A 3D GCL compatible cell-centered Lagrangian scheme for solving gas dynamics equations

Solving the gas dynamics equations under the Lagrangian formalism enables to simulate complex flows with strong shock waves. This formulation is well suited to the simulation of multi-material compressible fluid flows such as those encountered in the domain of High Energy Density Physics (HEDP). These types of flows are characterized by complex 3D structures such as hydrodynamic instabilities (Richtmyer-Meshkov, Rayleigh-Taylor, etc.). Recently, the 3D extension of different Lagrangian schemes has been proposed and appears to be challenging. More precisely, the definition of the cell geometry in the 3D space through the treatment of its non-planar faces and the limiting of a reconstructed field in 3D in the case of a second-order extension are of great interest. This paper proposes two new methods to solve these problems. A systematic and symmetric geometrical decomposition of polyhedral cells is presented. This method enables to define a discrete divergence operator leading to the respect of the Geometric Conservation Law (GCL). Moreover, a multi-dimensional minmod limiter is proposed. This new limiter constructs, from nodal gradients, a cell gradient which enables to ensure the monotonicity of the numerical solution even in presence of strong discontinuity. These new ingredients are employed into a cell-centered Lagrangian scheme. Robustness and accuracy are assessed against various representative test cases.