Numerical analysis of a finite volume scheme for a seawater intrusion model with cross‐diffusion in an unconfined aquifer

We consider a degenerate parabolic system modeling the flow of fresh and saltwater in a porous medium in the context of seawater intrusion. We propose and analyze a finite volume scheme based on two‐point flux approximation with upwind mobilities. The scheme preserves at the discrete level the main features of the continuous problem, namely the nonnegativity of the solutions, the decay of the energy and the control of the entropy and its dissipation. Based on these nonlinear stability results, we show that the scheme converges toward a weak solution to the problem. Numerical results are provided to illustrate the behavior of the model and of the scheme.     

Convergence analysis of finite volume scheme for nonlinear aggregation population balance equation

In this work, we introduce the convergence analysis of the recently developed finite volume scheme to solve a pure aggregation population balance equation that is of substantial interest in many areas such as chemical engineering, aerosol physics, astrophysics, polymer science, pharmaceutical sciences, and mathematical biology. The notion of the finite volume scheme is to conserve total mass of the particles in the system by introducing weight in the formulation. The consistency of the finite volume scheme is also analyzed thoroughly as it is an influential factor. The convergence study of the numerical scheme shows second order convergence on uniform, nonuniform smooth (geometric) as well as on locally uniform meshes independent of the aggregation kernel. Moreover, the first‐order convergence is shown when the finite volume scheme is implemented on oscillatory and random meshes. In order to check the accuracy, the numerical experimental order of convergence is also computed for the physically relevant as well as analytically tractable kernels and validated against its analytical results.     

Convergence analysis of a vertex‐centered finite volume scheme for a copper heap leaching model

In this paper a two‐dimensional solute transport model is considered to simulate the leaching of copper ore tailing using sulfuric acid as the leaching agent. The mathematical model consists in a system of differential equations: two diffusion–convection‐reaction equations with Neumann boundary conditions, and one ordinary differential equation. The numerical scheme consists in a combination of finite volume and finite element methods. A Godunov scheme is used for the convection term and an P1‐FEM for the diffusion term. The convergence analysis is based on standard compactness results in L². Some numerical examples illustrate the effectiveness of the scheme. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of a combined barycentric finite volume—nonconforming finite element method for nonlinear convection-diffusion problems

We present the convergence analysis of an efficient numerical method for the solution of an initial-boundary value problem for a scalar nonlinear conservation law equation with a diffusion term. Nonlinear convective terms are approximated with the aid of a monotone finite volume scheme considered over the finite volume barycentric mesh, whereas the diffusion term is discretized by piecewise linear nonconforming triangular finite elements. Under the assumption that the triangulations are of weakly acute type, with the aid of the discrete maximum principle, a priori estimates and some compactness arguments based on the use of the Fourier transform with respect to time, the convergence of the approximate solutions to the exact solution is proved, provided the mesh size tends to zero.     

Galerkin finite element method for generalized Forchheimer equation of slightly compressible fluids in porous media

We consider the generalized Forchheimer flows for slightly compressible fluids. Using Muskat's and Ward's general form of Forchheimer equations, we describe the fluid dynamics by a nonlinear degenerate parabolic equation for the density. We study Galerkin finite elements method for the initial boundary value problem. The existence and uniqueness of the approximation are proved. A prior estimates for the solutions in , time derivative in and gradient in , with a∈(0,1) are established. Error estimates for the density variable are derived in several norms for both continuous and discrete time procedures. Numerical experiments using backward Euler scheme confirm the theoretical analysis regarding convergence rates. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Anisotropic Wilson element with conforming finite element approximation for a coupled continuum pipe‐flow/Darcy model in Karst aquifers

Numerical method for a coupled continuum pipe‐flow/Darcy model describing flow in porous media with an embedded conduit pipe is considered. Wilson element on anisotropic mesh is used to solve the Darcy equation on porous matrix. The existence and uniqueness of the approximation solution are obtained. Optimal error estimates in L² and H¹ norms are established independent of the regularity condition on the mesh. Numerical examples show the efficiency of the presented scheme. With the same number of nodal points, the results using Wilson element on anisotropic mesh are much better than those of the same element and Q₁ element on regular mesh. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis and finite element approximation of a coupled,continuum pipe‐flow/Darcy model for flow in porous media with embedded conduits

We consider the continuum Darcy/pipe flow model for flows in a porous matrix containing embedded conduits; such coupled flows are present in, e.g., karst aquifers. The mathematical well‐posedness of the coupled problem as well as convergence rates of finite element approximation are established in the two‐dimensional case. Computational results are also provided. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 27: 1242–1252, 2011     

Error estimates for the finite element solution of elliptic problems with nonlinear newton boundary conditions

The paper is concerned with the study of an elliptic boundary value problem with a nonlinear Newton boundary condition. The existence and uniqueness of the solution of the continuous pioblem is a consequence of the monotone operator theory. The main attention is paid to the investigation of the finite element approximation using numeriral integration for the evaluation of boundary integrals. The error estimates for the solution of the discrete finite element problem are derived     

Convergence of the Finite Difference Scheme for a Fast Diffusion Equation in Porous Media

We are concerned with an implicit scheme for the finite difference solution to a nonlinear parabolic equation with a multivalued coefficient that describes the fast diffusion in a porous medium. The boundary conditions contain the multivalued function as well. We prove the stability and the convergence of the scheme, emphasizing the precise nature of convergence in this specific case, and compute the error level of the approximating solution. The method is aimed to simplify the numerical computations for the solutions to equations of this type, without performing an approximation of the multivalued function. The theory is illustrated by numerical results.     

On an efficient implementation and mass boundedness conditions for a discrete Dirichlet problem associated with a nonlinear system of singular partial differential equations

In this work, we propose an efficient implementation of a finite-difference method employed to approximate the solutions of a system of partial differential equations that appears in the investigation of the growth of biological films. The associated homogeneous Dirichlet problem is discretized using a linear approach. This discretization yields a positivity- and boundedness-preserving implicit technique which is represented in vector form through the multiplication by a sparse matrix. A straightforward implementation of this methodology would require a substantial amount of computer memory and time, but the problem is conveniently coded using a continual reduction of the zero sub-matrices of the representing matrix. In addition to the conditions that guarantee the positivity and the boundedness of the numerical approximations, we establish some parametric constraints that assure that the same properties for the discrete total mass at each point of the mesh-grid and each discrete time are actually satisfied. Some simulations are provided in order to illustrate both the performance of the implementation, and the preservation of the positivity and the boundedness of the numerical approximations.