Error bounds and estimates for eigenvalues of integral equations. II

Summary In a previous paper computable error bounds and dominant error terms are derived for the approximation of simple eigenvalues of non-symmetric integral equations. In this note an alternative analysis is presented leading to equivalent dominant error terms with error bounds which are quicker to calculate than those derived previously.     

Interpolation error-based a posteriori error estimation for two-point boundary value problems and parabolic equations in one space dimension

Summary. I derive a posteriori error estimates for two-point boundary value problems and parabolic equations in one dimension based on interpolation error estimates. The interpolation error estimates are obtained from an extension of the error formula for the Lagrange interpolating polynomial in the case of symmetrically-spaced interpolation points. From this formula pointwise and seminorm a priori estimates of the interpolation error are derived. The interpolant in conjunction with the a priori estimates is used to obtain asymptotically exact a posteriori error estimates of the interpolation error. These a posteriori error estimates are extended to linear two-point boundary problems and parabolic equations. Computational results demonstrate the convergence of a posteriori error estimates and their effectiveness when combined with an hp-adaptive code for solving parabolic systems. Received April 17, 2000 / Revised version received September 25, 2000 / Published online May 30, 2001     

Quasi-norm a priori and a posteriori error estimates for the nonconforming approximation of p-Laplacian

Summary. In this paper, we derive quasi-norm a priori and a posteriori error estimates for the Crouzeix-Raviart type finite element approximation of the p-Laplacian. Sharper a priori upper error bounds are obtained. For instance, for sufficiently regular solutions we prove optimal a priori error bounds on the discretization error in an energy norm when . We also show that the new a posteriori error estimates provide improved upper and lower bounds on the discretization error. For sufficiently regular solutions, the a posteriori error estimates are further shown to be equivalent on the discretization error in a quasi-norm. Received January 25, 1999 / Revised version received June 5, 2000 Published online March 20, 2001     

A posteriori error estimations of residual type for Signorini's problem

This paper presents an a posteriori error analysis for the linear finite element approximation of the Signorini problem in two space dimensions. A posteriori estimations of residual type are defined and upper and lower bounds of the discretization error are obtained. We perform several numerical experiments in order to compare the convergence of the terms in the error estimator with the discretization error.     

Unconditionally Optimal Error Estimates of the Bilinear-Constant Scheme for Time-Dependent Navier-Stokes Equations

In this paper,the unconditional error estimates are presented for the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations by the bilinear-constant scheme.The corresponding optimal error estimates for the velocity and the pressure are derived unconditionally,while the previous works require certain time-step restrictions.The analysis is based on an iterated time-discrete system,with which the error function is split into a temporal error and a spatial error.The τ-independent(τ is the time stepsize)error estimate between the numerical solution and the solution of the time-discrete system is proven by a rigorous analysis,which implies that the numerical solution in L^∞-norm is bounded.Thus optimal error estimates can be obtained in a traditional way.Numerical results are provided to confirm the theoretical analysis.     

Numerical solution of retarded initial value problems: Local and global error and stepsize control

Summary Retarded initial value problems are routinely replaced by an initial value problem of ordinary differential equations along with an appropriate interpolation scheme. Hence one can control the global error of the modified problem but not directly the actual global error of the original problem. In this paper we give an estimate for the actual global error in terms of controllable quantities. Further we show that the notion of local error as inherited from the theory of ordinary differential equations must be generalized for retarded problems. Along with the new definition we are led to developing a reliable basis for a step selection scheme.     

Adaptive refinement procedure for the finite difference method

An adaptive refinement procedure consisting of a localized error estimator and a physically based approach to mesh refinement is developed for the finite difference method. The error estimator is a variation of a successful finite element error estimator. The errors are estimated by computing an error energy norm in terms of discontinuous and continuous stress fields formed from the finite difference results for plane stress problems. The error measure identifies regions of high error which are subsequently refined to improve the result. The local refinement procedure utilizes a recently developed approach for developing finite difference templates to produce a graduated mesh. The adaptive refinement procedure is demonstrated with a problem that contains a well-defined singularity. The results are compared to finite element and uniformly refined finite difference results.     

A posteriori error estimates for nonconforming finite element methods

Summary. Computable a posteriori error bounds for a large class of nonconforming finite element methods are provided for a model Poisson-problem in two and three space dimensions. Besides a refined residual-based a posteriori error estimate, an averaging estimator is established and an -estimate is included. The a posteriori error estimates are reliable and efficient; the proof of reliability relies on a Helmholtz decomposition. Received March 4, 1997 / Revised version received September 4, 2001 / Published online December 18, 2001     

One Approach to the Comparison of Error Bounds at a Point and on a Set in the Solution of Ill-Posed Problems

The approximate solution of ill-posed problems by the regularization method always involves the issue of estimating the error. It is a common practice to use uniform bounds on the whole class of well-posedness in terms of the modulus of continuity of the inverse operator on this class. Local error bounds, which are also called error bounds at a point, have been studied much less. Since the solution of a real-life ill-posed problem is unique, an error bound obtained on the whole class of well-posedness roughens to a great extent the true error bound. In the present paper, we study the difference between error bounds on the class of well-posedness and error bounds at a point for a special class of ill-posed problems. Assuming that the exact solution is a piecewise smooth function, we prove that an error bound at a point is infinitely smaller than the exact bound on the class of well-posedness.     

An a posteriori error estimator for anisotropic refinement

Summary. Besides an algorithm for local refinement, an a posteriori error estimator is the basic tool of every adaptive finite element method. Using information generated by such an error estimator the refinement of the grid is controlled. For 2nd order elliptic problems we present an error estimator for anisotropically refined grids, like -d cuboidal and 3-d prismatic grids, that gives correct information about the size of the error; additionally it generates information about the direction into which some element has to be refined to reduce the error in a proper way. Numerical examples are presented for 2-d rectangular and 3-d prismatic grids. Received March 15, 1994 / Revised version received June 3, 1994     

An adaptive edge element method and its convergence for a Saddle‐Point problem from magnetostatics

Reliable and efficient a posteriori error estimates are derived for the edge element discretization of a saddle‐point Maxwell's system. By means of the error estimates, an adaptive edge element method is proposed and its convergence is rigorously demonstrated. The algorithm uses a marking strategy based only on the error indicators, without the commonly used information on local oscillations and the refinement to meet the standard interior node property. Some new ingredients in the analysis include a novel quasi‐orthogonality and a new inf‐sup inequality associated with an appropriately chosen norm. It is shown that the algorithm is a contraction for the sum of the energy error plus the error indicators after each refinement step. Numerical experiments are presented to show the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed adaptive algorithm. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2012     

On Mixed Error Estimates for Elliptic Obstacle Problems

We establish in this paper sharp error estimates of residual type for finite element approximation to elliptic obstacle problems. The estimates are of mixed nature, which are neither of a pure a priori form nor of a pure a posteriori form but instead they are combined by an a priori part and an a posteriori part. The key ingredient in our derivation for the mixed error estimates is the use of a new interpolator which enables us to eliminate inactive data from the error estimators. One application of our mixed error estimates is to construct a posteriori error indicators reliable and efficient up to higher order terms, and these indicators are useful in mesh-refinements and adaptive grid generations. In particular, by approximating the a priori part with some a posteriori quantities we can successfully track the free boundary for elliptic obstacle problems.     

Pointwise error estimates for a stabilized Galerkin method: non-selfadjoint problems

Highly localized pointwise error estimates for a stabilized Galerkin method are provided for second-order non-selfadjoint elliptic partial differential equations. The estimates show a local dependence of the error on the derivative of the solution u and weak dependence on the global norm. The results in this paper are an extension of the previous pointwise error estimates for the self-adjoint problems. In order to provide pointwise error estimates in the presence of the first-order term in the differential equations, we prove that the stabilized Galerkin solution is higher order perturbation to the Ritz projection of the true solutions. Then, we proceed to obtain pointwise estimates using the so-called discrete Green’s function. Application to error expansion inequalities and a posteriori error estimators are briefly discussed.     

Adaptation under probabilistic error for estimating linear functionals

The problem of estimating linear functionals based on Gaussian observations is considered. Probabilistic error is used as a measure of accuracy and attention is focused on the construction of adaptive estimators which are simultaneously near optimal under probabilistic error over a collection of convex parameter spaces. In contrast to mean squared error it is shown that fully rate optimal adaptive estimators can be constructed for probabilistic error. A general construction of such estimators is provided and examples are given to illustrate the general theory.     

Adaptive meshless Galerkin boundary node methods for hypersingular integral equations

Adaptive refinement techniques are developed in this paper for the meshless Galerkin boundary node method for hypersingular boundary integral equations. Two types of error estimators are derived. One is a perturbation error estimator that is formulated based on the difference between numerical solutions obtained using two consecutive nodal arrangements. The other is a projection error estimator that is formulated based on the difference between the numerical solution itself and its projection. These error estimators are proven to have an upper and a lower bound by the constant multiples of the exact error in the energy norm. A localization scheme is presented to accomodate the non-local property of hypersingular integral operators for the needed computable local error indicators. The convergence of the adaptive meshless techniques is verified theoretically. To confirm the theoretical results and to show the efficiency of the adaptive techniques, numerical examples in 2D and 3D with high singularities are provided.     

On the detection of artifacts in Harmonic Balance solutions of nonlinear oscillators

Harmonic Balance is a very popular semi-analytic method in nonlinear dynamics. It is easy to apply and is known to produce good results for numerous examples. Adding an error criterion taking into account the neglected terms allows an evaluation of the results. Looking on the therefore determined error for increasing ansatz orders, it can be evaluated whether a solution really exists or is an artifact. For the low-error solutions additionally a stability analysis is performed which allows the classification of the solutions in three types, namely in large error solutions, low error stable solutions and low error unstable solution. Examples considered in this paper are the classical Duffing oscillator and an extended Duffing oscillator with nonlinear damping and excitation. Compared to numerical integration, the proposed procedure offers a faster calculation of existing multiple solutions and their character.     

On estimation of measurement error models with replication under heavy-tailed distributions

Measurement error (errors-in-variables) models are frequently used in various scientific fields, such as engineering, medicine, chemistry, etc. In this work, we consider a new replicated structural measurement error model in which the replicated observations jointly follow scale mixtures of normal (SMN) distributions. Maximum likelihood estimates are computed via an EM type algorithm method. A closed expression is presented for the asymptotic covariance matrix of those estimators. The SMN measurement error model provides an appealing robust alternative to the usual model based on normal distributions. The results of simulation studies and a real data set analysis confirm the robustness of SMN measurement error model.     

Guaranteed a posteriori error estimates for nonconforming finite element approximations to a singularly perturbed reaction–diffusion problem

We derive guaranteed a posteriori error estimates for nonconforming finite element approximations to a singularly perturbed reaction–diffusion problem. First, an abstract a posteriori error bound is derived under a special equilibration condition. Based on conservative flux reconstruction, two error estimators are proposed and provide actual upper error bounds in the usual energy norm without unknown constants, one of which can be directly constructed without solving local Neumann problems and provide practical computable error bounds. The error estimators also provide local lower bounds but with the multiplicative constants dependent on the diffusion coefficient and mesh size, where the constants can be bounded for enough small mesh size comparable with the square root of the diffusion coefficient. By adding edge jumps with weights to the energy norm, two modified error estimators with additional edge tangential jumps are shown to be robust with respect to the diffusion coefficient and provide guaranteed upper bounds on the error in the modified norm. Finally, the performance of the estimators are illustrated by the numerical results.     

A posteriori error estimates by recovered gradients in parabolic finite element equations

This paper considers a posteriori error estimates by averaged gradients in second order parabolic problems. Fully discrete schemes are treated. The theory from the elliptic case as to when such estimates are asymptotically exact, on an element, is carried over to the error on an element at a given time. The basic principle is that the elliptic theory can be extended to the parabolic problems provided the time-step error is smaller than the space-discretization error. Numerical illustrations confirming the theoretical results are given. Our results are not practical in the sense that various constants can not be estimated realistically. They are conceptual in nature. AMS subject classification (2000)  65M60, 65M20, 65M15     

Concertina-like movements of the error curve in the alternation theorem

If a continuous function f is approximated by elements of a Haar space in the maximum norm on an interval, the error curve of the best approximation has well known alternation properties. It is shown that if f is adjoined to the Haar space all zeros of the error function are monotonously increasing functions of the endpoints, and that under an additional hypothesis, the entire graph of the error curve is shifted to the left or right when the endpoints are moved accordingly.