A kernel gradient free (KGF) SPH method

The finite particle method (FPM) is a modified SPH method with high order accuracy while retaining the advantages of SPH in modeling problems with free surfaces, moving interfaces, and large deformations. In both SPH and FPM, kernel gradient is necessary in kernel and particle approximation of a field function and its derivatives. In this paper, a new FPM is presented, which only involves kernel function itself in kernel and particle approximation. The kernel gradient is not necessary in the whole computation, and this approach is thus referred to as a kernel gradient free (KGF) SPH method. This is helpful when a kernel function is not differentiable or the resultant kernel gradient is not sufficiently smooth, and thus it is more general in selecting a kernel function. Moreover, different from the original FPM with an asymmetric corrective matrix, in the new FPM, the resultant corrective matrix is symmetric, and this is advantageous in particle approximations. A series of numerical examples have been conducted to show the efficiencies of KGF-SPH including one-dimensional mathematical tests of polynomial functions with equal or variable smoothing length and two-dimensional incompressible fluid flow of shear cavity. It is found that KGF-SPH is comparable with FPM in accuracy and is flexible as SPH.