Stream function-vorticity driven cavity solution using p finite elements

Calculations for the two-dimensional driven cavity incompressible flow problem are presented. A p-type finite element scheme for the fully coupled stream function-vorticity formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations is used. Graded meshes are used to resolve vortex flow features and minimize the impact of corner singularities. Incremental continuation in the Reynolds number allows solutions to be computed for Re = 12 500. A significant feature of the work is that new tertiary and quaternary corner vortex features are observed in the flow field. Comparisons are made with other solutions in the literature. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.