JOHN F. T.

MACLAREN served a student apprenticeship

prior to 1939 with a firm of marine engine builders.
After seven years of war service with the British
Army in Europe and the Far East, he was appointed in
1947 as Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the
Royal Technical College in Glasgow. This institution
became the University of Strathclyde in 1964, and
since 1973 he has held the post of Personal Professor.
In 1955 he was awarded the PhD degree for a study
relating to the behaviour of reciprocating refrigerant
compressors. His early attempt to simulate these
machines was of little industrial value because of
the tedious and inaccurate procedures then available
for solving the nonlinear equations involved. The
general availability of digital computers has trans-
formed this situation, and the present paper is one
of many resulting from his renewed interest in the
subject.
Dr. MacLaren married in 1947 and has three sons who
have been graduated from Scottish universities in the
diverse disciplines of electronics, architecture, and
business administration.

ANTHONY B. TRAMSCHEK is a Lecturer in Applied Thermo-

dynamics in the Department of Thermodynamics and by
Fluid Mechanics of the Mechanical Engineering Group
at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He was J. F. T. MacLaren, A. B. Tramschek,
graduated from Nottingham University with a BSc degree O. F. Pastrana, and A. Sanjines
(first-class honours) in mechanical engineering in Mechanical Engineering Group
1960, and was awarded a PhD degree in 1967 for work University of Strathclyde
on the mixing of coaxial jets. Prior to his univer- Glasgow Gl 1XJ, Scotland
sity studies he worked with Shell Refining Company,
and after graduation he spent a period with Rolls-
Royce and Associates Limited, involved in thermal and
hydraulic design of pressurised water reactors (PWR).
More recently he has studied unsteady flow in pump
and compressor systems. Outside the university he
divides his time between his family - wife and two
daughters - his house, and his garden, and is involved
with the administration and umpiring of field hockey
in western Scotland.

ALVARO SANJINES was born and educated in Colombia,

South America. Following a year working with Inter-
consult SA-Peat, Marwick and Livingston, consulting
engineers, he attended the University of Los Andes
(Bogota) and was graduated with a BSc in mechanical
engineering early in 1970. Until mid-1971 he lectured
at Los Andes University and engaged in research in
bioengineering. He spent the next three and a half
years at the University of Strathclyde under the
auspices of the British Council and was awarded the
PhD degree for his thesis on An AnaZyticaZ and Experi-
mental Study of a Trao-Stage Reciprocating Compressor
InstaZZation. In June 1975 he returned to Bogota with
his wife and baby daughter to resume his appointment
at Los Andes University.
OCTAVIO F. PASTRANA is also a native of Colombia,
South America. He worked for a year as production
manager at Industrias Formacero, a subsidiary of
Westinghouse Electric Company, before attending Los
Andes University at Bogota. While there he served
Solving
for a time as a demonstrator in the Physics Depart-
ment, and graduated BSc in mechanical engineering in
February of 1974. Following graduation he was spon-
the equations for
sored by the British Council to attend the University
of Strathclyde. He married just before leaving South
America for Scotland, and his wife is reading for the
BA degree at Strathclyde University while he works
towards his postgraduate PhD. He devotes what little
unsteady gas flow
spare time he has after his researches to travel,
photography, and sports cars. by two methods
49

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ABSTRACT
The paper discusses briefly a number of methods
available to solve the hyperbolic partial differential
equations which describe unsteady compressible fluid
flow. Equations describing unsteady one-dimensional
flow in a pipe, accounting for heat transfer, gradual
area change, and friction are presented in conserva-
tion-law, normal, and characteristic form. The pres-
sure pulsations at locations in a single-stage reci-
procating air compressor system are predicted, employ-
ing both the method of characteristics and a composite
scheme utilising the Two-Step Lax-Wendroff method
within the pipes and the method of characteristics at
the boundaries. The composite scheme was simpler to
apply, required much less computational time, and
yielded results in closer agreement with data obtained
experimentally.
stability criteria. Consequently, the latter often
requires a small time-step, but the computation is
free of the need to solve simultaneous equations.
A first-order-of-accuracy explicit method based on
characteristic directions (method of upstream differ-
ences) was introduced by 1952 by Courant, Isaacson
1
and Rees.~ In the same year Hartree2 presented
first- and second-order-of-accuracy methods based on
characteristic directions and a fixed grid on the
x-t-plane; these methods, which were arranged for
digital computation by Lister3 in 1959, may be re-
garded as semi-implicit since they require iterative
procedures. Benson, Garg and Woollatt4 in 1964 pre-
sented a version of the method in a form suitable for
a digital computer. Kot,Sand also Hoskin and
Lambourn,6 have proposed improvements on the method
of characteristics.

INTRODUCTION Only second- and higher-order explicit methods were

Pressure pulsations occur in positive displacement
engine and compressor systems due to the inherently
intermittent nature of the gas flow. The amplitude
of such pulsations may be sufficiently large to
justify the use of nonlinear equations for waves of
finite amplitude rather than the small-wave (acoustic)
equation. While solution of the nonlinear equations
by the commonly used method of characteristics is
generally adequate when simulating such systems, we
sought a method which would produce more accurate
solutions and require less computer time. This paper
discusses the Two-Step Lax-Wendroff method and the
method of characteristics and compares the results
obtained using the two methods with experimental data
for a single-stage air-compressor system. In the
simulation by both methods, the method of character-
istics was applied at the boundaries.
considered in the present investigation. Lax and
Wendroff7 in 1960 introduced a scheme of second-order
accuracy; Richtmyer8 later developed an equivalent
two-step method. Other second-order-of-accuracy
methods are the Leapfrog method9 and the Two-Step
Lax-Wendroff method. These various methods have been
discussed by Richtmyer and Morton.ll,12 As a result
of a study of their stability, convergence, accuracy
and dispersion, Mortonl2 concluded that the most
attractive were the Leapfrog method and the Two-Step
Lax Wendroff method.
Third- and fourth-order methods were developed by
Burstein and Mirin,13 Lax and Wendroff,8 and others.
The high precision of these methods makes them attrac-
tive, but the computer time required may be excessive;
the time for a third-order method is treble that for
a second-order method.13

DISCUSSION
Form of the equations
Properties of numerical methods The nonlinear hyperbolic partial differential equa-
Three properties of importance in relation to any tions governing one-dimensional unsteady compressible
numerical method are stability, convergence, and flow may be expressed in three ways: conservation-
accuracy. A fourth property, dispersion, will be law, normal, and characteristic forms.
mentioned later.
Conservation-law form
Stability implies that any disturbance introduced
during the calculations does not grow in subsequent
Normal form
time steps. Convergence implies that the solution of
the finite difference equation tends to that of the
differential equations as the time step tends to zero. where
The solution of a difference equation differs from V is the vector of dependent variables
that of the differential equation by an amount called
the truncation error. This error, which is a function G(V) is a vector-valued function of V
of the time interval At, is a measure of the accuracy
of a numerical method; the order of accuracy is de- S is a matrix whose elements depend on V
fined as the smallest power of At which is present in
the truncation error. B contains the nonhomogeneous terms

In characteristic form the set of equations is re-

Some numerical methods
duced to a set of first-order linear ordinary differ-
Finite difference methods may be classified as explicit ential equations by finding the directions in the
or implicit. Implicit methods involve the solution of x-t-plane along which the dependent variables may be
simultaneous equations, generally by iterative methods. discontinuous. The set is formed by a direction con-
dition and a compatibility relation:
Although in general implicit methods permit large
time-steps, the simulation of some elements within a
particular physical system may require that a small Direction condition
time-step be used. Excessive computational time may
result since this small time-step must be applied to Compatibility rz.-ation
the whole system. Explicit methods permit dependent
quantities to be calculated directly, but their use where is an eigenvalue of Sand the associated
is constrained by the need to satisfy convergence and
LJ
left eigenvector.
XJ

50
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Fluid-flou equations A ( ~’&dquo; ..,.-;..,.

The DEFINITIONS
equations of continuity, momentum, energy, and
state permit a description of one-dimensional unsteady cz Speed of sound
gas flow with heat transfer, friction, and gradual
area change. For computational purposes it is conve- A Nondimensional speed of sound
nient to express the equations in nondimensional form ala ref
with the variables referred to arbitrary reference Speed of sound after isentropic change of
values. The set of equations may be presented as in
aA state to reference pressure
Reference 14. p ref
Aha Nondimensional form of
aA (entropy level)
(a) Conservation-law form B Vector of terms relating to heat transfer,
area change, and friction

ci Pseudo Riemann variable A

k21 + U

C2 Pseudo Riemann variable A -

k21 U
D Pipe diameter
f Friction factor Tw
iPu2
F Pipe cross sectional area

G(V) Vector function of V

k Ratio of specific heats
Eigenvalue of S
(b) Normal form LJ
P Nondimensional pressure
p/pref ,-

q Heat transfer per unit mass

r Mesh proportion ratio (aAtlAx)

R Nondimensional density ~,
(P/Pref)
S Matrix whose elements depend on the elements
of v
t Time

u Particle velocity
U Nondimensional form of the particle velocity
u/aref
(c) Characteristic form
lul Absolute value of U
Introducing the pseudo-Riemann variables
V Vector of dependent variables x

and the
W Jacobian of G(V)
compatibility relations are:
X. Left eigenvector
J
X Nondimensional form of the distance
x/xref
,.

x Distance

Z Nondimensional form of time t xref

aref ,-

x Wavelength
A/Ax Wavelength ratio

j Subindex denoting space

along the path line characteristic dX/dZ = U
n Subindex denoting time

ref Subindex denoting reference conditions

51

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 where
occurring
7- refers to the values of vector
at the meshpoint jAx, nAt.
V

In 1972 Zehnderl5 used this method to study the flow

in the cells of comprex machines, evaluating the
Jacobian W by difference approximations. The two-
step version of the method due to Richtmyer8 avoids
the repeated calculation of W.
Figure 1 - x-t-plane grid for the Two-Step Lax-
Wendroff method For the nonhomogeneous case the two steps are:

first step
The relationships between variables in the three
forms are given by

second step

Two-Step Lax-Wendroff method

By applying the chain rule to the conservation-law
form of Equation 1

Figure 1 shows the grid points used in the method.

where W is the Jacobian of G(V). Lax and Wendroff7
devised a method of second-order accuracy for the
solution of the homogeneous case:
In the first step, information from points 1 and 2 is
used to produce point 4; similarly, point 5 originates
from points 2 and 3. During the second step, the
information at grid point 6 (time t+ At) is generated
from points 2, 4, and 5.

Direct application of the Lax-Wendroff method at a

boundary is not possible because information is re-
quired that is not available from points outside the

Figure 2 - Amplification factors for the

linearised problem

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Figure 3 - Comparison of amplification
boundary. We employed the method of characteristics
to handle the end meshes. Equations appropriate to
most of the boundaries encountered in an engine or
compressor system had been presented by Sanjines.16
Equations were applied to compute the characteristic
form variables A and Aa at grid points 1’ and 2’
(Figure 1). The theory of characteristic directions
applied at the boundaries was then used to generate
the values of U, A, and Aa at point 3’. R and P at
point 3’ were obtained from Equation 7.
stability, convergence and dispersion of the Lax-
Wendroff method and the method of characteristics
The Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition for stability
and convergence states that the ratio of the time to
the space mesh size (4t/4x) should be small enough to
contain the domain of dependence of the differential
equation (i.e., Atltx< 1/(a +
lul)
for the nonlinear
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problem). According to the necessary condition
stipulated by Von-Neumann, any Fourier component of
the solution should not be amplified in consecutive
time steps.
Amplification factors for a linear equation for both
the Lax-Wendroff method and the (first-order) method
of characteristics are plotted in Figure 2; note that
any value of r ( = aAtlAx for the linearised problem)
which satisfies the Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy condition
also satisfies the Von-Neumann condition. It is
necessary to work as closely as possible to a value of
r =1 to avoid selective damping of the Fourier compo-
nents in the solution. Note also that any Fourier
components present in the analytical solution would
usually be more damped when usin~ the method of
characteristics than when using the Lax-Wendroff
method. This effect appears more clearly in Figure 3,
where the amplification factor has been calculated
for 360 time steps (perhaps the number of time steps
to complete a cycle in an engine or compressor system)
over a range of values of wavelength and mesh propor-
tion ratios relevant to such systems. It is apparent
that the high-frequency components (small values of
a/~x) are drastically damped when the method of
characteristics is employed. Hence, to obtain compar-
able accuracy, this method requires finer grids which,
to satisfy stability criteria, implies shorter time
steps and, consequently, longer computational time.
When stability conditions are violated, rapid oscilla-
tions can develop locally. Hence, it is not irration-
al to apply the criteria for local stability to the
present nonlinear situation.
Different methods propagate each Fourier component at
a different speed. This phenomenon, known as disper-
sion, is avoided in the Lax-Wendroff method providing
the wavelength ratio a/~x is greater than 2.5.
THE SIMULATION MODEL
The authors developed a model to simulate multistage
compressor systems. Heat-transfer effects and entropy
variations were accounted for in order to predict
accurately the temperature and mass flow at the outlet
from one stage. This information is a prerequisite
for the adequate simulation of any subsequent stage.
Each element of the compressor system was programmed
as a separate unit to facilitate the simulation of
systems with different configurations of such elements.
A control program read the data which described a
particular system and also called the appropriate
factors sequence of subroutines. All data was converted into
dimensionless form. The sequence of calculations is
outlined in the flow diagram in Figure 4.
To start the analysis, arbitrary conditions were de-
clared at a convenient point in the thermodynamic
cycle. Subsequently the computation was continued
through a number of these cycles; sufficient con-
vergence to an approximately repeatable cycle was
usually obtained by the end of the third or fourth
cycle.
Two versions of computer program were developed. The
first incorporated the method of characteristics to
solve the flow equations for the pipe elements of a
system and also at the boundaries. The second applied
the Two-Step Lax-Wendroff method to the inner meshes
in the pipes and employed, in the same manner as in
the first version, the method of characteristics at
the boundaries. Friction and heat-transfer effects
were accounted for in the same way in each version.
53
ASSESSMENT OF THE MODEL compressed air discharged via a nozzle to the atmo-

sphere. The compressor had a 6.0 in bore x4.5 in

Figure 5 permits comparison between experimental re- stroke (152 mm x 114 mm): it operated at 612 rev/min
cords and the results from both versions of the pro- and at a compression ratio 7.7. The suction pipe
gram applied to a single-stage compressor system lengthwas 18 ft (5.5 m) and the discharge pipe length

consisting of a cylinder with reciprocating piston, was 13.5 ft (4m). The amplitude of the pulsations in
pressure-actuated (i.e. automatic) valves, suction both suction and discharge pipes was about 20% of the
and discharge pipes, and a receiver from which the mean pressure in that pipe. The analytical traces

Figure 4 - Flow diagram for compressor simulation

Figure 5 - Comparison of experimental and analytical records

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shown in Figure 5 are for the fourth simulation of 4 BENSON, R.S. GARG, R.D. WOOLLATT, D.
the thermodynamic cycle. When applying the Two-Step A Numerical Solution of Unsteady Flow Problems
Lax-Wendroff method, thirty meshes were used for the International Journal of Mechanical Sciences
suction pipe and seventeen for the discharge pipe; vol. 6 1964 pp. 117-177
74 seconds were required on an IBM 370/158 computer.
The program which applied only the method of charac- 5 KOT, C.A.
teristics was run with these numbers of meshes; it An Improved Constant Time Technique for the
produced poor results (not recorded in Figure 5) and Method of Characteristics
required 95 seconds. The results computed by this Lecture Notes in Physics Springer Verlag
version of the program, shown in Figure 5, were ob- vol. 19 1972 pp. 130-135
tained using 39 meshes for both suction and discharge
pipes and required 302 seconds. These results were 6 HOSKIN, N.E. LAMBOURN, B.D.
considered still to be less accurate than those ob- The Computation of General Problems in One Dimen-
tained using the Two-Step Lax-Wendroff method. sion Unsteady Flow by the Method of Characteris-
tics
While the method of characteristics of second order Second International Conference on Numerical
of accuracy due to Hartree should provide more accu- Methods in Fluid Dynamics
rate results than the first-order method used here, Lecture Notes in Physics Springer Verlag
still more computer time would be required since vol. 8 1970 pp. 230-235
complicated iterations, involving several points in
the x-t-plane grid, would be necessary. 7 LAX, P.D. WENDROFF, B.
Systems of Conservation Laws
Recent investigation by the authors has shown that Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics
the Leapfrog method can be applied successfully to vol. 13 1960 pp. 217-237
the conservation-law form of the equations (for the
interior meshes of the pipes), producing results 8 RICHTMYER, R.D.
comparable in accuracy to those obtained by the Two- A Survey of Difference Methods for Nonsteady
Step Lax-Wendroff method and achieving still further Fluid Dynamics
reduction of the computational time required for the NCAR Technical Notes 1963
simulation of reciprocating gas compressor systems.
9 COURANT, R. FRIEDRICHS, K. LEWY, H.
CONCLUSION On Partial Difference Equations of Mathematical

air compressor system may be simulated Physics

A reciprocating IBM Journal II March 1967 pp. 215-234
using hyperbolic partial differential equations to (English translation of the original work Uber
describe the finite-amplitude one-dimensional unsteady
die Partiellen Differenzgleichungen der Mathema-
flow in the pipes, accounting for heat transfer,
tischen Physic, Mathematic Annals, vol. 100,
friction, and gradual area change. Application of 1928, pp. 32-79)
the Two-Step Lax-Wendroff method to the pipes and the
method of characteristics at the boundaries yielded 10 LERAT, A. PEYRET, R.
faster and more accurate solutions than did utilisa- Noncentered Schemes and Shock Propagation Problems
tion of the method of characteristics alone.
Computer and Fluids vol. 2 1974 pp. 35-52
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 11 RICHTMYER, R.D. MORTON, K.W.
The authors wish to thank Dr. David Sloan, Department Difference Methods for Initial Value Problems
of Mathematics, University of Strathclyde, for his Wiley-Interscience New York 1967
advice during the investigation.
12 MORTON, K.W.
This article is based on a paper entitled Numerical Stability and Convergence in Fluid Flow Problems
Methods to solve the Equations for Unsteady Gas Flow, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London
which was presented by the authors at the United series A vol. 323 1971 pp. 237-253
Kingdom Simulation Council Conference on Computer 13 BURSTEIN, S.Z. MIRIN, A.A.
Simulation, May 1975. Third Order Difference Methods for Hyperbolic
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Communications on Pure and Applied Mathematics PASTRANA, O.F.
vol. 5 1952 pp. 243-255 A Comparison of Numerical Solution of the
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in the Calculation of Non-Steady Compressible no. 5 October 1975
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Calculating Gas Flows in Pressure-Wave Machines
3 LISTER, M. Brown Boveri Review vol. 58 1971 pp. 172-176
The Numerical Solution of Hyperbolic Partial
Differential Equations by the Method of Charac- 16 SANJINES, A.
teristics An Analytical and Experimental Study of a Two
In Ralston and Wilf, editors, Mathematical Methods State Reciprocating Compressor Installation
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pp. 165-179 1975

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