differencing. Improvement with regard to the classical upwind differencing scheme of the first order is realized by accurate calculation of the characteristic curve across several elements, and higher order interpolation; (b) an implicit diffusion step, avoiding any theoretical limitation on the time increment, and (c) determination of the pressure field by solving the Poisson equation. Two laminar flow calculations are presented and compared to available numerical and experimental results.