Asymptotic expansions andL ∞-error estimates for mixed finite element methods for second order elliptic problems

Summary Asymptotic expansions for mixed finite element approximations of the second order elliptic problem are derived and Richardson extrapolation can be applied to increase the accuracy of the approximations. A new procedure, which is called the error corrected method, is presented as a further application of the asymptotic error expansion for the first order BDM approximation of the scalar field. The key point in deriving the asymptotic expansions for the error is an establishment ofL ¹-error estimates for mixed finite element approximations for the regularized Green's functions. As another application of theL ¹-error estimates for the regularized Green's functions, we shall present maximum norm error estimates for mixed finite element methods for second order elliptic problems.     

Uniform convergence of multigrid V-cycle on adaptively refined finite element meshes for second order elliptic problems

In this paper we prove the uniform convergence of the standard multigrid V-cycle algorithm with the Gauss-Seidel relaxation performed only on the new nodes and their "immediate" neighbors for discrete elliptic problems on the adaptively refined finite element meshes using the newest vertex bisection algorithm. The proof depends on sharp estimates on the relationship of local mesh sizes and a new stability estimate for the space decomposition based on the Scott-Zhang interpolation operator. Extensive numerical results are reported, which confirm the theoretical analysis.     

A quadratic finite element method for solving biharmonic problems in ℝ n

Summary A family of simplicial finite element methods having the simplest possible structure, is introduced to solve biharmonic problems in ⁿ ,n3, using the primal variable. The family is inspired in the MORLEY triangle for the two dimensional case, and in some sense this element can be viewed as its member corresponding to the valuen=2.     

A second order nonconforming rectangular finite element method for approximating Maxwell’s equations

The main objective of this paper is to present a new rectangular nonconforming finite element scheme with the second order convergence behavior for approximation of Maxwell’s equations.Then the corresponding optimal error estimates are derived.The difficulty in construction of this finite element scheme is how to choose a compatible pair of degrees of freedom and shape function space so as to make the consistency error due to the nonconformity of the element being of order O(h 3 ) ,properly one order higher than that of its interpolation error O(h 2 ) in the broken energy norm,where h is the subdivision parameter tending to zero.     

The coupling of boundary integral and finite element methods for nonmonotone nonlinear problems ∗

In this paper, we apply the coupling of the boundary integral and finite element methods to study the weak solvability of certain nonmonotone nonlinear exterior boundary value problems. In order to convert the original exterior problem into an equivalent nonlocal boundary value problem on a finite region, we employ two different approaches based on the use of one and two integral equations on the coupling boundary. Existence of a solution for the associated weak formulation, and convergence properties of the corresponding Galerkin approximations are deduced from fundamental results in nonlinear functional analysis. Indeed, the main arguments of our proofs are based on a surjectivity theorem for mappings of type (S) and on the Fredholm alternative for nonlinear A-proper mappings.     

Optimal L∞-error estimates for nonconforming and mixed finite element methods of lowest order

Summary For second order linear elliptic problems, it is proved that theP ₁-nonconforming finite element method has the sameL -asymptotic accuracy as theP ₁-conforming one. This result is applied to derive optimalL -error estimates for both the displacement and the stress fields of the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element method, and a superconvergence result at the barycenter of each element.Performed in the research program of Istituto di Analisi Numerica of C.N.R. of PaviaPartially supported by MPI, GNIM of CNR, ItalySupported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas, Argentina     

Adaptive finite element methods for Cahn–Hilliard equations

We develop a method for adaptive mesh refinement for steady state problems that arise in the numerical solution of Cahn–Hilliard equations with an obstacle free energy. The problem is discretized in time by the backward-Euler method and in space by linear finite elements. The adaptive mesh refinement is performed using residual based a posteriori estimates; the time step is adapted using a heuristic criterion. We describe the space–time adaptive algorithm and present numerical experiments in two and three space dimensions that demonstrate the usefulness of our approach.     

A modified weak Galerkin finite element methods for convection–diffusion problems in 2D

In this paper, we develop a modified weak Galerkin finite element method on arbitrary grids for convection–diffusion problems in two dimensions based on our previous work (Wang et al., J Comput Appl Math 271, 319–327, 2014), in which we only considered second order Poisson equations and thus only introduced a modified weak gradient operator. This method, called MWG-FEM, is based on a modified weak gradient operator and weak divergence operator which is put forward in this paper. Optimal order error estimates are established for the corresponding MWG-FEM approximations in both a discrete \(H^1\) norm and the standard \(L^2\) norm. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the robustness, reliability, and accuracy of the MWG-FEM.     

Direct-dual Fejér methods for problems of quadratic programming

The paper deals with the S-technology, which reduces convex problems of quadratic programming to the solution of systems of several linear, and one convex, inequalities. A certain variant of the Fejér method is applied to these systems. In particular, the problem of the constructive separability of convex polyhedral sets by a layer of maximal thickness is solved. This algorithm plays an important role in problems of discriminant analysis.     

Convergence analysis of finite element methods for H(curl; Ω)-elliptic interface problems

In this article we investigate the analysis of a finite element method for solving H(curl; ??)-elliptic interface problems in general three-dimensional polyhedral domains with smooth interfaces. The continuous problems are discretized by means of the first family of lowest order Nédélec H(curl; ??)-conforming finite elements on a family of tetrahedral meshes which resolve the smooth interface in the sense of sufficient approximation in terms of a parameter ?? that quantifies the mismatch between the smooth interface and the triangulation. Optimal error estimates in the H(curl; ??)-norm are obtained for the first time. The analysis is based on a ??-strip argument, a new extension theorem for H ¹(curl; ??)-functions across smooth interfaces, a novel non-standard interface-aware interpolation operator, and a perturbation argument for degrees of freedom for H(curl; ??)-conforming finite elements. Numerical tests are presented to verify the theoretical predictions and confirm the optimal order convergence of the numerical solution.     

Mortar multiscale finite element methods for Stokes–Darcy flows

We investigate mortar multiscale numerical methods for coupled Stokes and Darcy flows with the Beavers–Joseph–Saffman interface condition. The domain is decomposed into a series of subdomains (coarse grid) of either Stokes or Darcy type. The subdomains are discretized by appropriate Stokes or Darcy finite elements. The solution is resolved locally (in each coarse element) on a fine scale, allowing for non-matching grids across subdomain interfaces. Coarse scale mortar finite elements are introduced on the interfaces to approximate the normal stress and impose weakly continuity of the normal velocity. Stability and a priori error estimates in terms of the fine subdomain scale $h$ and the coarse mortar scale $H$ are established for fairly general grid configurations, assuming that the mortar space satisfies a certain inf-sup condition. Several examples of such spaces in two and three dimensions are given. Numerical experiments are presented in confirmation of the theory.     

Mixed finite element methods for stationary incompressible magneto–hydrodynamics

Summary. A new mixed variational formulation of the equations of stationary incompressible magneto–hydrodynamics is introduced and analyzed. The formulation is based on curl-conforming Sobolev spaces for the magnetic variables and is shown to be well-posed in (possibly non-convex) Lipschitz polyhedra. A finite element approximation is proposed where the hydrodynamic unknowns are discretized by standard inf-sup stable velocity-pressure space pairs and the magnetic ones by a mixed approach using Nédélecs elements of the first kind. An error analysis is carried out that shows that the proposed finite element approximation leads to quasi-optimal error bounds in the mesh-size. Mathematics Subject Classification (2000):65N30This work was partially supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation under Project 2100-068126.02.     

Preconditioners for higher order edge finite element discretizations of Maxwell's equations

In this paper,we are concerned with the fast solvers for higher order edge finite element discretizations of Maxwell's equations.We present the preconditioners for the first family and second family of higher order N′ed′elec element equations,respectively.By combining the stable decompositions of two kinds of edge finite element spaces with the abstract theory of auxiliary space preconditioning,we prove that the corresponding condition numbers of our preconditioners are uniformly bounded on quasi-uniform grids.We also present some numerical experiments to demonstrate the theoretical results.     

Solution of double nonlinear problems in porous media by a combined finite volume–finite element algorithm

The combined finite volume–finite element scheme for a double nonlinear parabolic convection-dominated diffusion equation which models the variably saturated flow and contaminant transport problems in porous media is extended. Whereas the convection is approximated by a finite volume method (Multi-Point Flux Approximation), the diffusion is approximated by a finite element method. The scheme is fully implicit and involves a relaxation-regularized algorithm. Due to monotonicity and conservation properties of the approximated scheme and in view of the compactness theorem we show the convergence of the numerical scheme to the weak solution. Our scheme is applied for computing two dimensional examples with different degrees of complexity. The numerical results demonstrate that the proposed scheme gives good performance in convergence and accuracy.     

A posteriori error estimates of finite element method for parabolic problems

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Modified Lagrange–Galerkin methods of first and second order in time for convection–diffusion problems

We introduce modified Lagrange–Galerkin (MLG) methods of order one and two with respect to time to integrate convection–diffusion equations. As numerical tests show, the new methods are more efficient, but maintaining the same order of convergence, than the conventional Lagrange–Galerkin (LG) methods when they are used with either P ₁ or P ₂ finite elements. The error analysis reveals that: (1) when the problem is diffusion dominated the convergence of the modified LG methods is of the form O(h ^m+1 + h ² + Δt ^q ), q = 1 or 2 and m being the degree of the polynomials of the finite elements; (2) when the problem is convection dominated and the time step Δt is large enough the convergence is of the form O(\frach^m+1Dt+h²+Dt^q){O(\frac{h^{m+1}}{\Delta t}+h^{2}+\Delta t^{q})} ; (3) as in case (2) but with Δt small, then the order of convergence is now O(h ^m  + h ² + Δt ^q ); (4) when the problem is convection dominated the convergence is uniform with respect to the diffusion parameter ν (x, t), so that when ν → 0 and the forcing term is also equal to zero the error tends to that of the pure convection problem. Our error analysis shows that the conventional LG methods exhibit the same error behavior as the MLG methods but without the term h ². Numerical experiments support these theoretical results.