Methods for the numerical solution of the Benjamin‐Bona‐Mahony‐Burgers equation

L^∞‐error estimates for finite element for Galerkin solutions for the Benjamin‐Bona‐Mahony‐Burgers (BBMB) equation are considered. A priori bound and the semidiscrete Galerkin scheme are studied using appropriate projections. For fully discrete Galerkin schemes, we consider the backward Euler method and analyze the corresponding error estimates. For a second order accuracy in time, we propose a three‐level backward method. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2008     

Fractional Crank–Nicolson–Galerkin finite element scheme for the time‐fractional nonlinear diffusion equation

This article presents a finite element scheme with Newton's method for solving the time‐fractional nonlinear diffusion equation. For time discretization, we use the fractional Crank–Nicolson scheme based on backward Euler convolution quadrature. We discuss the existence‐uniqueness results for the fully discrete problem. A new discrete fractional Gronwall type inequality for the backward Euler convolution quadrature is established. A priori error estimate for the fully discrete problem in L²(Ω) norm is derived. Numerical results based on finite element scheme are provided to validate theoretical estimates on time‐fractional nonlinear Fisher equation and Huxley equation.     

The stability and convergence of two linearized finite difference schemes for the nonlinear epitaxial growth model

The numerical simulation of the dynamics of the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth is considered in this article. The governing equation is a nonlinear evolutionary equation that is of linear fourth order derivative term and nonlinear second order derivative term in space. The main purpose of this work is to construct and analyze two linearized finite difference schemes for solving the MBE model. The linearized backward Euler difference scheme and the linearized Crank‐Nicolson difference scheme are derived. The unique solvability, unconditional stability and convergence are proved. The linearized Euler scheme is convergent with the convergence order of O(τ + h²) and linearized Crank‐Nicolson scheme is convergent with the convergence order of O(τ² + h²) in discrete L²‐norm, respectively. Numerical stability with respect to the initial conditions is also obtained for both schemes. Numerical experiments are carried out to demonstrate the theoretical analysis. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2011     

Mortar element methods for parabolic problems

In this article a standard mortar finite element method and a mortar element method with Lagrange multiplier are used for spatial discretization of a class of parabolic initial‐boundary value problems. Optimal error estimates in L^∞(L²) and L^∞(H¹)‐norms for semidiscrete methods for both the cases are established. The key feature that we have adopted here is to introduce a modified elliptic projection. In the standard mortar element method, a completely discrete scheme using backward Euler scheme is discussed and optimal error estimates are derived. The results of numerical experiments support the theoretical results obtained in this article. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 2008     

A high‐order B‐spline collocation scheme for solving a nonhomogeneous time‐fractional diffusion equation

A high‐accuracy numerical approach for a nonhomogeneous time‐fractional diffusion equation with Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions is described in this paper. The time‐fractional derivative is described in the sense of Riemann‐Liouville and discretized by the backward Euler scheme. A fourth‐order optimal cubic B‐spline collocation (OCBSC) method is used to discretize the space variable. The stability analysis with respect to time discretization is carried out, and it is shown that the method is unconditionally stable. Convergence analysis of the method is performed. Two numerical examples are considered to demonstrate the performance of the method and validate the theoretical results. It is shown that the proposed method is of order O(Δx⁴ + Δt^{2 ? α}) convergence, where α ∈ (0,1) . Moreover, the impact of fractional‐order derivative on the solution profile is investigated. Numerical results obtained by the present method are compared with those obtained by the method based on standard cubic B‐spline collocation method. The CPU time for present numerical method and the method based on cubic B‐spline collocation method are provided.     

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.     

Convergence analysis of virtual element methods for semilinear parabolic problems on polygonal meshes

In this article, we discuss and analyze new conforming virtual element methods (VEMs) for the approximation of semilinear parabolic problems on convex polygonal meshes in two spatial dimension. The spatial discretization is based on polynomial and suitable nonpolynomial functions, and a Euler backward scheme is employed for time discretization. The discrete formulation of both the proposed schemes—semidiscrete and fully discrete (with time discretization) is discussed in detail, and the unique solvability of the resulted schemes is discussed. A priori error estimates for the proposed schemes (semidiscrete and fully discrete) in H¹‐ and L²‐norms are derived under the assumption that the source term f is Lipschitz continuous. Some numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate the performance of the proposed scheme and to confirm the theoretical convergence rates.     

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.     

An iterative method for backward time‐fractional diffusion problem

The aim of this work is to solve the backward problem for a time‐fractional diffusion equation with variable coefficients in a general bounded domain. The problem is ill‐posed in L ² norm sense. An iteration scheme is proposed to obtain a regularized solution. Two kinds of convergence rates are obtained using an a priori regularization parameter choice rule and an a posteriori regularization parameter choice rule. Numerical examples in one‐dimensional and two‐dimensional cases are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed methods. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 30: 2029–2041, 2014     

Stability of Regression‐Based Monte Carlo Methods for Solving Nonlinear PDEs

The regression‐based Monte Carlo methods for backward stochastic differential equations (BSDEs) have been the object of considerable research, particularly for solving nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs). Unfortunately, such methods often become unstable when implemented with small time steps because the variance of gradient estimates is inversely proportional to the time step (σ²∼ 1/Δ t). Recently new variance reduction techniques were introduced to address this problem in~a paper by the author and Avellaneda. The purpose of this paper is to provide a rigorous justification for these techniques in the context of the discrete‐time BSDE scheme of Bouchard and Touzi. We also suggest a new higher‐order scheme that makes the variance proportional to the time step (σ²∼Δ t). These techniques are easy to implement. Numerical examples strongly indicate that they render the regression‐based Monte Carlo methods stable for small time steps and thus viable for numerical solution of nonlinear PDEs.© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

One‐level and two‐level finite element methods for the Boussinesq problem

Previous works on the convergence of numerical methods for the Boussinesq problem were conducted, while the optimal L²‐norm error estimates for the velocity and temperature are still lacked. In this paper, the backward Euler scheme is used to discrete the time terms, standard Galerkin finite element method is adopted to approximate the variables. The MINI element is used to approximate the velocity and pressure, the temperature field is simulated by the linear polynomial. Under some restriction on the time step, we firstly present the optimal L² error estimates of approximate solutions. Secondly, two‐level method based on Stokes iteration for the Boussinesq problem is developed and the corresponding convergence results are presented. By this method, the original problem is decoupled into two small linear subproblems. Compared with the standard Galerkin method, the two‐level method not only keeps good accuracy but also saves a lot of computational cost. Finally, some numerical examples are provided to support the established theoretical analysis.     

and Norms Error Estimates in Finite Element Method for Linear Parabolic Interface Problems

We derive new a priori error estimates for linear parabolic equations with discontinuous coefficients. Due to low global regularity of the solutions the error analysis of the standard finite element method for parabolic problems is difficult to adopt for parabolic interface problems. A finite element procedure is, therefore, proposed and analyzed in this paper. We are able to show that the standard energy technique of finite element method for non-interface parabolic problems can be extended to parabolic interface problems if we allow interface triangles to be curved triangles. Optimal pointwise-in-time error estimates in the L ²(Ω) and H ¹(Ω) norms are shown to hold for the semidiscrete scheme. A fully discrete scheme based on backward Euler method is analyzed and pointwise-in-time error estimates are derived. The interfaces are assumed to be arbitrary shape but smooth for our purpose.     

Superconvergence analysis of a linearized three‐step backward differential formula finite element method for nonlinear Sobolev equation

A linearized three‐step backward differential formula (BDF) Galerkin finite element method (FEM) is developed for nonlinear Sobolev equation with bilinear element. Temporal error and spatial error are discussed through introducing a time‐discrete system. Solutions of the time‐discrete system are bounded in H²‐norm by the temporal error. Superconvergence results of order O(h² + τ³) in H¹‐norm for the original variable are deduced based on the spatial error. Some new tricks are utilized to get higher order of the temporal error and the spatial error. At last, two numerical examples are provided to support the theoretical analysis. Here, h is the subdivision parameter, and τ is the time step.     

Stability of the Crank–Nicolson–Adams–Bashforth scheme for the 2D Leray‐alpha model

We consider the stability of an efficient Crank–Nicolson–Adams–Bashforth method in time, finite element in space, discretization of the Leray‐α model. We prove finite‐time stability of the scheme in L², H¹, and H², as well as the long‐time L‐stability of the scheme under a Courant‐Freidrichs‐Lewy (CFL)‐type condition. Numerical experiments are given that are in agreement with the theoretical results. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 32: 1155–1183, 2016     

Single and multi‐interval Legendre spectral methods in time for parabolic equations

In this article, we take the parabolic equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions as a model to present the Legendre spectral methods both in spatial and in time. Error analysis for the single/multi‐interval schemes in time is given. For the single interval spectral method in time, we obtain a better error estimate in L²‐norm. For the multi‐interval spectral method in time, we obtain the L²‐optimal error estimate in spatial. By choosing approximate trial and test functions, the methods result in algebraic systems with sparse forms. A parallel algorithm is constructed for the multi‐interval scheme in time. Numerical results show the efficiency of the methods. The methods are also applied to parabolic equations with Neumann boundary conditions, Robin boundary conditions and some nonlinear PDEs. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2006     

New energy identities and super convergence analysis of the energy conserved splitting FDTD methods for 3D Maxwell's equations

The energy‐conserved splitting finite‐difference time‐domain (EC‐S‐FDTD) method has recently been proposed to solve the Maxwell equations with second order accuracy while numerically keep the L² energy conservation laws of the equations. In this paper, the EC‐S‐FDTD scheme for the 3D Maxwell equations is proved to be energy‐conserved and unconditionally stable in the discrete H¹ norm. The EC‐S‐FDTD scheme is of second‐order accuracy both in time step and spatial steps, which suggests the super‐convergence of this scheme in the discrete H¹ norm. And the divergence of the electric field of the EC‐S‐FDTD scheme in the discrete L² norm is second‐order accurate. Numerical experiments confirm our theoretical analysis. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Reconstructing the past from imprecise knowledge of the present: Effective non‐uniqueness in solving parabolic equations backward in time

Identifying sources of ground water pollution and deblurring astronomical galaxy images are two important applications generating growing interest in the numerical computation of parabolic equations backward in time. However, while backward uniqueness typically prevails in parabolic equations, the precise data needed for the existence of a particular backward solution is seldom available. This paper discusses previously unexplored non‐uniqueness issues, originating from trying to reconstruct a particular solution from imprecise data. Explicit 1D examples of linear and nonlinear parabolic equations are presented, in which there is strong computational evidence for the existence of distinct solutions w^red(x,t) and w^green(x,t), on 0 ≤ t ≤ 1. These solutions have the property that the traces w^red(x,1) and w^green(x,1) at time t = 1 are close enough to be visually indistinguishable, while the corresponding initial values w^red(x,0) and w^green(x,0) are vastly different, well‐behaved, physically plausible functions, with comparable L² norms. This implies effective non‐uniqueness in the recovery of w^red(x,0) from approximate data for w^red(x,1). In all these examples, the Van Cittert iterative procedure is used as a tool to discover unsuspected, valid, additional solutions w^green(x,0). This methodology can generate numerous other examples and indicates that multidimensional problems are likely to be a rich source of striking non‐uniqueness phenomena. Published 2012. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

Superconvergence analysis of finite element method for Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations

This article concerns with the superconvergence analysis of bilinear finite element method (FEM) for nonlinear Poisson–Nernst–Planck (PNP) equations. By employing high accuracy integral identities together with mean value technique, the superclose estimates in H¹‐norm are derived for the semi‐discrete and the backward Euler fully‐discrete schemes, which improve the suboptimal error estimate in L²‐norm in the previous literature. Furthermore, the global superconvergence results in H¹‐norm are obtained through interpolation postprocessing approach. Finally, a numerical example is provided to confirm the theoretical analysis.     

A finite element method for the Sivashinsky equation

The Sivashinsky equation is a nonlinear evolutionary equation of fourth order in space. In this paper we have analyzed a semidiscrete finite element method and completely discrete scheme based on the backward Euler method and Crank–Nicolson–Galerkin scheme. A linearized backward Euler method have been developed and error bounds are derived for an L² projection.