Finite element methods with numerical quadrature for elliptic problems with smooth interfaces

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect of the numerical quadrature on the finite element approximation to the exact solution of elliptic equations with discontinuous coefficients. Due to low global regularity of the solution, it seems difficult to achieve optimal order of convergence with classical finite element methods [Z. Chen, J. Zou, Finite element methods and their convergence for elliptic and parabolic interface problems, Numer. Math. 79 (1998) 175-202]. We derive error estimates in finite element method with quadrature for elliptic interface problems in a two-dimensional convex polygonal domain. Optimal order error estimates in L² and H¹ norms are shown to hold even if the regularity of the solution is low on the whole domain. Finally, numerical experiment for two dimensional test problem is presented in support of our theoretical findings.     

On the Convergence of Finite Element Method for Second Order Elliptic Interface Problems

The purpose of this paper is to study the convergence of finite element approximation to the exact solution of general self-adjoint elliptic equations with discontinuous coefficients. Due to low global regularity of the solution, it is difficult to achieve optimal order of convergence with classical finite element methods [Numer. Math. 1998; 79:175–202]. In this paper, an isoparametric type of discretization is used to prove optimal order error estimates in L ² and H ¹ norms when the global regularity of the solution is low. The interface is assumed to be of arbitrary shape and is smooth for our purpose. Further, for the purpose of numerical computations, we discuss the effect of numerical quadrature on finite element solution, and the related optimal order estimates are also established.     

Convergence analysis of an upwind finite volume element method with Crouzeix-Raviart element for non-selfadjoint and indefinite problems

In this paper we construct an upwind finite volume element scheme based on the Crouzeix-Raviart nonconforming element for non-selfadjoint elliptic problems. These problems often appear in dealing with flow in porous media. We establish the optimal order H ¹-norm error estimate. We also give the uniform convergence under minimal elliptic regularity assumption      

Finite volume element method for monotone nonlinear elliptic problems

In this article, we consider the finite volume element method for the monotone nonlinear second‐order elliptic boundary value problems. With the assumptions which guarantee that the corresponding operator is strongly monotone and Lipschitz‐continuous, and with the minimal regularity assumption on the exact solution, that is, u∈H¹(Ω), we show that the finite volume element method has a unique solution, and the finite volume element approximation is uniformly convergent with respect to the H¹ ‐norm. If u∈H^1+ε(Ω),0 < ε ≤ 1, we develop the optimal convergence rate \begin{align*}\mathcal{O}(h^{\epsilon})\end{align*} in the H¹ ‐norm. Moreover, we propose a natural and computationally easy residual‐based H¹ ‐norm a posteriori error estimator and establish the global upper bound and local lower bounds on the error. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2013     

Two-grid methods for –P1 mixed finite element approximation of general elliptic optimal control problems with low regularity

In this paper, we present a two-grid mixed finite element scheme for distributed optimal control governed by general elliptic equations. –P₁ mixed finite elements are used for the discretization of the state and co-state variables, whereas piecewise constant function is used to approximate the control variable. We first use a new approach to obtain the superclose property between the centroid interpolation and the numerical solution of the optimal control u with order h² under the low regularity. Based on the superclose property, we derive the optimal a priori error estimates. Then, using a postprocessing projection operator, we get a second-order superconvergent result for the control u. Next, we construct a two-grid mixed finite element scheme and analyze a priori error estimates. In the two-grid scheme, the solution of the elliptic optimal control problem on a fine grid is reduced to the solution of the elliptic optimal control problem on a much coarser grid and the solution of a linear algebraic system on the fine grid and the resulting solution still maintains an asymptotically optimal accuracy. Finally, a numerical example is presented to verify the theoretical results.     

Superconvergence of finite volume element method for a nonlinear elliptic problem

In this article, we consider the finite volume element method for the second‐order nonlinear elliptic problem and obtain the H¹ and W^1,∞ superconvergence estimates between the solution of the finite volume element method and that of the finite element method, which reveal that the finite volume element method is in close relationship with the finite element method. With these superconvergence estimates, we establish the L^p and W^1,p (2 < p ≤ ∞) error estimates for the finite volume element method for the second‐order nonlinear elliptic problem. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2007     

Finding multiple solutions to elliptic systems with polynomial nonlinearity

Elliptic systems with polynomial nonlinearity usually possess multiple solutions. In order to find multiple solutions, such elliptic systems are discretized by eigenfunction expansion method (EEM). Error analysis of the discretization is presented, which is different from the error analysis of EEM for scalar elliptic equations in three aspects: first, the choice of framework for the nonlinear operator and the corresponding isomorphism of the linearized operator; second, the definition of an auxiliary problem in deriving the relation between the L² norm and H¹ norm of the Ritz projection error; third, the bilinearity/nonbilinearity of the linearized variational forms. The symmetric homotopy for the discretized equations preserves not only D₄ symmetry, but also structural symmetry. With the symmetric homotopy, a filter strategy and a finite element Newton refinement, multiple solutions to a system of semilinear elliptic equations arising from Bose–Einstein condensate are found.     

A mortar element method for elliptic problems with discontinuous coefficients

This paper proposes a mortar finite element method for solvingthe two-dimensional second-order elliptic problem with jumpsin coefficients across the interface between two subregions.Non-matching finite element grids are allowed on the interface,so independent triangulations can be used in different subregions.Explicitly realizable mortar conditions are introduced to couplethe individual discretizations. The same optimal L²-norm andenergy-norm error estimates as for regular problems are achievedwhen the interface is of arbitrary shape but smooth, thoughthe regularity of the true solution is low in the whole physicaldomain.     

L ∞-error estimates of triangular mixed finite element methods for optimal control problems governed by semilinear elliptic equations

We look at L ^∞-error estimates for convex quadratic optimal control problems governed by nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations. In so doing, use is made of mixed finite element methods. The state and costate are approximated by the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces, and the control, by piecewise constant functions. L ^∞-error estimates of optimal order are derived for a mixed finite element approximation of a semilinear elliptic optimal control problem. Finally, numerical tests are presented which confirm our theoretical results.     

Finite element methods for semilinear parabolic interface problems

In this exposition we study the finite element methods for second-order semilinear parabolic interface problems in two dimensional convex polygonal domains with smooth interface. Both semidiscrete and fully discrete schemes are analyzed. Optimal order error estimates in the L²(0, T; H¹(Ω))-norm are established. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A finite volume method on general surfaces and its error estimates

In this paper, we study a finite volume method and its error estimates for the numerical solution of some model second order elliptic partial differential equations defined on a smooth surface. The discretization is defined via a surface mesh consisting of piecewise planar triangles and piecewise polygons. The optimal error estimates of the approximate solution are proved in both the H¹ and L² norms which are of first order and second order respectively under mesh regularity assumptions. Some numerical tests are also carried out to experimentally verify our theoretical analysis.     

Multigrid method for coupled semilinear elliptic equation

This paper introduces a kind of multigrid finite element method for the coupled semilinear elliptic equations. Instead of the common way of directly solving the coupled semilinear elliptic problems on some fine spaces, the presented method transforms the solution of the coupled semilinear elliptic problem into a series of solutions of the corresponding decoupled linear boundary value problems on the sequence of multilevel finite element spaces and some coupled semilinear elliptic problems on a very low dimensional space. The decoupled linearized boundary value problems can be solved by some multigrid iterations efficiently. The optimal error estimate and optimal computational work are proved theoretically and demonstrated numerically. Moreover, the requirement of bounded second‐order derivatives of the nonlinear term in the existing multigrid method is reduced to a Lipschitz continuous condition in the proposed method.     

The Mortar Element Method with Locally Nonconforming Elements

We consider a discretization of linear elliptic boundary value problems in 2-D by the new version of the mortar finite element method which uses locally nonconforming Crouzeix-Raviart elements. We show that if a solution of the original differential problem belongs to the space H ²(), then an error is of the same order as in the standard nonconforming finite element method. We also propose an additive Schwarz method of solving the discrete problem and show that its rate of convergence is almost optimal.     

Error estimates for a finite volume element method for parabolic equations in convex polygonal domains

We analyze the spatially semidiscrete piecewise linear finite volume element method for parabolic equations in a convex polygonal domain in the plane. Our approach is based on the properties of the standard finite element Ritz projection and also of the elliptic projection defined by the bilinear form associated with the variational formulation of the finite volume element method. Because the domain is polygonal, special attention has to be paid to the limited regularity of the exact solution. We give sufficient conditions in terms of data that yield optimal order error estimates in L₂ and H 1 . The convergence rate in the L_∞ norm is suboptimal, the same as in the corresponding finite element method, and almost optimal away from the corners. We also briefly consider the lumped mass modification and the backward Euler fully discrete method. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2004     

New a priori analysis of first‐order system least‐squares finite element methods for parabolic problems

We provide new insights into the a priori theory for a time‐stepping scheme based on least‐squares finite element methods for parabolic first‐order systems. The elliptic part of the problem is of general reaction‐convection‐diffusion type. The new ingredient in the analysis is an elliptic projection operator defined via a nonsymmetric bilinear form, although the main bilinear form corresponding to the least‐squares functional is symmetric. This new operator allows to prove optimal error estimates in the natural norm associated to the problem and, under additional regularity assumptions, in the L² norm. Numerical experiments are presented which confirm our theoretical findings.     

A priori error estimates for optimal control problems with pointwise constraints on the gradient of the state

We analyze a finite element approximation of an elliptic optimal control problem with pointwise bounds on the gradient of the state variable. We derive convergence rates if the control space is discretized implicitly by the state equation. In contrast to prior work we obtain these results directly from classical results for the W ^1,∞-error of the finite element projection, without using adjoint information. If the control space is discretized directly, we first prove a regularity result for the optimal control to control the approximation error, based on which we then obtain analogous convergence rates.     

High accuracy error estimates of a Galerkin finite element method for nonlinear time fractional diffusion equation

In this work, an effective and fast finite element numerical method with high-order accuracy is discussed for solving a nonlinear time fractional diffusion equation. A two-level linearized finite element scheme is constructed and a temporal–spatial error splitting argument is established to split the error into two parts, that is, the temporal error and the spatial error. Based on the regularity of the time discrete system, the temporal error estimate is derived. Using the property of the Ritz projection operator, the spatial error is deduced. Unconditional superclose result in H¹-norm is obtained, with no additional regularity assumption about the exact solution of the problem considered. Then the global superconvergence error estimate is obtained through the interpolated postprocessing technique. In order to reduce storage and computation time, a fast finite element method evaluation scheme for solving the nonlinear time fractional diffusion equation is developed. To confirm the theoretical error analysis, some numerical results are provided.     

Cubic superconvergent finite volume element method for one-dimensional elliptic and parabolic equations

In this paper, a cubic superconvergent finite volume element method based on optimal stress points is presented for one-dimensional elliptic and parabolic equations. For elliptic problem, it is proved that the method has optimal third order accuracy with respect to H¹ norm and fourth order accuracy with respect to L² norm. We also obtain that the scheme has fourth order superconvergence for derivatives at optimal stress points. For parabolic problem, the scheme is given and error estimate is obtained with respect to L² norm. Finally, numerical examples are provided to show the effectiveness of the method.     

Weak Galerkin finite element methods for electric interface model with nonhomogeneous jump conditions

In this paper, the weak Galerkin finite element method (WG-FEM) is applied to a pulsed electric model arising in biological tissue when a biological cell is exposed to an electric field. A fitted WG-FEM is proposed to approximate the voltage of the pulsed electric model across the physical media involving an electric interface (surface membrane), and heterogeneous permittivity and a heterogeneous conductivity. This method uses totally discontinuous functions in approximation space and allows the usage of finite element partitions consisting of general polygonal meshes. Optimal pointwise-in-time error estimates in L²-norm and H¹-norm are shown to hold for the semidiscrete scheme even if the regularity of the solution is low on the whole domain. Furthermore, a fully discrete approximation based on backward Euler scheme is analyzed and related optimal error estimates are derived.     

Convergence of finite element method for linear second‐order wave equations with discontinuous coefficients

A finite element method is proposed and analyzed for hyperbolic problems with discontinuous coefficients. The main emphasize is given on the convergence of such method. Due to low global regularity of the solutions, the error analysis of the standard finite element method is difficult to adopt for such problems. For a practical finite element discretization, optimal error estimates in L^∞(L²) and L^∞(H¹) norms are established for continuous time discretization. Further, a fully discrete scheme based on a symmetric difference approximation is considered, and optimal order convergence in L^∞(H¹) norm is established. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2013