A solution accurate, efficient and stable unsplit staggered mesh scheme for three dimensional magnetohydrodynamics

In this paper, we extend the unsplit staggered mesh scheme (USM) for 2D magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) [D. Lee, A.E. Deane, An unsplit staggered mesh scheme for multidimensional magnetohydrodynamics, J. Comput. Phys. 228 (2009) 952–975] to a full 3D MHD scheme. The scheme is a finite-volume Godunov method consisting of a constrained transport (CT) method and an efficient and accurate single-step, directionally unsplit multidimensional data reconstruction-evolution algorithm, which extends Colella’s original 2D corner transport upwind (CTU) method [P. Colella, Multidimensional upwind methods for hyperbolic conservation laws, J. Comput. Phys. 87 (1990) 446–466]. We present two types of data reconstruction-evolution algorithms for 3D: (1) a reduced CTU scheme and (2) a full CTU scheme. The reduced 3D CTU scheme is a variant of a simple 3D extension of Collela’s 2D CTU method and is considered as a direct extension from the 2D USM scheme. The full 3D CTU scheme is our primary 3D solver which includes all multidimensional cross-derivative terms for stability. The latter method is logically analogous to the 3D unsplit CTU method by Saltzman [J. Saltzman, An unsplit 3D upwind method for hyperbolic conservation laws, J. Comput. Phys. 115 (1994) 153–168]. The major novelties in our algorithms are twofold. First, we extend the reduced CTU scheme to the full CTU scheme which is able to run with CFL numbers close to unity. Both methods utilize the transverse update technique developed in the 2D USM algorithm to account for transverse fluxes without solving intermediate Riemann problems, which in turn gives cost-effective 3D methods by reducing the total number of Riemann solves. The proposed algorithms are simple and efficient especially when including multidimensional MHD terms that maintain in-plane magnetic field dynamics. Second, we introduce a new CT scheme that makes use of proper upwind information in taking averages of electric fields. Our 3D USM schemes can be easily combined with various reconstruction methods (e.g., first-order Godunov, second-order MUSCL-Hancock, third-order PPM and fifth-order WENO), and a wide choice of 1D based Riemann solvers (e.g., local Lax–Friedrichs, HLLE, HLLC, HLLD, and Roe). The 3D USM-MHD solver is available in the University of Chicago Flash Center’s official FLASH release.