Pseudo characteristic method of lines solution of the conservation equations

A method which combines the natural directional properties of the method of characteristics with the computational efficiency of the method of lines is proposed for solving the conservation equations of compressible fluid flow. Although the equations are expressed initially in implicit characteristic form, neither iteration nor matrix inversion is required as the equations are transformed analytically to an equivalent set in which time derivatives are explicitly defined. Reduced to its simplest form, the method is shown to be equivalent to adding optimal dissipation to the primitive form of the conservation equations, but a more accurate implementation is recommended.