Multigrid solution of the Navier-Stokes equations on highly stretched grids with defect correction

Relaxation-based multigrid solvers for the steady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are examined to determine their computational speed and robustness. Four relaxation methods with a common discretization have been used as smoothers in a single tailored multigrid procedure. The equations are discretized on a staggered grid with first order upwind used for convection in the relaxation process on all grids and defect correction to second order central on the fine grid introduced once per multigrid cycle. A fixed W(1,1) cycle with full weighting of residuals is used in the FAS multigrid process. The resulting solvers have been applied to three 2D flow problems, over a range of Reynolds numbers, on both uniform and highly stretched grids. In all cases the L(sub 2) norm of the velocity changes is reduced to 10(exp -6) in a few 10's of fine grid sweeps. The results from this study are used to draw conclusions on the strengths and weaknesses of the individual relaxation schemes as well as those of the overall multigrid procedure when used as a solver on highly stretched grids.