Quadratic finite element approximation of the Signorini problem

Applying high order finite elements to unilateral contact variational inequalities may provide more accurate computed solutions, compared with linear finite elements. Up to now, there was no significant progress in the mathematical study of their performances. The main question is involved with the modeling of the nonpenetration Signorini condition on the discrete solution along the contact region. In this work we describe two nonconforming quadratic finite element approximations of the Poisson-Signorini problem, responding to the crucial practical concern of easy implementation, and we present the numerical analysis of their efficiency. By means of Falk's Lemma we prove optimal and quasi-optimal convergence rates according to the regularity of the exact solution.

     

Approximation of the signorini problem with friction,obeying the coulomb law

The approximation of the Signorini problem with friction by mixed finite element method is studied. The relation between the continuous case and its finite dimensional discretization is analyzed.     

Mixed finite element methods for the Signorini problem with friction

In this article, we propose and study different mixed variational methods in order to approximate the Signorini problem with friction using finite elements. The discretized normal and tangential constraints at the contact interface are expressed by using either continuous piecewise linear or piecewise constant Lagrange multipliers in the saddle?point formulation. A priori error estimates are established and several numerical examples corresponding to the different choices of the discretized normal and tangential constraints are carried out. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2006     

Adaptive optimal control of Signorini’s problem

In this article, we present a-posteriori error estimations in context of optimal control of contact problems; in particular of Signorini’s problem. Due to the contact side-condition, the solution operator of the underlying variational inequality is not differentiable, yet we want to apply Newton’s method. Therefore, the non-smooth problem is regularized by penalization and afterwards discretized by finite elements. We derive optimality systems for the regularized formulation in the continuous as well as in the discrete case. This is done explicitly for Signorini’s contact problem, which covers linear elasticity and linearized surface contact conditions. The latter creates the need for treating trace-operations carefully, especially in contrast to obstacle contact conditions, which exert in the domain. Based on the dual weighted residual method and these optimality systems, we deduce error representations for the regularization, discretization and numerical errors. Those representations are further developed into error estimators. The resulting error estimator for regularization error is defined only in the contact area. Therefore its computational cost is especially low for Signorini’s contact problem. Finally, we utilize the estimators in an adaptive refinement strategy balancing regularization and discretization errors. Numerical results substantiate the theoretical findings. We present different examples concerning Signorini’s problem in two and three dimensions.     

Mixed formulations for a class of variational inequalitiesFormulations mixtes pour une classe d'inéquations variationnelles

This Note is an attempt to extend the mixed finite element method to a class of variational inequalities including the problems of Signorini and of unilateral contact in elasticity with or without friction. Existence and uniqueness for the continuous and the discrete problems as well as error estimates are established in a general abstract framework. As a result, the mixed approximation of the Signorini problem is proved to converge with an error bound in h^3/4. To cite this article: L. Slimane et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 334 (2002) 87–92     

Finite element approximation to a contact problem in linear thermoelasticity

A finite element approximation to the solution of a one-dimensional linear thermoelastic problem with unilateral contact of the Signorini type and heat flux is proposed. An error bound is derived and some numerical experiments are performed.

     

ON THE COUPLING OF BOUNDARY INTEGRAL AND FINITE ELEMENT METHODS FOR SIGNORINI PROBLEMS

1.IntroductionPartialdifferentialequationssubjecttounilateralboundaryconditionsareusuallycalledSignoriniproblemsintheliterature.TheseproblemshavebeenstudiedbymanyauthodssincetheappearenceofthehistoricalpaperbyA.Signoriniin1933[25].Signoriniproblemsaroseinmanyareasofapplicationse.g.,theelasticitywithunilateralconditions[lo],thefluidmechnicsproblemsinmediawithsemipermeableboundaries[8,12],theelectropaintprocess[1]etc.Fortheexistence,uniquenessandregularityresultsforSignorinitypeproblemswerefer…     

Méthodes d'éléments finis pour des inéquations variationnelles de contact unilatéral

We give in this Note optimal convergence results for the conforming and non-conforming finite element approximations of the variational inequalities modeling Signorini problem and the unilateral contact between two elastic bodies.     

问题变分不等式的一类各向异性Crouzeix-Raviart型有限元逼近

本文研究了Signorini变分不等式问题的一类各向异性Crouzeix-Raviart型非协调有限元逼近。通过一些新的技巧,得到了相应的最优误差估计。     

A boundary element method for Signorini problems in three dimensions

Summary In this paper, a Signorini problem in three dimensions is reduced to a variational inequality on the boundary, and a boundary element method is described for the numerical approximation of its solution; an optimal error estimate is also given.This work is supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and by the Royal Society of London     

L ∞-error estimates of triangular mixed finite element methods for optimal control problems governed by semilinear elliptic equations

We look at L ^∞-error estimates for convex quadratic optimal control problems governed by nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations. In so doing, use is made of mixed finite element methods. The state and costate are approximated by the lowest order Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element spaces, and the control, by piecewise constant functions. L ^∞-error estimates of optimal order are derived for a mixed finite element approximation of a semilinear elliptic optimal control problem. Finally, numerical tests are presented which confirm our theoretical results.     

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.     

Boundary augmented Lagrangian method for the Signorini problem

An augmented Lagrangian method, based on boundary variational formulations and fixed point method, is designed and analyzed for the Signorini problem of the Laplacian. Using the equivalence between Signorini boundary conditions and a fixed-point problem, we develop a new iterative algorithm that formulates the Signorini problem as a sequence of corresponding variational equations with the Steklov-Poincaré operator. Both theoretical results and numerical experiments show that the method presented is efficient.     

Error estimates for the approximation of semicoercive variational inequalities

Summary. An abstract error estimate for the approximation of semicoercive variational inequalities is obtained provided a certain condition holds for the exact solution. This condition turns out to be necessary as is demonstrated analytically and numerically. The results are applied to the finite element approximation of Poisson's equation with Signorini boundary conditions and to the obstacle problem for the beam with no fixed boundary conditions. For second order variational inequalities the condition is always satisfied, whereas for the beam problem the condition holds if the center of forces belongs to the interior of the convex hull of the contact set. Applying the error estimate yields optimal order of convergence in terms of the mesh size . The numerical convergence rates observed are in good agreement with the predicted ones. Received August 16, 1993 / Revised version received March 21, 1994     

Discrete concepts for elliptic optimal control problems with constraints on the gradient of the state

We consider elliptic optimal control problems with constraints on the gradient of the state and propose two distinguish concepts for their discretization. The first concept uses piecewise linear, continuous finite element Ansatz functions for the state, while the second concept uses the lowest order Raviart–Thomas mixed finite element. In both cases variational discretization from [5] is used for the controls. We present optimal finite element error estimates for the numerical solutions and confirm our theoretical findings by a numerical experiment. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

A Posteriori Error Estimates of Mixed Methods for Parabolic Optimal Control Problems

In this article, we shall give a brief review on the fully discrete mixed finite element method for general optimal control problems governed by parabolic equations. The state and the co-state are approximated by the lowest order Raviart–Thomas mixed finite element spaces and the control is approximated by piecewise constant elements. Furthermore, we derive a posteriori error estimates for the finite element approximation solutions of optimal control problems. Some numerical examples are given to demonstrate our theoretical results.     

多孔介质驱动问题的混合元最小二乘特征有限元方法及其收敛分析

１．引言多孔介质二相驱动问题的数学模型是偶合的非线性偏微分方程组的初边值问题．该问题可转化为压力方程和浓度方程［１－４］．浓度方程一般是对流占优的对流扩散方程,它的对流速度依赖于比浓度方程的扩散系数大得多的Ｆａｒｃｙ速度．因此Ｄａｒｃｙ速度的求解精度直接影响着浓度的求解精度．为了提高速度的求解精度,７０年代Ｐ．Ａ．Ｒａｖｉａｔ和Ｊ．Ｍ．Ｔｈｏｍａｓ提出混合有限元方法［５］．Ｊ．ＤｏｕｇｌａｓＪｒ,Ｔ．Ｆ．Ｒｕｓｓｅｌｌ,Ｒ．Ｅ．Ｅｗｉｎｇ,Ｍ．Ｆ．Ｗｈｅｅｌｅｒ［１］－［４］,［９］,［１２］袁…     

Two-grid methods for –P1 mixed finite element approximation of general elliptic optimal control problems with low regularity

In this paper, we present a two-grid mixed finite element scheme for distributed optimal control governed by general elliptic equations. –P₁ mixed finite elements are used for the discretization of the state and co-state variables, whereas piecewise constant function is used to approximate the control variable. We first use a new approach to obtain the superclose property between the centroid interpolation and the numerical solution of the optimal control u with order h² under the low regularity. Based on the superclose property, we derive the optimal a priori error estimates. Then, using a postprocessing projection operator, we get a second-order superconvergent result for the control u. Next, we construct a two-grid mixed finite element scheme and analyze a priori error estimates. In the two-grid scheme, the solution of the elliptic optimal control problem on a fine grid is reduced to the solution of the elliptic optimal control problem on a much coarser grid and the solution of a linear algebraic system on the fine grid and the resulting solution still maintains an asymptotically optimal accuracy. Finally, a numerical example is presented to verify the theoretical results.     

High accuracy analysis of a new nonconforming mixed finite element scheme for Sobolev equations

A nonconforming mixed finite element scheme is proposed for Sobolev equations based on a new mixed variational form under semi-discrete and Euler fully-discrete schemes. The corresponding optimal convergence error estimates and superclose property are obtained without using Ritz projection, which are the same as the traditional mixed finite elements. Furthemore, the global superconvergence is obtained through interpolation postprocessing technique. The numerical results show the validity of the theoretical analysis.     

Optimal error estimates of a decoupled scheme based on two-grid finite element for mixed Stokes–Darcy model

Although the numerical results suggest the optimal convergence order of the two-grid finite element decoupled scheme for mixed Stokes–Darcy model with Beavers–Joseph–Saffman interface condition in literatures, the numerical analysis only gets the optimal error order for porous media flow and a non-optimal error order that is half order lower than the optimal one in fluid flow. The purpose of this paper is to fill in the gap between the numerical results and the theoretical analysis.