A posteriori error estimation and error control for finite element approximations of the time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations

We present an approach to estimate numerical errors in finite element approximations of the time-dependent Navier–Stokes equations along with a strategy to control these errors. The error estimators and the error control procedure are based on the residuals of the Navier–Stokes equations, which are shown to be comparable to error components in the velocity variable. The present methodology applies to the estimation of numerical errors due to the spatial discretization only. Its performance is demonstrated for two-dimensional channel flows past a cylinder in the periodic regime.