Higher-order implicit shock-capturing scheme based on linearization of implicit fluxes for the Euler equations

Purpose: A higher-order implicit shock-capturing scheme is presented for the Euler equations based on time linearization of the implicit flux vector rather than the residual vector. Design/methodology/approach: The flux vector is linearized through a truncated Taylor-series expansion whose leading-order implicit term is an inner product of the flux Jacobian and the vector of differences between the current and previous time step values of conserved variables. The implicit conserved-variable difference vector is evaluated at cell faces by using the reconstructed states at the left and right sides of a cell face and projecting the difference between the left and right states onto the right eigenvectors. Flux linearization also facilitates the construction of implicit schemes with higher-order spatial accuracy (up to third order in the present study). To enhance the diagonal dominance of the coefficient matrix and thereby increase the implicitness of the scheme, wave strengths at cell faces are expressed as the inner product of the inverse of the right eigenvector matrix and the difference in the right and left reconstructed states at a cell face. Findings: The accuracy of the implicit algorithm at Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy (CFL) numbers greater than unity is demonstrated for a number of test cases comprising one-dimensional (1-D) Sod’s shock tube, quasi 1-D steady flow through a converging-diverging nozzle, and two-dimensional (2-D) supersonic flow over a compression corner and an expansion corner. Practical implications: The algorithm has the advantage that it does not entail spatial derivatives of flux Jacobian so that the implicit flux can be readily evaluated using Roe’s approximate Jacobian. As a result, this approach readily facilitates the construction of implicit schemes with high-order spatial accuracy such as Roe-MUSCL. Originality/value: A novel finite-volume-based higher-order implicit shock-capturing scheme was developed that uses time linearization of fluxes at cell interfaces.