Multigrid methods for a parameter dependent problem in primal variables

Summary. In this paper we consider multigrid methods for the parameter dependent problem of nearly incompressible materials. We construct and analyze multilevel-projection algorithms, which can be applied to the mixed as well as to the equivalent, non-conforming finite element scheme in primal variables. For proper norms, we prove that the smoothing property and the approximation property hold with constants that are independent of the small parameter. Thus we obtain robust and optimal convergence rates for the W-cycle and the variable V-cycle multigrid methods. The numerical results pretty well conform the robustness and optimality of the multigrid methods proposed. Received June 17, 1998 / Revised version received October 26, 1998 / Published online September 7, 1999     

Multigrid methods with web-splines

Summary. We describe and analyze a multigrid algorithm for finite element approximations of second order elliptic boundary value problems with weightedextended b-splines (web-splines). This new technique provides high accuracy with relatively low-dimensional subspaces, does not require any grid generation, and is ideally suited for hierarchical solution techniques. In particular, we show that the standard W-cycle yields uniform convergence, i.e., the required number of iterations is bounded independent of the grid width. Received August 17, 2000 / Published online August 17, 2001     

Solution of Maxwell equation in axisymmetric geometry by Fourier series decompostion and by use of H (rot) conforming finite element

Summary. This study deals with the mathematical and numerical solution of time-harmonic Maxwell equation in axisymmetric geometry. Using Fourier decomposition, we define weighted Sobolev spaces of solution and we prove expected regularity results. A practical contribution of this paper is the construction of a class of finite element conforming with the H (rot) space equipped with the weighted measure rdrdz. It appears as an extension of the well-known cartesian mixed finite element of Raviart-Thomas-Nédélec [11]–[15]. These elements are built from classical lagrangian and mixed finite element, therefore no special approximations functions are needed. Finally, following works of Mercier and Raugel [10], we perform an interpolation error estimate for the simplest proposed element. Received March 15, 1996 / Revised version received November 30, 1998 / Published online December 6, 1999     

Multigrid algorithms for a vertex–centered covolume method for elliptic problems

Summary. We analyze V–cycle multigrid algorithms for a class of perturbed problems whose perturbation in the bilinear form preserves the convergence properties of the multigrid algorithm of the original problem. As an application, we study the convergence of multigrid algorithms for a covolume method or a vertex–centered finite volume element method for variable coefficient elliptic problems on polygonal domains. As in standard finite element methods, the V–cycle algorithm with one pre-smoothing converges with a rate independent of the number of levels. Various types of smoothers including point or line Jacobi, and Gauss-Seidel relaxation are considered. Received August 19, 1999 / Revised version received July 10, 2000 / Published online June 7, 2001     

Multigrid for the mortar element method for P1 nonconforming element

In this paper, a multigrid algorithm is presented for the mortar element method for P1 nonconforming element. Based on the theory developed by Bramble, Pasciak, Xu in [5], we prove that the W-cycle multigrid is optimal, i.e. the convergence rate is independent of the mesh size and mesh level. Meanwhile, a variable V-cycle multigrid preconditioner is constructed, which results in a preconditioned system with uniformly bounded condition number. Received May 11, 1999 / Revised version received April 1, 2000 / Published online October 16, 2000     

The condition number of the Schur complement in domain decomposition

Summary. It is shown that for elliptic boundary value problems of order 2m the condition number of the Schur complement matrix that appears in nonoverlapping domain decomposition methods is of order , where d measures the diameters of the subdomains and h is the mesh size of the triangulation. The result holds for both conforming and nonconforming finite elements. Received: January 15, 1998     

A robust hierarchical basis preconditioner on general meshes

Summary. In this paper, we introduce a multi-level direct sum space decomposition of general, possibly locally refined linear or multi-linear finite element spaces. The resulting additive Schwarz preconditioner is optimal for symmetric second order elliptic problems. Moreover, it turns out to be robust with respect to coefficient jumps over edges in the coarsest mesh, perturbations with positive zeroth order terms, and, after a further decomposition of the spaces, also with respect to anisotropy along the grid lines. Important for an efficient implementation is that stable bases of the subspaces defining our decomposition, consisting of functions having small supports can be easily constructed. Received September 8, 1995 / Revised version received October 31, 1996     

Balancing domain decomposition for nonconforming plate elements

Summary. In this paper the balancing domain decomposition method is extended to nonconforming plate elements. The condition number of the preconditioned system is shown to be bounded by , where H measures the diameters of the subdomains, h is the mesh size of the triangulation, and the constant C is independent of H, h and the number of subdomains. Received August 14, 1997     

Convergence rate of some domain decomposition methods for overlapping and nonoverlapping subdomains

Summary. Three iterative domain decomposition methods are considered: simultaneous updates on all subdomains (Additive Schwarz Method), flow directed sweeps and double sweeps. By using some techniques of formal language theory we obtain a unique criterion of convergence for the three methods. The convergence rate is a function of the criterion and depends on the algorithm. Received October 24, 1994 / Revised version received November 27, 1995     

Error indicators for the Navier-Stokes equations in stream function and vorticity formulation

This paper deals with a posteriori estimates for the finite element solution of the Stokes problem in stream function and vorticity formulation. For two different discretizations, we propose error indicators and we prove estimates in order to compare them with the local error. In a second step, these results are extended to the Navier-Stokes equations. Received March 25, 1996 / Revised version received April 7, 1997     

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     

Wavelet adaptive method for second order elliptic problems: boundary conditions and domain decomposition

Summary. Wavelet methods allow to combine high order accuracy, multilevel preconditioning techniques and adaptive approximation, in order to solve efficiently elliptic operator equations. One of the main difficulty in this context is the efficient treatment of non-homogeneous boundary conditions. In this paper, we propose a strategy that allows to append such conditions in the setting of space refinement (i.e. adaptive) discretizations of second order problems. Our method is based on the use of compatible multiscale decompositions for both the domain and its boundary, and on the possibility of characterizing various function spaces from the numerical properties of these decompositions. In particular, this allows the construction of a lifting operator which is stable for a certain range of smoothness classes, and preserves the compression of the solution in the wavelet basis. An explicit construction of the wavelet bases and the lifting is proposed on fairly general domains, based on conforming domain decomposition techniques. Received November 2, 1998 / Published online April 20, 2000     

Stability and analyticity in maximum-norm for simplicial Lagrange finite element semidiscretizations of parabolic equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions

Stability and analyticity estimates in maximum-norm are shown for spatially discrete finite element approximations based on simplicial Lagrange elements for the model heat equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The bounds are logarithm free and valid in arbitrary dimension and for arbitrary polynomial degree. The work continues an earlier study by Schatz et al. [5] in which Neumann boundary conditions were considered. Received November 1998 / Revised version received August 11, 1999 / Published online July 12, 2000     

Generalized p-FEM in homogenization

Summary. A new finite element method for elliptic problems with locally periodic microstructure of length is developed and analyzed. It is shown that the method converges, as , to the solution of the homogenized problem with optimal order in and exponentially in the number of degrees of freedom independent of . The computational work of the method is bounded independently of . Numerical experiments demonstrate the feasibility and confirm the theoretical results. Received September 11, 1998 / Published online April 20, 2000     

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     

Weighted regularization of Maxwell equations in polyhedral domains

Summary. We present a new method of regularizing time harmonic Maxwell equations by a {\bf grad}-div term adapted to the geometry of the domain. This method applies to polygonal domains in two dimensions as well as to polyhedral domains in three dimensions. In the presence of reentrant corners or edges, the usual regularization is known to produce wrong solutions due the non-density of smooth fields in the variational space. We get rid of this undesirable effect by the introduction of special weights inside the divergence integral. Standard finite elements can then be used for the approximation of the solution. This method proves to be numerically efficient. Received April 27, 2001 / Revised version received September 13, 2001 / Published online March 8, 2002     

A new cement to glue non-conforming grids with Robin interface conditions: The finite volume case

Summary Robin interface conditions in domain decomposition methods enable the use of non overlapping subdomains and a speed up in the convergence. Non conforming grids make the grid generation much easier and faster since it is then a parallel task. The goal of this paper is to propose and analyze a new discretization scheme which allows to combine the use of Robin interface conditions with non-matching grids. We consider both a symmetric definite positive operator and the convection-diffusion equation discretized by finite volume schemes. Numerical results are shown. Received December 22, 1999 / Revised version received December 21, 2000 / Published online December 18, 2001 Correspondence to: F. Nataf     

Superconvergence analysis and error expansion for the Wilson nonconforming finite element

Summary. In this paper the Wilson nonconforming finite element is considered for solving a class of two-dimensional second-order elliptic boundary value problems. Superconvergence estimates and error expansions are obtained for both uniform and non-uniform rectangular meshes. A new lower bound of the error shows that the usual error estimates are optimal. Finally a discussion on the error behaviour in negative norms shows that there is generally no improvement in the order by going to weaker norms. Received July 5, 1993     

A two-level domain decomposition method for the iterative solution of high frequency exterior Helmholtz problems

Summary. We present a Lagrange multiplier based two-level domain decomposition method for solving iteratively large-scale systems of equations arising from the finite element discretization of high-frequency exterior Helmholtz problems. The proposed method is essentially an extension of the regularized FETI (Finite Element Tearing and Interconnecting) method to indefinite problems. Its two key ingredients are the regularization of each subdomain matrix by a complex interface lumped mass matrix, and the preconditioning of the interface problem by an auxiliary coarse problem constructed to enforce at each iteration the orthogonality of the residual to a set of carefully chosen planar waves. We show numerically that the proposed method is scalable with respect to the mesh size, the subdomain size, and the wavenumber. We report performance results for a submarine application that highlight the efficiency of the proposed method for the solution of high frequency acoustic scattering problems discretized by finite elements. Received March 17, 1998 / Revised version received June 7, 1999 / Published online January 27, 2000