An optimal order multigrid method for biharmonic,C 1 finite element equations

Summary In this paper, we study a special multigrid method for solving large linear systems which arise from discretizing biharmonic problems by the Hsieh-Clough-Tocher,C ¹ macro finite elements or several otherC ¹ finite elements. Since the multipleC ¹ finite element spaces considered are not nested, the nodal interpolation operator is used to transfer functions between consecutive levels in the multigrid method. This method converges with the optimal computational order.     

A class of direct methods for linear systems

Summary A class of methods of direct type for solving determined or underdetermined, full rank or deficient rank linear systems is presented and theoretically analyzed. The class can be considered as a generalization of the methods of Brent and Brown as restricted to linear systems and implicitly contains orthogonal,LU andLL ^T factorization methods.     

On the eigenvalue distribution of a class of preconditioning methods

Summary A class of preconditioning methods depending on a relaxation parameter is presented for the solution of large linear systems of equationAx=b, whereA is a symmetric positive definite matrix. The methods are based on an incomplete factorization of the matrixA and include both pointwise and blockwise factorization. We study the dependence of the rate of convergence of the preconditioned conjugate gradient method on the distribution of eigenvalues ofC ^–1 A, whereC is the preconditioning matrix. We also show graphic representations of the eigenvalues and present numerical tests of the methods.     

A note on the least squares solution of the groundwater flow equation

The least squares finite element method is a member of the weighted residuals class of numerical methods for solving partial differential equations. The least squares finite element method is applied to the groundwater flow equation. Space is discretized with a C¹ continuous trial function and parameters are approximated with a C⁰ bilinear basis. Solutions for problems containing parameters with large localized spatial gradients are characterized by errors that are propagated throughout the entire domain. Second-order spatial convergence is observed, and extreme mesh refinement is required to match Galerkin and mixed least squares finite element results. Temporal discretization should be kept separate from the least squares spatial discretization. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

AC 0-collocation-like method for two-point boundary value problems

Summary A method of a collocation type based onC ⁰-piecewise polynomial spaces is presented for a two-point boundary value problem of the second order. The method has an optimal order of convergence under smoothness requirements on the exact solution which are weaker than forC ¹-collocation methods. If the differential operator is symmetric, a modification of this method leads to a symmetric system of linear equations. It is shown that if the collocation solution is a piecewise polynomial of degree not greater thanr, the method is stable and convergent with orderh ^r inH ¹-norm. A similar symmetric modification forC ⁰-colloction-finite element method [7] is also obtained. Superconvergence at the nodes is established.     

Some equilibrium finite element methods for two-dimensional elasticity problems

Summary We consider some equilibrium finite element methods for two-dimensional elasticity problems. The stresses and the displacements are approximated by using piecewise linear functions. We establishL ₂-estimates of orderO(h ²) for both stresses and displacements.     

Two-grid Methods for Finite Volume Element Approximations of Nonlinear Sobolev Equations

In this article, two-grid methods are studied for solving nonlinear Sobolev equation using the finite volume element method. The methods are based on one coarse grid space and one fine grid space. The nonsymmetric and nonlinear iterations are only executed on the coarse grid (with grid size H), and the fine grid solution (with grid size h) can be obtained in a single symmetric and linear step. The optimal H¹ error estimates are presented for the proposed methods, which show that the two-grid methods achieve optimal approximation as long as the mesh sizes satisfy h = 𝒪(H³|ln H|). As a result, solving such a large class of nonlinear Sobolev equations will not be much more difficult than solving one linearized equation.     

Direct Evaluation of Nonlinear Gradient Elasticity in 2D with C1 Continuous Discretization Methods

In this contribution, we present a study on the performance of four different subparametric triangular finite element formulations for linear and nonlinear strain gradient elastic continua. Fully C¹ and nonconforming C^* finite elements are considered for a numerical analysis. The results are demonstrated by means of two computational examples together with the L², H¹ and H² error norms. An interesting aspect concerning the linear geometry approximation is revealed. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Matrix decomposition algorithms for elliptic boundary value problems: a survey

We provide an overview of matrix decomposition algorithms (MDAs) for the solution of systems of linear equations arising when various discretization techniques are applied in the numerical solution of certain separable elliptic boundary value problems in the unit square. An MDA is a direct method which reduces the algebraic problem to one of solving a set of independent one-dimensional problems which are generally banded, block tridiagonal, or almost block diagonal. Often, fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) can be employed in an MDA with a resulting computational cost of O(N ² logN) on an N × N uniform partition of the unit square. To formulate MDAs, we require knowledge of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of matrices arising in corresponding two–point boundary value problems in one space dimension. In many important cases, these eigensystems are known explicitly, while in others, they must be computed. The first MDAs were formulated almost fifty years ago, for finite difference methods. Herein, we discuss more recent developments in the formulation and application of MDAs in spline collocation, finite element Galerkin and spectral methods, and the method of fundamental solutions. For ease of exposition, we focus primarily on the Dirichlet problem for Poisson’s equation in the unit square, sketch extensions to other boundary conditions and to more involved elliptic problems, including the biharmonic Dirichlet problem, and report extensions to three dimensional problems in a cube. MDAs have also been used extensively as preconditioners in iterative methods for solving linear systems arising from discretizations of non-separable boundary value problems.     

A capacitance matrix method for Dirichlet problem on polygon region

Summary An efficient algorithm for the solution of linear equations arising in a finite element method for the Dirichlet problem is given. The cost of the algorithm is proportional toN ²log₂ N (N=1/h) where the cost of solving the capacitance matrix equations isNlog₂ N on regular grids andN ^3/2log₂ N on irregular ones.     

Convergent nonnegative matrices and iterative methods for consistent linear systems

Summary In this paper we study linear stationary iterative methods with nonnegative iteration matrices for solving singular and consistent systems of linear equationsAx=b. The iteration matrices for the schemes are obtained via regular and weak regular splittings of the coefficients matrixA. In certain cases when only some necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for the convergence of the iterations schemes exist, we consider a transformation on the iteration matrices and obtain new iterative schemes which ensure convergence to a solution toAx=b. This transformation is parameter-dependent, and in the case where all the eigenvalues of the iteration matrix are real, we show how to choose this parameter so that the asymptotic convergence rate of the new schemes is optimal. Finally, some applications to the problem of computing the stationary distribution vector for a finite homogeneous ergodic Markov chain are discussed.Research sponsored in part by US Army Research Office     

Semi-Conjugate Direction Methods for Real Positive Definite Systems

In this preliminary work, left and right conjugate direction vectors are defined for nonsymmetric, nonsingular matrices A and some properties of these vectors are studied. A left conjugate direction (LCD) method for solving nonsymmetric systems of linear equations is proposed. The method has no breakdown for real positive definite systems. The method reduces to the usual conjugate gradient method when A is symmetric positive definite. A finite termination property of the semi-conjugate direction method is shown, providing a new simple proof of the finite termination property of conjugate gradient methods. The new method is well defined for all nonsingular M-matrices. Some techniques for overcoming breakdown are suggested for general nonsymmetric A. The connection between the semi-conjugate direction method and LU decomposition is established. The semi-conjugate direction method is successfully applied to solve some sample linear systems arising from linear partial differential equations, with attractive convergence rates. Some numerical experiments show the benefits of this method in comparison to well-known methods. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Finite element methods on piecewise equidistant meshes for interior turning point problems

We consider linear second order singularly perturbed two-point boundary value problems with interior turning points. Piecewise linear Galerkin finite element methods are constructed on various piecewise equidistant meshes designed for such problems. These methods are proved to be convergent, uniformly in the singular perturbation parameter, in a weighted energy norm and the usualL ² norm. Supporting numerical results are presented.     

Conjugate gradient versus contraction mapping

The solution of linear equationsCu ⁰+b=0 foru ⁰ is considered here, withC a positive-definite and self-adjoint operator. Such equations arise when solving quadratic optimization problems and (for example) when solving partial differential equations using finite-difference methods. A standard solution technique is to approximateC by an operatorK which is easy to invert and then to construct an algorithm of the contraction-mapping type to useK ^–1 iteratively to help solve the original equation. Such algorithms have long been used for solving equations of this type. The aim of the paper is to show that, for eachK, a little-known generalization of the usual conjugate-gradient algorithm has advantages over the corresponding contraction-mapping algorithm in that it has better convergence properties. In addition, it is not significantly more difficult to implement. IfK is a good approximation toC, the resulting generalized conjugate-gradient algorithm is more effective than the usual conjugate-gradient algorithm.The computed results presented in Section 4 were obtained by P. Bluett while a research student at Imperial College.     

A note on simultaneous preconditioning and symmetrization of non‐symmetric linear systems

Motivated by the theory of self‐duality that provides a variational formulation and resolution for non‐self‐adjoint partial differential equations (Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré (C) Anal Non Linéaire 2007; 24 :171–205; Selfdual Partial Differential Systems and Their Variational Principles. Springer: New York, 2008), we propose new templates for solving large non‐symmetric linear systems. The method consists of combining a new scheme that simultaneously preconditions and symmetrizes the problem, with various well‐known iterative methods for solving linear and symmetric problems. The approach seems to be efficient when dealing with certain ill‐conditioned, and highly non‐symmetric systems. The numerical and theoretical results are provided to show the efficiency of our approach. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed two‐grid finite difference methods for solving one‐dimensional and two‐dimensional Fitzhugh–Nagumo equations

The aim of this paper is to propose mixed two‐grid finite difference methods to obtain the numerical solution of the one‐dimensional and two‐dimensional Fitzhugh–Nagumo equations. The finite difference equations at all interior grid points form a large‐sparse linear system, which needs to be solved efficiently. The solution cost of this sparse linear system usually dominates the total cost of solving the discretized partial differential equation. The proposed method is based on applying a family of finite difference methods for discretizing the spatial and time derivatives. The obtained system has been solved by two‐grid method, where the two‐grid method is used for solving the large‐sparse linear systems. Also, in the proposed method, the spectral radius with local Fourier analysis is calculated for different values of h and Δt. The numerical examples show the efficiency of this algorithm for solving the one‐dimensional and two‐dimensional Fitzhugh–Nagumo equations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Projektive Newton-Verfahren bei elliptischen Randwertaufgaben

Summary In this paper we investigate projective Newton methods for nonlinear elliptic boundary value problems. These methods yield approximations by solving the linear equations of the Newton method by a projection method, e.g. the Ritz method. Using subspaces of finite elements or polynominals we obtain error estimates and optimal convergence theorems (inH ₁ andL ₂).

     

Convergence analysis of a balancing domain decomposition method for solving a class of indefinite linear systems

A variant of balancing domain decomposition method by constraints (BDDC) is proposed for solving a class of indefinite systems of linear equations of the form (K?σ²M)u=f, which arise from solving eigenvalue problems when an inverse shifted method is used and also from the finite element discretization of Helmholtz equations. Here, both K and M are symmetric positive definite. The proposed BDDC method is closely related to the previous dual–primal finite element tearing and interconnecting method (FETI‐DP) for solving this type of problems (Appl. Numer. Math. 2005; 54 :150–166), where a coarse level problem containing certain free‐space solutions of the inherent homogeneous partial differential equation is used in the algorithm to accelerate the convergence. Under the condition that the diameters of the subdomains are small enough, the convergence rate of the proposed algorithm is established, which depends polylogarithmically on the dimension of the individual subdomain problems and which improves with a decrease of the subdomain diameters. These results are supported by numerical experiments of solving a two‐dimensional problem. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A stabilizer-free C0 weak Galerkin method for the biharmonic equations

In this article, we present and analyze a stabilizer-free C⁰ weak Galerkin(SF-C0WG) method for solving the biharmonic problem. The SF-C0WG method is formulated in terms of cell unknowns which are C⁰ continuous piecewise polynomials of degree k + 2 with k≥0 and in terms of face unknowns which are discontinuous piecewise polynomials of degree k + 1. The formulation of this SF-C0WG method is without the stabilized or penalty term and is as simple as the C¹ conformin...     

A numerical algorithm for solving the matrix equation AX + XTB = C1

An algorithm of the Bartels-Stewart type for solving the matrix equation AX + X ^T B = C is proposed. By applying the QZ algorithm, the original equation is reduced to an equation of the same type having triangular matrix coefficients A and B. The resulting matrix equation is equivalent to a sequence of low-order systems of linear equations for the entries of the desired solution. Through numerical experiments, the situation where the conditions for unique solvability are “nearly” violated is simulated. The loss of the quality of the computed solution in this situation is analyzed.