Composite finite element approximation for nonlinear parabolic problems in nonconvex polygonal domains

We study a new class of finite elements so‐called composite finite elements (CFEs), introduced earlier by Hackbusch and Sauter, Numer. Math., 1997; 75:447‐472, for the approximation of nonlinear parabolic equation in a nonconvex polygonal domain. A two‐scale CFE discretization is used for the space discretizations, where the coarse‐scale grid discretized the domain at an appropriate distance from the boundary and the fine‐scale grid is used to resolve the boundary. A continuous, piecewise linear CFE space is employed for the spatially semidiscrete finite element approximation and the temporal discretizations is based on modified linearized backward Euler scheme. We derive almost optimal‐order convergence in space and optimal order in time for the CFE method in the L^∞(L²) norm. Numerical experiment is carried out for an L‐shaped domain to illustrate our theoretical findings.     

A finite element scheme for domains with corners

This paper is concerned with the rate of convergence of the finite element method on polygonal domains in weighted Sobolev spaces. It is shown that the use of different spaces of trial and test functions will restrict the usual low rate of convergence to a neighborhood of each vertex of the polygonal domain.L ₂-convergence and lower bounds on the error are also studied.This research was supported in part by the Atomic Energy Commission under contract no. AEC AT-(40-1)-3443/4.This research was supported in part by the U.S. Naval Academy Research Council.     

Development of a P2 element with optimal L2 convergence for biharmonic equation

It is well known that convergence rate of finite element approximation is suboptimal in the L² norm for solving biharmonic equations when P₂ or Q₂ element is used. The goal of this paper is to derive a weak Galerkin (WG) P₂ element with the L² optimal convergence rate by assuming the exact solution sufficiently smooth. In addition, our new WG finite element method can be applied to general mesh such as hybrid mesh, polygonal mesh or mesh with hanging node. The numerical experiments have been conducted on different meshes including hybrid meshes with mixed of pentagon and rectangle and mixed of hexagon and triangle.     

A posteriori error estimates for finite element approximations to the wave equation with discontinuous coefficients

We derive residual‐based a posteriori error estimates of finite element method for linear wave equation with discontinuous coefficients in a two‐dimensional convex polygonal domain. A posteriori error estimates for both the space‐discrete case and for implicit fully discrete scheme are discussed in L^∞(L²) norm. The main ingredients used in deriving a posteriori estimates are new Clément type interpolation estimates in conjunction with appropriate adaption of the elliptic reconstruction technique of continuous and discrete solutions. We use only an energy argument to establish a posteriori error estimates with optimal order convergence in the L^∞(L²) norm.     

Error estimates for mixed finite element methods for nonlinear parabolic problems

We consider a class of mixed finite element methods for nonlinear parabolic problems over a plane domain. The finite element spaces taken are Raviart-Thomas spaces of index k, k ? 0. We obtain optimal order L²- and almost optimal order L^∞-error estimates for the finite element solution and order optimal L²-error estimates for its gradient. We also derive the error estimates for the time derivatives of the solution. Our results extend those previously obtained by Johnson and Thomée for the corresponding linear problems with k ? 1.     

An oscillation-free adaptive FEM for symmetric eigenvalue problems

A refined a posteriori error analysis for symmetric eigenvalue problems and the convergence of the first-order adaptive finite element method (AFEM) is presented. The H ¹ stability of the L ² projection provides reliability and efficiency of the edge-contribution of standard residual-based error estimators for P ₁ finite element methods. In fact, the volume contributions and even oscillations can be omitted for Courant finite element methods. This allows for a refined averaging scheme and so improves (Mao et al. in Adv Comput Math 25(1–3):135–160, 2006). The proposed AFEM monitors the edge-contributions in a bulk criterion and so enables a contraction property up to higher-order terms and global convergence. Numerical experiments exploit the remaining L ² error contributions and confirm our theoretical findings. The averaging schemes show a high accuracy and the AFEM leads to optimal empirical convergence rates.     

A posteriori error analysis for eigenvalue problems

A new a posteriori error analysis for symmetric eigenvalue problems of the adaptive finite element method (AFEM) is presented. Based on an H¹ stable L² projection, we prove reliability of the edge contribution for P₁ finite element methods. Hence the AFEM proposed can ignore the volume contribution as well as oscillations. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Boundary concentrated finite elements for optimal boundary control problems of elliptic PDEs

We investigate the discretization of optimal boundary control problems for elliptic equations on two-dimensional polygonal domains by the boundary concentrated finite element method. We prove that the discretization error ||u^*-u_h^*||_L²(G)\|u^{*}-u_{h}^{*}\|_{L^{2}(\Gamma)} decreases like N ⁻¹, where N is the total number of unknowns. This makes the proposed method favorable in comparison to the h-version of the finite element method, where the discretization error behaves like N ^−3/4 for uniform meshes. Moreover, we present an algorithm that solves the discretized problem in almost optimal complexity. The paper is complemented with numerical results.     

Semidiscrete Galerkin Approximation for a Linear Stochastic Parabolic Partial Differential Equation Driven by an Additive Noise

We study the semidiscrete Galerkin approximation of a stochastic parabolic partial differential equation forced by an additive space-time noise. The discretization in space is done by a piecewise linear finite element method. The space-time noise is approximated by using the generalized L₂ projection operator. Optimal strong convergence error estimates in the L₂ and norms with respect to the spatial variable are obtained. The proof is based on appropriate nonsmooth data error estimates for the corresponding deterministic parabolic problem. The error estimates are applicable in the multi-dimensional case. AMS subject classification (2000) 65M, 60H15, 65C30, 65M65.Received April 2004. Revised September 2004. Communicated by Anders Szepessy.     

Analysis of the Fictitious Domain Method with an L 2-Penalty for Elliptic Problems

The L ²-penalty fictitious domain method is based on a reformulation of the original problem in a larger simple-shaped domain by introducing a discontinuous reaction term with a penalty parameter ε > 0. We first derive regularity results and some a priori estimates and then prove several error estimates. We also give several error estimates for discretization problems by the finite element and finite volume methods.     

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.     

Finite element methods for semilinear elliptic problems with smooth interfaces

The purpose of this paper is to study the finite element method for second order semilinear elliptic interface problems in two dimensional convex polygonal domains. Due to low global regularity of the solution, it seems difficult to achieve optimal order of convergence with straight interface triangles [Numer. Math., 79 (1998), pp. 175–202]. For a finite element discretization based on a mesh which involve the approximation of the interface, optimal order error estimates in L ² and H ¹-norms are proved for linear elliptic interface problem under practical regularity assumptions of the true solution. Then an extension to the semilinear problem is also considered and optimal error estimate in H ¹ norm is achieved.     

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.     

Error estimates of finite volume element method for the pollution in groundwater flow

In this article, we study the finite volume element methods for numerical solution of the pollution in groundwater flow in a two‐dimensional convex polygonal domain. These type flow are uniform transport in a fully saturated incompressible porous media, which may be anisotropic with respect to hydraulic conductivity, but features a direction independent of dispersivity. A fully finite volume scheme is analyzed in this article. The discretization is defined via a planar mesh consisting of piecewise triangles. Optimal order error estimates in H¹ and L² norms are obtained. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2009     

Superconvergence of Solution Derivatives of the Shortley–Weller Difference Approximation to Elliptic Equations with Singularities Involving the Mixed Type of Boundary Conditions

This paper presents a superconvergence analysis for the Shortley–Weller finite difference approximation of second-order self-adjoint elliptic equations with unbounded derivatives on a polygonal domain with the mixed type of boundary conditions. In this analysis, we first formulate the method as a special finite element/volume method. We then analyze the convergence of the method in a finite element framework. An O(h ^1.5)-order superconvergence of the solution derivatives in a discrete H ¹ norm is obtained. Finally, numerical experiments are provided to support the theoretical convergence rate obtained.     

Convergence and stability of a stabilized finite volume method for the stationary Navier-Stokes equations

In this paper, a new stabilized finite volume method is studied and developed for the stationary Navier-Stokes equations. This method is based on a local Gauss integration technique and uses the lowest equal order finite element pair P ₁–P ₁ (linear functions). Stability and convergence of the optimal order in the H ¹-norm for velocity and the L ²-norm for pressure are obtained. A new duality for the Navier-Stokes equations is introduced to establish the convergence of the optimal order in the L ²-norm for velocity. Moreover, superconvergence between the conforming mixed finite element solution and the finite volume solution using the same finite element pair is derived. Numerical results are shown to support the developed convergence theory.     

A Characteristic Finite Volume Element Method for the Air Pollution Model

In this article, a characteristic finite volume element method is presented for solving air pollution models. The convection term is discretized using the characteristic method and diffusion term is approximated by finite volume element method. Compared with standard finite volume element method, our proposed method is more accurate and efficient, especially suitable to solve convection-dominated problems. The proposed numerical schemes are analyzed for convergence in L ₂ norm. Some numerical results are presented to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the method.     

A new stabilized finite volume method for the stationary Stokes equations

In this paper we develop and study a new stabilized finite volume method for the two-dimensional Stokes equations. This method is based on a local Gauss integration technique and the conforming elements of the lowest-equal order pair (i.e., the P ₁–P ₁ pair). After a relationship between this method and a stabilized finite element method is established, an error estimate of optimal order in the H ¹-norm for velocity and an estimate in the L ²-norm for pressure are obtained. An optimal error estimate in the L ²-norm for the velocity is derived under an additional assumption on the body force. This work is supported in part by the NSF of China 10701001 and by the US National Science Foundation grant DMS-0609995 and CMG Chair Funds in Reservoir Simulation.     

On the Discrete Poincaré–Friedrichs Inequalities for Nonconforming Approximations of the Sobolev Space H 1

We present a direct proof of the discrete Poincaré–Friedrichs inequalities for a class of nonconforming approximations of the Sobolev space H ¹(Ω), indicate optimal values of the constants in these inequalities, and extend the discrete Friedrichs inequality onto domains only bounded in one direction. We consider a polygonal domain Ω in two or three space dimensions and its shape-regular simplicial triangulation. The nonconforming approximations of H ¹(Ω) consist of functions from H ¹ on each element such that the mean values of their traces on interelement boundaries coincide. The key idea is to extend the proof of the discrete Poincaré–Friedrichs inequalities for piecewise constant functions used in the finite volume method. The results have applications in the analysis of nonconforming numerical methods, such as nonconforming finite element or discontinuous Galerkin methods.     

Error estimates for finite element approximations of nonlinear monotone elliptic problems with application to numerical homogenization

We consider a finite element method (FEM) with arbitrary polynomial degree for nonlinear monotone elliptic problems. Using a linear elliptic projection, we first give a new short proof of the optimal convergence rate of the FEM in the L² norm. We then derive optimal a priori error estimates in the H¹ and L² norm for a FEM with variational crimes due to numerical integration. As an application, we derive a priori error estimates for a numerical homogenization method applied to nonlinear monotone elliptic problems. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 32: 955–969, 2016