An entropy-stable and kinetic energy-preserving macro-element HDG method for compressible flows

2025-07-29

AI Summary

Standard hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) methods for direct numerical simulation (DNS) of compressible flows suffer from high global degrees of freedom (DOFs) and low computational efficiency in large-scale parallel settings. To address this, we propose a novel high-order HDG framework that embeds continuous Galerkin (CG) structure within macro-elements. This design achieves significant local continuity, drastically reducing global DOFs while enabling matrix-free implementation and scalable parallel solvers. Crucially, we integrate entropy variables with flux differencing schemes, simultaneously ensuring entropy stability and kinetic energy conservation. Numerical experiments on canonical benchmarks—including isentropic vortices and the Taylor–Green vortex—demonstrate optimal convergence rates, up to 10× speedup over conventional HDG, and exceptional robustness in under-resolved and turbulent regimes. The method further exhibits strong parallel scalability across large core counts.

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Abstract

This paper introduces a high order numerical framework for efficient and robust simulation of compressible flows. To address the inefficiencies of standard hybridized discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) methods in large scale settings, we develop a macro element HDG method that reduces global and local degrees of freedom by embedding continuous Galerkin structure within macro-elements. This formulation supports matrix free implementations and enables highly parallel local solves, leading to substantial performance gains and excellent scalability on modern architectures. To enhance robustness in under resolved or turbulent regimes, we extend the method using entropy variables and a flux differencing approach to construct entropy stable and kinetic energy preserving variants. These formulations satisfy a discrete entropy inequality and improve stability without compromising high order accuracy. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed method on benchmark problems including the inviscid isentropic vortex and the Taylor Green vortex in both inviscid and turbulent regimes. Numerical results confirm optimal accuracy, improved robustness, and up to an order of magnitude speedup over standard HDG methods. These developments mark a significant advancement in high order methods for direct numerical simulation (DNS) of compressible flows.

Problem

• Develops macro-element HDG method to reduce computational inefficiencies in compressible flows
• Enhances robustness with entropy stability and kinetic energy preservation
• Achieves high-order accuracy and scalability for DNS of compressible flows

Innovation

• Macro-element HDG method reduces degrees of freedom
• Entropy-stable and kinetic energy-preserving formulations
• Matrix-free implementation enables parallel local solves