Convergence behavior of a new DSMC algorithm

The convergence rate of a new direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, termed "sophisticated DSMC", is investigated for one-dimensional Fourier flow. An argon-like hard-sphere gas at 273.15 K and 266.644 Pa is confined between two parallel, fully accommodating walls I mm apart that have unequal temperatures. The simulations are performed using a one-dimensional implementation of the sophisticated DSMC algorithm. In harmony with previous work, the primary convergence metric studied is the ratio of the DSMC-calculated thermal conductivity to its corresponding infinite-approximation Chapman-Enskog theoretical value. As discretization errors are reduced, the sophisticated DSMC algorithm is shown to approach the theoretical values to high precision. The convergence behavior of sophisticated DSMC is compared to that of original DSMC. The convergence of the new algorithm in a three-dimensional implementation is also characterized. Implementations using transient adaptive sub-cells and virtual sub-cells are compared. The new algorithm is shown to significantly reduce the computational resources required for a DSMC simulation to achieve a particular level of accuracy, thus improving the efficiency of the method by a factor of 2. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.