# Calculate Euler equations of fluid dynamics without division?

I'm working on the calculation of the Euler equations with the finite volume method. Unfortunately I'm not allowed to do a division. So I'm wondering if there's a form which does not need a division.

At the moment the Euler equations look like this:

$$\frac{\partial}{\partial t} \begin{pmatrix} \rho \\ \rho v_1 \\ \rho v_2 \\ \rho v_3 \\ \rho E \end{pmatrix} = -\mathrm{div} \begin{pmatrix} \rho v_1 & \rho v_2 & \rho v_3 \\ \rho v_1^2 + p & \rho v_1 v_2 & \rho v_1 v_3 \\ \rho v_2 v_1 & \rho v_2^2 + p & \rho v_2 v_3 \\ \rho v_3 v_1 & \rho v_3 v_2 & \rho v_3^2 + p \\ (\rho E + p) v_1 & (\rho E + p) v_2 & (\rho E + p) v_3 \end{pmatrix}$$

As you can see, I first need to calculate $\frac{\rho v_1}{\rho}$ to get $v_1$ so I can calculate e.g. $\rho v_1^2$

• I'm not sure why you mean by "division costs an additional time step", could you elaborate? – Kyle Kanos Jul 8 '14 at 15:59
• Okay, I wouldn't call a clock a "timestep" when dealing with hydrodynamics, as $dt$ is your timestep. I also wouldn't worry about division taking up an extra cycle, you really can't avoid it when using the conservative form (especially if you're using a Riemann solver). – Kyle Kanos Jul 8 '14 at 16:07
• No, clock is not the same as a timestep. A clock is the inverse of the chip frequency, a timestep is the characteristic time it would take for a fluid parcel to leave the cell (denoted by the Courant-Freidrich-Levy condition). – Kyle Kanos Jul 8 '14 at 16:30
• This question appears to be off-topic because it is about numerical methods, not physics. – Kyle Oman Jul 8 '14 at 16:52
• @KyleKanos True, though I'd judge this to be very close to the line between computational physics and an implementation issue. Whether it's over the line or not is up for debate. – Kyle Oman Jul 8 '14 at 17:17

An alternative to the conservative formalism of the Euler is the primitive form: $$\frac{\partial\rho}{\partial t}+\nabla\cdot\rho\mathbf v=0 \\ \rho\frac{\partial\mathbf v}{\partial t}+\rho\mathbf v\cdot\nabla\mathbf v+\left(\gamma-1\right)\nabla\left(\rho e\right)=0 \\ \frac{\partial e}{\partial t}+\mathbf v\cdot\nabla e+\left(\gamma-1\right)e\nabla\cdot\mathbf v=0$$ You shouldn't have to do any division here, as the primitive variables are what are differenced. I haven't really worked with solving a primitive systems, but I don't believe you can use the conventional Riemann solver, as that expects a conservative system.