An asymptotically optimal finite element scheme for the arch problem

Received November 22, 1993     

An analysis of finite element locking in a parameter dependent model problem

Summary. We consider the bilinear finite element approximation of smooth solutions to a simple parameter dependent elliptic model problem, the problem of highly anisotropic heat conduction. We show that under favorable circumstances that depend on both the finite element mesh and on the type of boundary conditions, the effect of parametric locking of the standard FEM can be reduced by a simple variational crime. In our analysis we split the error in two orthogonal components, the approximation error and the consistency error, and obtain different bounds for these separate components. Also some numerical results are shown. Received September 6, 1999 / Revised version received March 28, 2000 / Published online April 5, 2001     

Mixed hp finite element methods for problems in elasticity and Stokes flow

Summary. We consider the mixed formulation for the elasticity problem and the limiting Stokes problem in , . We derive a set of sufficient conditions under which families of mixed finite element spaces are simultaneously stable with respect to the mesh size and, subject to a maximum loss of , with respect to the polynomial degree . We obtain asymptotic rates of convergence that are optimal up to in the displacement/velocity and up to in the "pressure", with arbitrary (both rates being optimal with respect to ). Several choices of elements are discussed with reference to properties desirable in the context of the -version. Received March 4, 1994 / Revised version received February 12, 1995     

Mixed finite element approximation of a degenerate elliptic problem

Summary. We present a mixed finite element approximation of an elliptic problem with degenerate coefficients, arising in the study of the electromagnetic field in a resonant structure with cylindrical symmetry. Optimal error bounds are derived. Received May 4, 1994 / Revised version received September 27, 1994     

Convergence of a finite element method for non-parametric mean curvature flow

Summary. Convergence for the spatial discretization by linear finite elements of the non-parametric mean curvature flow is proved under natural regularity assumptions on the continuous solution. Asymptotic convergence is also obtained for the time derivative which is proportional to mean curvature. An existence result for the continuous problem in adequate spaces is included. Received September 30, 1993     

Effective preconditioning of Uzawa type schemes for a generalized Stokes problem

Summary. The Schur complement of a model problem is considered as a preconditioner for the Uzawa type schemes for the generalized Stokes problem (the Stokes problem with the additional term in the motion equation). The implementation of the preconditioned method requires for each iteration only one extra solution of the Poisson equation with Neumann boundary conditions. For a wide class of 2D and 3D domains a theorem on its convergence is proved. In particular, it is established that the method converges with a rate that is bounded by some constant independent of . Some finite difference and finite element methods are discussed. Numerical results for finite difference MAC scheme are provided. Received May 2, 1997 / Revised version received May 10, 1999 / Published online May 8, 2000     

On a decoupled algorithm for solving a finite element problem for the approximation of viscoelastic fluid flow

Summary. The aim of this work is to study a decoupled algorithm of a fixed point for solving a finite element (FE) problem for the approximation of viscoelastic fluid flow obeying an Oldroyd B differential model. The interest for this algorithm lies in its applications to numerical simulation and in the cost of computing. Furthermore it is easy to bring this algorithm into play. The unknowns are the viscoelastic part of the extra stress tensor, the velocity and the pressure. We suppose that the solution is sufficiently smooth and small. The approximation of stress, velocity and pressure are resp. discontinuous, continuous, continuous FE. Upwinding needed for convection of , is made by discontinuous FE. The method consists to solve alternatively a transport equation for the stress, and a Stokes like problem for velocity and pressure. Previously, results of existence of the solution for the approximate problem and error bounds have been obtained using fixed point techniques with coupled algorithm. In this paper we show that the mapping of the decoupled fixed point algorithm is locally (in a neighbourhood of ) contracting and we obtain existence, unicity (locally) of the solution of the approximate problem and error bounds. Received July 29, 1994 / Revised version received March 13, 1995     

Mixed finite element for the linear plate problem: the Hermann-Miyoshi model revisited

Summary. In this paper we study the relationship between the Hermann-Miyoshi and the Ciarlet-Raviart formulations of the first biharmonic problem. This study will be based on a decomposition principle which will leads us to a new convergence analysis explaining some discrepancies between numerical results obtained with the first formulation on certain meshes and some theoretical convergence results. Received May 24, 1994 / Revised version received August 11, 1995     

On the quadratic finite element approximation to the obstacle problem

Summary. In this paper, we obtain the error bound for any , for the piecewise quadratic finite element approximation to the obstacle problem, without the hypothesis that the free boundary has finite length (see [3]). Received October 31, 2000 / Revised version received July 23, 2001 / Published online October 17, 2001 The project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

An a posteriori residual error estimator for the finite element method on anisotropic tetrahedral meshes

Summary. A new a posteriori residual error estimator is defined and rigorously analysed for anisotropic tetrahedral finite element meshes. All considerations carry over to anisotropic triangular meshes with minor changes only. The lower error bound is obtained by means of bubble functions and the corresponding anisotropic inverse inequalities. In order to prove the upper error bound, it is vital that an anisotropic mesh corresponds to the anisotropic function under consideration. To measure this correspondence, a so-called matching function is defined, and its discussion shows it to be a useful tool. With its help anisotropic interpolation estimates and subsequently the upper error bound are proven. Additionally it is pointed out how to treat Robin boundary conditions in a posteriori error analysis on isotropic and anisotropic meshes. A numerical example supports the anisotropic error analysis. Received April 6, 1999 / Revised version received July 2, 1999 / Published online June 8, 2000     

The Mortar finite element method with Lagrange multipliers

Summary. The present paper deals with a variant of a non conforming domain decomposition technique: the mortar finite element method. In the opposition to the original method this variant is never conforming because of the relaxation of the matching constraints at the vertices (and the edges in 3D) of subdomains. It is shown that, written under primal hybrid formulation, the approximation problem, issued from a discretization of a second order elliptic equation in 2D, is nonetheless well posed and provides a discrete solution that satisfies optimal error estimates with respect to natural norms. Finally the parallelization advantages consequence of this variant are also addressed. Received December 1, 1996 / Revised version received November 23, 1998 / Published online September 24, 1999     

An optimal C $^0$ finite element algorithm for the 2D biharmonic problem: theoretical analysis and numerical results

Summary. The aim of this paper is to give a new method for the numerical approximation of the biharmonic problem. This method is based on the mixed method given by Ciarlet-Raviart and have the same numerical properties of the Glowinski-Pironneau method. The error estimate associated to these methods are of order O(h) for k The algorithm proposed in this paper converges even for k, without any regularity condition on or . We have an error estimate of order O(h) in case of regularity. Received February 5, 1999 / Revised version received February 23, 2000 / Published online May 4, 2001     

A sparse finite element method with high accuracy Part I

Summary. In this paper, we develop and analyze a new finite element method called the sparse finite element method for second order elliptic problems. This method involves much fewer degrees of freedom than the standard finite element method. We show nevertheless that such a sparse finite element method still possesses the superconvergence and other high accuracy properties same as those of the standard finite element method. The main technique in our analysis is the use of some integral identities. Received October 1, 1995 / Revised version received August 23, 1999 / Published online February 5, 2001     

Discrete harmonics for stream function-vorticity Stokes problem

Summary. We consider the bidimensional Stokes problem for incompressible fluids in stream function-vorticity. For this problem, the classical finite element method of degree one converges only in for the norm of the vorticity. We propose to use harmonic functions to approach the vorticity along the boundary. Discrete harmonics are functions that are used in practice to derive a new numerical method. We prove that we obtain with this numerical scheme an error of order for the norm of the vorticity. Received January, 2000 / Revised version received May 15, 2001 / Published online December 18, 2001     

The finite element approximation of a coupled reaction-diffusion problem with non-Lipschitz nonlinearities

Summary. A coupled semilinear elliptic problem modelling an irreversible, isothermal chemical reaction is introduced, and discretised using the usual piecewise linear Galerkin finite element approximation. An interesting feature of the problem is that a reaction order of less than one gives rise to a "dead core" region. Initially, one reactant is assumed to be acting as a catalyst and is kept constant. It is shown that error bounds previously obtained for a scheme involving numerical integration can be improved upon by considering a quadratic regularisation of the nonlinear term. This technique is then applied to the full coupled problem, and optimal and error bounds are proved in the absence of quadrature. For a scheme involving numerical integration, bounds similar to those obtained for the catalyst problem are shown to hold. Received May 25, 1993 / Revised version received July 5, 1994     

The maximum angle condition in the finite element method for monotone problems with applications in magnetostatics

Summary. The finite element method for an elliptic equation with discontinuous coefficients (obtained for the magnetic potential from Maxwell's equations) is analyzed in the union of closed domains the boundaries of which form a system of three circles with the same centre. As the middle domain is very narrow the triangulations obeying the maximum angle condition are considered. In the case of piecewise linear trial functions the maximum rate of convergence in the norm of the space is proved under the following conditions: 1. the exact solution is piecewise of class ; 2. the family of subtriangulations of the narrow subdomain satisfies the maximum angle condition expressed by relation (38). The paper extends the results of [24]. Received March 8, 1993 / Revised version received November 28, 1994     

Quasi-norm error bounds for the finite element approximation of a non-Newtonian flow

Summary. We consider the finite element approximation of a non-Newtonian flow, where the viscosity obeys a general law including the Carreau or power law. For sufficiently regular solutions we prove energy type error bounds for the velocity and pressure. These bounds improve on existing results in the literature. A key step in the analysis is to prove abstract error bounds initially in a quasi-norm, which naturally arises in degenerate problems of this type. Received May 25, 1993 / Revised version received January 11, 1994     

An adaptive stabilized finite element method for the generalized Stokes problem

In this work we present an adaptive strategy (based on an a posteriori error estimator) for a stabilized finite element method for the Stokes problem, with and without a reaction term. The hierarchical type estimator is based on the solution of local problems posed on appropriate finite dimensional spaces of bubble-like functions. An equivalence result between the norm of the finite element error and the estimator is given, where the dependence of the constants on the physics of the problem is explicited. Several numerical results confirming both the theoretical results and the good performance of the estimator are given.     

A minimal stabilisation procedure for mixed finite element methods

Summary. Stabilisation methods are often used to circumvent the difficulties associated with the stability of mixed finite element methods. Stabilisation however also means an excessive amount of dissipation or the loss of nice conservation properties. It would thus be desirable to reduce these disadvantages to a minimum. We present a general framework, not restricted to mixed methods, that permits to introduce a minimal stabilising term and hence a minimal perturbation with respect to the original problem. To do so, we rely on the fact that some part of the problem is stable and should not be modified. Sections 2 and 3 present the method in an abstract framework. Section 4 and 5 present two classes of stabilisations for the inf-sup condition in mixed problems. We present many examples, most arising from the discretisation of flow problems. Section 6 presents examples in which the stabilising terms is introduced to cure coercivity problems. Received August 9, 1999 / Revised version received May 19, 2000 / Published online March 20, 2001     

Multiscale finite element for problems with highly oscillatory coefficients

Summary. In this paper, we study a multiscale finite element method for solving a class of elliptic problems with finite number of well separated scales. The method is designed to efficiently capture the large scale behavior of the solution without resolving all small scale features. This is accomplished by constructing the multiscale finite element base functions that are adaptive to the local property of the differential operator. The construction of the base functions is fully decoupled from element to element; thus the method is perfectly parallel and is naturally adapted to massively parallel computers. We present the convergence analysis of the method along with the results of our numerical experiments. Some generalizations of the multiscale finite element method are also discussed. Received April 17, 1998 / Revised version received March 25, 2000 / Published online June 7, 2001