A fast finite difference method for biharmonic equations on irregular domains and its application to an incompressible Stokes flow

Biharmonic equations have many applications, especially in fluid and solid mechanics, but is difficult to solve due to the fourth order derivatives in the differential equation. In this paper a fast second order accurate algorithm based on a finite difference discretization and a Cartesian grid is developed for two dimensional biharmonic equations on irregular domains with essential boundary conditions. The irregular domain is embedded into a rectangular region and the biharmonic equation is decoupled to two Poisson equations. An auxiliary unknown quantity Δu along the boundary is introduced so that fast Poisson solvers on irregular domains can be used. Non-trivial numerical examples show the efficiency of the proposed method. The number of iterations of the method is independent of the mesh size. Another key to the method is a new interpolation scheme to evaluate the residual of the Schur complement system. The new biharmonic solver has been applied to solve the incompressible Stokes flow on an irregular domain.      

A fast interface solver for the biharmonic Dirichlet problem on polygonal domains

Summary. In this paper we propose and analyze an efficient discretization scheme for the boundary reduction of the biharmonic Dirichlet problem on convex polygonal domains. We show that the biharmonic Dirichlet problem can be reduced to the solution of a harmonic Dirichlet problem and of an equation with a Poincaré-Steklov operator acting between subspaces of the trace spaces. We then propose a mixed FE discretization (by linear elements) of this equation which admits efficient preconditioning and matrix compression resulting in the complexity . Here is the number of degrees of freedom on the underlying boundary, is an error reduction factor, or for rectangular or polygonal boundaries, respectively. As a consequence an asymptotically optimal iterative interface solver for boundary reductions of the biharmonic Dirichlet problem on convex polygonal domains is derived. A numerical example confirms the theory. Received September 1, 1995 / Revised version received February 12, 1996     

A Posteriori Error Estimation for the Dual Mixed Finite Element Method of the Stokes Problem

The paper presents an a posteriori error estimator of residual type for the stationary Stokes problem in a possibly multiply-connected polygonal domain of the plane, using the dual mixed finite element method (FEM). We prove lower and upper error bounds with the explicit dependence of the viscosity parameter and without any regularity assumption on the solution.     

Application of a posteriori error estimates for Navier‐Stokes equations to fluid flow in a channel with corners

We investigate a posteriori error estimates for the Stokes and Navier‐Stokes equations for incompressible fluid problem on 2D polygonal domains. We have determined accurately the constant that appears in the estimates. We apply these results to the technique of adaptive mesh refinement ‐ we solve an incompressible flow problem in a domain with corners that cause singularities in the solution.     

A new approach for solving stokes systems arising from a distributive relaxation method

The distributed relaxation method for the Stokes problem has been advertised as an adequate change of variables that leads to a lower triangular system with Laplace operators on the main diagonal for which multigrid methods are very efficient. We show that under high regularity of the Laplacian, the transformed system admits almost block‐lower triangular form. We analyze the distributed relaxation method and compare it with other iterative methods for solving the Stokes system. We also present numerical experiments illustrating the effectiveness of the transformation which is well established for certain finite difference discretizations of Stokes problems. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 27: 898–914, 2011     

Time-dependent Stokes and Navier–Stokes problems with boundary conditions involving pressure, existence and regularity

This paper is concerned with the time-dependent Stokes and Navier–Stokes problems with nonstandard boundary conditions: the pressure is given on some part of the boundary. The stationary case was first studied by Bégue, Conca, Murat and Pironneau and, next, their study were completed by Bernard, mainly about regularity. In this paper, the Stokes problem is studied by a method analogous to that of Temam for the standard problem, combined with regularity results of Bernard for the nonstandard stationary case. We obtain existence, uniqueness and regularity H². In addition, in two dimensions, a regularity W^2,r, r2, is proved. Next, for the nonstandard Navier–Stokes problem, we present some existence, uniqueness and regularity H² results. The proof of existence is based on a fixed point method.     

Hydrostatic Stokes equations with non-smooth data for mixed boundary conditions

The main subject of this work is to study the concept of very weak solution for the hydrostatic Stokes system with mixed boundary conditions (non-smooth Neumann conditions on the rigid surface and homogeneous Dirichlet conditions elsewhere on the boundary). In the Stokes framework, this concept has been studied by Conca [Rev. Mat. Apl. 10 (1989)] imposing non-smooth Dirichlet boundary conditions.In this paper, we introduce the dual problem that turns out to be a hydrostatic Stokes system with non-free divergence condition. First, we obtain strong regularity for this dual problem (which can be viewed as a generalisation of the regularity results for the hydrostatic Stokes system with free divergence condition obtained by Ziane [Appl. Anal. 58 (1995)]). Afterwards, we prove existence and uniqueness of very weak solution for the (primal) problem.As a consequence of this result, the existence of strong solution for the non-stationary hydrostatic Navier-Stokes equations is proved, weakening the hypothesis over the time derivative of the wind stress tensor imposed by Guillén-González, Masmoudi and Rodríguez-Bellido [Differential Integral Equations 50 (2001)].     

On the Stokes system and on the biharmonic equation in the half‐space: an approach via weighted Sobolev spaces

In this paper, we investigate the Stokes system and the biharmonic equation in a half‐space of ?ⁿ. Our approach rests on the use of a family of weighted Sobolev spaces as a framework for describing the behaviour at infinity. A complete class of existence, uniqueness and regularity results for both the problems is proved. The proofs are mainly based on the principle of reflection. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Method of asymptotic partial decomposition of domain for multistructures

Method of asymptotic partial decomposition of a domain (MAPDD) proposed and justified earlier for thin domains (rod structures, tube structures) is generalized and justified for the multistructures, i.e. domains consisting of a set of thin cylinders connecting some massive 3D domains. In the present paper, the Dirichlet boundary value problem for the steady-state Stokes equations is considered. This problem is reduced to the Stokes equations in the massive domains coupled with the Poiseuille-type flows within the thin cylinders at some distance from the bases (the MAPDD approximation problem). The high-order estimates for the difference of the exact solution to the initial problem and the solution to the MAPDD approximation problem is proved.     

Logarithmic improvement of regularity criteria for the Navier–Stokes equations in terms of pressure

In this article we prove a logarithmic improvement of regularity criteria in the multiplier spaces for the Cauchy problem of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in terms of pressure. This improves the main result in Benbernou (2009).     

Finite element theory on curved domains with applications to discontinuous Galerkin finite element methods

In this paper we provide key estimates used in the stability and error analysis of discontinuous Galerkin finite element methods (DGFEMs) on domains with curved boundaries. In particular, we review trace estimates, inverse estimates, discrete Poincaré–Friedrichs' inequalities, and optimal interpolation estimates in noninteger Hilbert–Sobolev norms, that are well known in the case of polytopal domains. We also prove curvature bounds for curved simplices, which does not seem to be present in the existing literature, even in the polytopal setting, since polytopal domains have piecewise zero curvature. We demonstrate the value of these estimates, by analyzing the IPDG method for the Poisson problem, introduced by Douglas and Dupont, and by analyzing a variant of the hp-DGFEM for the biharmonic problem introduced by Mozolevski and Süli. In both cases we prove stability estimates and optimal a priori error estimates. Numerical results are provided, validating the proven error estimates.     

Superconvergence of nonconforming finite element method for the Stokes equations

This article derives a general superconvergence result for nonconforming finite element approximations of the Stokes problem by using a least‐squares surface fitting method proposed and analyzed recently by Wang for the standard Galerkin method. The superconvergence result is based on some regularity assumption for the Stokes problem and is applicable to any nonconforming stable finite elements with regular but nonuniform partitions. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 18: 143–154, 2002; DOI 10.1002/num.1036     

An error indicator for mortar element solutions to the Stokes problem

We are interested in the mortar spectral element discretizationof the Stokes problem in a two-dimensional polygonal domain.We propose a family of residual type error indicators and weprove estimates which allow us to compare them with the error.We explain how these indicators can be used for adaptivity,and we present some numerical experiments.     

Interface boundary value problems of Robin‐transmission type for the Stokes and Brinkman systems on n‐dimensional Lipschitz domains: applications

In this paper, we describe a layer potential analysis in order to show an existence result for an interface boundary value problem of Robin‐transmission type for the Stokes and Brinkman systems on Lipschitz domains in Euclidean setting, when the given boundary data belong to some L^p or Sobolev spaces associated to such domains. Applications related to an exterior three‐dimensional Stokes flow past two concentric porous spheres with stress jump conditions on the fluid‐porous interface are also considered. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stokes问题的各向异性平行四边形有限元逼近

1 引言 Stokes问题是标准的混合问题,速度与压力同时计算,关于该问题有限元求解的文章很多(见文献[1-5])但大多都是基于对区域的正则剖分或拟一致剖分,即要求网格剖分满足hk/pK≤C,(A)K∈Jh,其中C>0为一常数,hk,pK分别为单元K的直径及内切园直径,在实际应用问题中,由于边界层或区域的拐角处需考虑物质的各向异性特征,此时对空间区域Q的剖分不再满足正则性或拟一致条件,而需要用各向异性网格剖分,才能更贴切地描述其真实情形.     

A regularity criterion to the biharmonic map heat flow in ℜ4

We consider the regularity problem under the critical condition to the biharmonic map heat flow from ?⁴ to a smooth compact Riemannian manifold without boundary. Using Gagliardo‐Nirenberg inequalities and delicate estimates, the Serrin type regularity criterion for the smooth solutions of biharmonic map heat flow is obtained without assuming a smallness condition on the initial energy. Our result improved the results of Lamm in 5 and 6 and generalized the results of Chang, Wang, Yang 1 , Strzelecki 11 and Wang 13 , 14 to non‐stationary case.     

Pointwise estimates for Green's kernel of a mixed boundary value problem to the Stokes system in a polyhedral cone

The paper deals with a mixed boundary value problem for the Stokes system in a polyhedral cone. Here different boundary conditions (in particular, Dirichlet, Neumann, free surface conditions) are prescribed on the sides of the polyhedron. The authors obtain regularity results for weak solutions in weighted L ₂ Sobolev spaces and prove point estimates of Green's matrix. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A High-Order Kernel-Free Boundary Integral Method for Incompressible Flow Equations in Two Space Dimensions

This paper presents a fourth-order kernel-free boundary integral method for the time-dependent, incompressible Stokes and Navier-Stokes equations defined on irregular bounded domains. By the stream function-vorticity formulation, the incompressible flow equations are interpreted as vorticity evolution equations. Time discretization methods for the evolution equations lead to a modified Helmholtz equation for the vorticity, or alternatively, a modified biharmonic equation for the stream function with two clamped boundary conditions. The resulting fourth-order elliptic boundary value problem is solved by a fourth-order kernel-free boundary integral method, with which integrals in the reformulated boundary integral equation are evaluated by solving corresponding equivalent interface problems, regardless of the exact expression of the involved Green's function. To solve the unsteady Stokes equations, a four-stage composite backward differential formula of the same order accuracy is employed for time integration. For the Navier-Stokes equations, a three-stage third-order semi-implicit Runge-Kutta method is utilized to guarantee the global numerical solution has at least third-order convergence rate. Numerical results for the unsteady Stokes equations and the Navier-Stokes equations are presented to validate efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method.     

For the stationary compressible viscous Navier-Stokes equations with no-slip condition on a convex polygon

Our concern is with existence and regularity of the stationary compressible viscous Navier-Stokes equations with no-slip condition on convex polygonal domains. Note that [u,p]=[0,c], c a constant, is the eigenpair for the singular value λ=1 of the Stokes problem on the convex sector. It is shown that, except the pair [0,c], the leading order of the corner singularities for the nonlinear equations is the same as that of the Stokes problem. We split the leading corner singularity from the solution and show an increased regularity for the remainder. As a consequence the pressure solution changes the sign at the convex corner and its derivatives blow up.     

A block preconditioning technique for the streamfunction‐vorticity formulation of the Navier‐Stokes equations

Iterative methods of Krylov‐subspace type can be very effective solvers for matrix systems resulting from partial differential equations if appropriate preconditioning is employed. We describe and test block preconditioners based on a Schur complement approximation which uses a multigrid method for finite element approximations of the linearized incompressible Navier‐Stokes equations in streamfunction and vorticity formulation. By using a Picard iteration, we use this technology to solve fully nonlinear Navier‐Stokes problems. The solvers which result scale very well with problem parameters. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2011