This thesis provides improvements to computational fluid dynamics accuracy and ef- ficiency through two main methods: a new boundary condition verification procedure and preconditioning techniques. First, a new verification approach that addresses boundary conditions was developed. In order to apply the verification approach to a large range of arbitrary boundary condi- tions, it was necessary to develop unifying mathematical formulation. A framework was developed that allows for the application of Dirichlet, Neumann, and extrapolation bound- ary condition, or in some cases the equations of motion directly. Verification of boundary condition techniques was performed using exact solutions from canonical fluid dynamic test cases. Second, to reduce computation time and improve accuracy, preconditioning algorithms were applied via artificial dissipation schemes. A new convective upwind and split pressure (CUSP) scheme was devised and was shown to be more effective than traditional precon- ditioning schemes in certain scenarios. The new scheme was compared with traditional schemes for unsteady flows for which both convective and acoustic effects dominated. Both boundary conditions and preconditioning algorithms were implemented in the context of a "strand grid" solver. While not the focus of this thesis, strand grids provide automatic viscous quality meshing and are suitable for moving mesh overset problems.

In this thesis, stable and efficient hybrid methods which combine high order finite difference methods and unstructured finite volume methods for time-dependent initial boundary value problems have been developed. The hybrid methods make it possible to combine the efficiency of the finite difference method and the flexibility of the finite volume method. We carry out a detailed analysis of the stability of the hybrid methods, and in particular the stability of interface treatments between structured and unstructured blocks. Both the methods employ so called summation-by-parts operators and impose boundary and interface conditions weakly, which lead to an energy estimate and stability. We have constructed and analyzed first-, second- and fourth-order Laplacian based artificial dissipation operators for finite volume methods on unstructured grids. The first-order artificial dissipation can handle shock waves, and the fourth-order artificial dissipation eliminates non-physical numerical oscillations efficiently. A stable hybrid method for hyperbolic problems has been developed. It is shown that the stability at the interface can be obtained by modifying the dual grid of the unstructured finite volume method close to the interface. The hybrid method is applied to the Euler equation by the coupling of two stand-alone CFD codes. Since the coupling is administered by a third separate coupling code, the hybrid method allows for individual development of the stand-alone codes. It is shown that the hybrid method is an accurate, efficient and practically useful computational tool that can handle complex geometries and wave propagation phenomena. Stable and accurate interface treatments for the linear advection–diffusion equation have been studied. Accurate high-order calculation are achieved in multiple blocks with interfaces. Three stable interface procedures — the Baumann–Oden method, the “borrowing” method and the local discontinuous Galerkin method, have been investigated. The analysis shows that only minor differences separate the different interface handling procedures. A conservative stable and efficient hybrid method for a parabolic model problem has been developed. The hybrid method has been applied to the full Navier–Stokes equations. The numerical experiments support the theoretical conclusions and show that the interface coupling is stable and converges at the correct order for the Navier–Stokes equations.

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