Multiscale methods for elliptic homogenization problems

In this article we study two families of multiscale methods for numerically solving elliptic homogenization problems. The recently developed multiscale finite element method [Hou and Wu, J Comp Phys 134 (1997), 169–189] captures the effect of microscales on macroscales through modification of finite element basis functions. Here we reformulate this method that captures the same effect through modification of bilinear forms in the finite element formulation. This new formulation is a general approach that can handle a large variety of differential problems and numerical methods. It can be easily extended to nonlinear problems and mixed finite element methods, for example. The latter extension is carried out in this article. The recently introduced heterogeneous multiscale method [Engquist and Engquist, Comm Math Sci 1 (2003), 87–132] is designed for efficient numerical solution of problems with multiscales and multiphysics. In the second part of this article, we study this method in mixed form (we call it the mixed heterogeneous multiscale method). We present a detailed analysis for stability and convergence of this new method. Estimates are obtained for the error between the homogenized and numerical multiscale solutions. Strategies for retrieving the microstructural information from the numerical solution are provided and analyzed. Relationship between the multiscale finite element and heterogeneous multiscale methods is discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2006     

Multiscale finite element coarse spaces for the application to linear elasticity

We extend the multiscale finite element method (MsFEM) as formulated by Hou and Wu in [Hou T.Y., Wu X.-H., A multiscale finite element method for elliptic problems in composite materials and porous media, J. Comput. Phys., 1997, 134(1), 169–189] to the PDE system of linear elasticity. The application, motivated by the multiscale analysis of highly heterogeneous composite materials, is twofold. Resolving the heterogeneities on the finest scale, we utilize the linear MsFEM basis for the construction of robust coarse spaces in the context of two-level overlapping domain decomposition preconditioners. We motivate and explain the construction and show that the constructed multiscale coarse space contains all the rigid body modes. Under the assumption that the material jumps are isolated, that is they occur only in the interior of the coarse grid elements, our numerical experiments show uniform convergence rates independent of the contrast in Young’s modulus within the heterogeneous material. Elsewise, if no restrictions on the position of the high coefficient inclusions are imposed, robustness cannot be guaranteed any more. These results justify expectations to obtain coefficient-explicit condition number bounds for the PDE system of linear elasticity similar to existing ones for scalar elliptic PDEs as given in the work of Graham, Lechner and Scheichl [Graham I.G., Lechner P.O., Scheichl R., Domain decomposition for multiscale PDEs, Numer. Math., 2007, 106(4), 589–626]. Furthermore, we numerically observe the properties of the MsFEM coarse space for linear elasticity in an upscaling framework. Therefore, we present experimental results showing the approximation errors of the multiscale coarse space w.r.t. the fine-scale solution.     

Convergence of a multiscale finite element method for elliptic problems with rapidly oscillating coefficients

We propose a multiscale finite element method for solving second order elliptic equations with rapidly oscillating coefficients. The main purpose is to design a numerical method which is capable of correctly capturing the large scale components of the solution on a coarse grid without accurately resolving all the small scale features in the solution. This is accomplished by incorporating the local microstructures of the differential operator into the finite element base functions. As a consequence, the base functions are adapted to the local properties of the differential operator. In this paper, we provide a detailed convergence analysis of our method under the assumption that the oscillating coefficient is of two scales and is periodic in the fast scale. While such a simplifying assumption is not required by our method, it allows us to use homogenization theory to obtain a useful asymptotic solution structure. The issue of boundary conditions for the base functions will be discussed. Our numerical experiments demonstrate convincingly that our multiscale method indeed converges to the correct solution, independently of the small scale in the homogenization limit. Application of our method to problems with continuous scales is also considered.

     

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.     

On the solution of Maxwell's equations in polygonal domains

This paper is concerned with the structure of the singular and regular parts of the solution of time‐harmonic Maxwell's equations in polygonal plane domains and their effective numerical treatment. The asymptotic behaviour of the solution near corner points of the domain is studied by means of discrete Fourier transformation and it is proved that the solution of the boundary value problem does not belong locally to H² when the boundary of the domain has non‐acute angles. A splitting of the solution into a regular part belonging to the space H², and an explicitly described singular part is presented. For the numerical treatment of the boundary value problem, we propose a finite element discretization which combines local mesh grading and the singular field methods and derive a priori error estimates that show optimal convergence as known for the classical finite element method for problems with regular solutions. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A mixed multiscale finite element method for elliptic problems with oscillating coefficients

The recently introduced multiscale finite element method for solving elliptic equations with oscillating coefficients is designed to capture the large-scale structure of the solutions without resolving all the fine-scale structures. Motivated by the numerical simulation of flow transport in highly heterogeneous porous media, we propose a mixed multiscale finite element method with an over-sampling technique for solving second order elliptic equations with rapidly oscillating coefficients. The multiscale finite element bases are constructed by locally solving Neumann boundary value problems. We provide a detailed convergence analysis of the method under the assumption that the oscillating coefficients are locally periodic. While such a simplifying assumption is not required by our method, it allows us to use homogenization theory to obtain the asymptotic structure of the solutions. Numerical experiments are carried out for flow transport in a porous medium with a random log-normal relative permeability to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method.     

An Error Analysis of Discontinuous Finite Element Methods for the Optimal Control Problems Governed by Stokes Equation

In this article, an abstract framework for the error analysis of discontinuous finite element method is developed for the distributed and Neumann boundary control problems governed by the stationary Stokes equation with control constraints. A priori error estimates of optimal order are derived for velocity and pressure in the energy norm and the L²-norm, respectively. Moreover, a reliable and efficient a posteriori error estimator is derived. The results are applicable to a variety of problems just under the minimal regularity possessed by the well-posedness of the problem. In particular, we consider the abstract results with suitable stable pairs of velocity and pressure spaces like as the lowest-order Crouzeix–Raviart finite element and piecewise constant spaces, piecewise linear and constant finite element spaces. The theoretical results are illustrated by the numerical experiments.     

Multiscale discontinuous Petrov–Galerkin method for the multiscale elliptic problems

In this article, we present a new multiscale discontinuous Petrov–Galerkin method (MsDPGM) for multiscale elliptic problems. This method utilizes the classical oversampling multiscale basis in the framework of a Petrov–Galerkin version of the discontinuous Galerkin method, allowing us to better cope with multiscale features in the solution. MsDPGM takes advantage of the multiscale Petrov–Galerkin method (MsPGM) and the discontinuous Galerkin method (DGM). It can eliminate the resonance error completely and decrease the computational costs of assembling the stiffness matrix, thus, allowing for more efficient solution algorithms. On the basis of a new H² norm error estimate between the multiscale solution and the homogenized solution with the first‐order corrector, we give a detailed convergence analysis of the MsDPGM under the assumption of periodic oscillating coefficients. We also investigate a multiscale discontinuous Galerkin method (MsDGM) whose bilinear form is the same as that of the DGM but the approximation space is constructed from the classical oversampling multiscale basis functions. This method has not been analyzed theoretically or numerically in the literature yet. Numerical experiments are carried out on the multiscale elliptic problems with periodic and randomly generated log‐normal coefficients. Their results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.     

On an implicit particle method for simulation of forming processes

Task is the simulation of forming processes using particle methods. We implemented some mesh-free methods (the element free Galerkin method [1] and others) and the finite element method in one programme system which permits a direct comparison. For the mesh-free methods a moving least squares approximation is applied. The shape functions are not zero or one at the nodes, thus essential boundary conditions cannot be imposed directly [2]. We use a penalty method to enforce essential boundary conditions and contact conditions. The contact algorithm (normal contact of nodes to C¹-continuous surfaces) is checked by means of the element free Galerkin method and the FEM on the basis of numerical examples which deal with forming processes. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The heterogeneous multiscale finite element method for elliptic homogenization problems in perforated domains

In this contribution we analyze a generalization of the heterogeneous multiscale finite element method for elliptic homogenization problems in perforated domains. The method was originally introduced by E and Engquist (Commun Math Sci 1(1):87–132, 2003) for homogenization problems in fixed domains. It is based on a standard finite element approach on the macroscale, where the stiffness matrix is computed by solving local cell problems on the microscale. A-posteriori error estimates are derived in L ²(Ω) by reformulating the problem into a discrete two-scale formulation (see also, Ohlberger in Multiscale Model Simul 4(1):88–114, 2005) and using duality methods afterwards. Numerical experiments are given in order to numerically evaluate the efficiency of the error estimate.     

Error analysis of a weighted least-squares finite element method for 2-D incompressible flows in velocity–stress–pressure formulation

In this paper we are concerned with a weighted least-squares finite element method for approximating the solution of boundary value problems for 2-D viscous incompressible flows. We consider the generalized Stokes equations with velocity boundary conditions. Introducing the auxiliary variables (stresses) of the velocity gradients and combining the divergence free condition with some compatibility conditions, we can recast the original second-order problem as a Petrovski-type first-order elliptic system (called velocity–stress–pressure formulation) in six equations and six unknowns together with Riemann–Hilbert-type boundary conditions. A weighted least-squares finite element method is proposed for solving this extended first-order problem. The finite element approximations are defined to be the minimizers of a weighted least-squares functional over the finite element subspaces of the H¹ product space. With many advantageous features, the analysis also shows that, under suitable assumptions, the method achieves optimal order of convergence both in the L²-norm and in the H¹-norm. © 1998 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart—John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An approach combining the Ritz-Galerkin and finite difference methods

The nonconforming combination of Ritz-Galerkin and finite difference methods is presented for solving elliptic boundary value problems with singularities. The Ritz-Galerkin method is used in the subdomains including singularities, the finite difference method is used in the rest of the solution domain. Moreover, on the common boundary of two regions where two different methods are used, the continuity conditions are constrained only on the nodes of difference grids. Theoretical analysis and numerical experiments have shown that average errors of numerical solutions and their generalized derivatives can reach the convergence rate O(h^2-δ), where h is the mesh spacing of uniform difference grids, and δ is an arbitrarily small, positive number. This convergence rate is better than O(h), obtained by the nonconforming combination of the Ritz-Galerkin and finite element methods.     

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.     

Multilevel augmentation methods for differential equations

We develop multilevel augmentation methods for solving differential equations. We first establish a theoretical framework for convergence analysis of the boundary value problems of differential equations, and then construct multiscale orthonormal bases in H₀^m(0,1) spaces. Finally, the multilevel augmentation methods in conjunction with the multiscale orthonormal bases are applied to two-point boundary value problems of both second-order and fourth-order differential equations. Theoretical analysis and numerical tests show that these methods are computationally stable, efficient and accurate. Dedicated to Professor Charles A. Micchelli on the occasion of his 60th birthday with friendship and esteem. Mathematics subject classifications (2000) 65J15, 65R20. Zhongying Chen: Supported in part by the Natural Science Foundation of China under grants 10371137 and 10201034, the Foundation of Doctoral Program of National Higher Education of China under grant 20030558008, Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 1011170 and the Foundation of Zhongshan University Advanced Research Center. Yuesheng Xu: Corresponding author. Supported in part by the US National Science Foundation under grants 9973427 and 0312113, by NASA under grant NCC5-399, by the Natural Science Foundation of China under grant 10371122 and by the Chinese Academy of Sciences under the program of “One Hundred Distinguished Young Scientists”.     

AnO(h 6) quintic spline collocation method for fourth order two-point boundary value problems

AnO(h ⁶) collocation method based on quintic splines is developed and analyzed for general fourth-order linear two-point boundary value problems. The method determines a quintic spline approximation to the solution by forcing it to satisfy a high order perturbation of the original boundary value problem at the nodal points of the spline. A variation of this method is formulated as a deferred correction method. The error analysis of the new method and its numerical behavior is presented.This research was supported by AFOSR grant 84-0385.     

Analysis of a cell boundary element method

The CBEM (cell boundary element method) was proposed as a numerical method for second-order elliptic problems by the first author in the earlier paper [10]. In this paper we prove a quasi-optimal order of convergence of the method, O(h^1–) for >0 in H¹-norm for the triangular mesh; also a stability result is obtained. We provide numerical examples and it is observed that the method conserves flux exactly when a certain condition on meshes is satisfied. This work was supported by KOSEF 2000-1-10300-001-5.AMS subject classification 65N30, 65N38, 65N50     

Stabilized multiscale finite element method for the stationary Navier-Stokes equations

In the paper, a stabilized multiscale finite element method for the stationary incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is considered. The method is a Petrov-Galerkin approach based on the multiscale enrichment of the standard polynomial space enriched with the unusual bubble functions which no longer vanish on every element boundary for the velocity space. The stability of the P₁-P₀ triangular element (or the Q₁-P₀ quadrilateral element) is established. And the optimal error estimates of the stabilized multiscale finite element method for the stationary Navier-Stokes equations are obtained.     

The p-version of the boundary element method for hypersingular operators on piecewise plane open surfaces

Summary. We prove an optimal a priori error estimate for the p-version of the boundary element method with hypersingular operators on piecewise plane open surfaces. The solutions of problems on open surfaces typically exhibit a singular behavior at the edges and corners of the surface which prevent an approximation analysis in H¹. We analyze the approximation by polynomials of typical singular functions in fractional order Sobolev spaces thus giving, as an application, the optimal rate of convergence of the p-version of the boundary element method. This paper extends the results of [C. Schwab, M. Suri, The optimal p-version approximation of singularities on polyhedra in the boundary element method, SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 33 (1996), pp. 729–759] who only considered closed surfaces where the solution is in H¹.Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 41A10, 65N15, 65N38Financed by the FONDAP Program in Applied Mathematics, Chile.Supported by the FONDAP Program in Applied Mathematics and Fondecyt project no. 1010220, both Chile.     

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     

Superconvergence of the direct discontinuous Galerkin method for a time‐fractional initial‐boundary value problem

A time‐fractional reaction–diffusion initial‐boundary value problem with periodic boundary condition is considered on Q ? Ω × [0, T] , where Ω is the interval [0, l] . Typical solutions of such problem have a weak singularity at the initial time t = 0. The numerical method of the paper uses a direct discontinuous Galerkin (DDG) finite element method in space on a uniform mesh, with piecewise polynomials of degree k ≥ 2 . In the temporal direction we use the L1 approximation of the Caputo derivative on a suitably graded mesh. We prove that at each time level of the mesh, our L1‐DDG solution is superconvergent of order k + 2 in L²(Ω) to a particular projection of the exact solution. Moreover, the L1‐DDG solution achieves superconvergence of order (k + 2) in a discrete L²(Q) norm computed at the Lobatto points, and order (k + 1) superconvergence in a discrete H¹(Q) seminorm at the Gauss points; numerical results show that these estimates are sharp.