Iterative methods for convection dominated flow

Some iterative methods are considered for the numerical solution of convection diffusion problems. The first class of iterative methods is Chebyshev accelerated iterations. The issues of parameter selection and convergence rates are considered. Secondly, we consider convection—diffusion type iterations where the iterations are of Peaceman-Rachford type. Here, a conjecture is given concerning a related problem in functional analysis. Finally, we consider flow-directed iterative schemes. We describe some schemes of this class for an upwind difference method, and also for a nonlinear hyperbolic equation. We emphasize work that remains to be done on these methods.     

Analysis of the cell boundary element methods for convection dominated convection-diffusion equations

We introduce two kinds of the cell boundary element (CBE) methods for convection dominated convection-diffusion equations: one is the CBE method with the exact bubble function and the other with inexact bubble functions. The main focus of this paper is on inexact bubble CBE methods. For inexact bubble CBE methods we introduce a family of numerical methods depending on two parameters, one for control of interior layers and the other for outflow boundary layers. Stability and convergence analysis are provided and numerical tests for inexact bubble CBEs with various choices of parameters are presented.     

Error analysis for finite element methods for steady natural convection problems

We analyze the error in finite element methods in approximating, so-called, free or natural convection problems. We also include the effects of conducting solid walls in our analysis. Under a uniqueness condition on the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers (which we derive), we give direct, quasioptimal error estimates for “div-stable” finite element spaces for the fluid variables and general conforming finite element spaces for the temperature. At larger Rayleigh numbers, we give analogous, asymptotic error estimates, basing this analysis upon local uniqueness properties of the true solution (u p T), which we also establish.     

On finite element methods for plasticity problems

Summary We prove an error estimate for an incremental finite element method for obtaining approximations to the stresses in an elastic-perfectly plastic body. We also comment on the limit load problem.     

On mixed finite element methods for linear elastodynamics

Summary We construct and analyze finite element methods for approximating the equations of linear elastodynamics, using mixed elements for the discretization of the spatial variables. We consider two different mixed formulations for the problem and analyze semidiscrete and up to fourth-order in time fully discrete approximations.L ² optimal-order error estimates are proved for the approximations of displacement and stress.Work supported in part by the Hellenic State Scholarship Foundation     

On finite element methods for the Neumann problem

Summary The Neumann problem for a second order elliptic equation with self-adjoint operator is considered, the unique solution of which is determined from projection onto unity. Two variational formulations of this problem are studied, which have a unique solution in the whole space. Discretization is done via the finite element method based on the Ritz process, and it is proved that the discrete solutions converge to one of the solutions of the continuous problem. Comparison of the two methods is done.     

Continuous interior penalty finite element methods for Sobolev equations with convection‐dominated term

We consider implicit and semi‐implicit time‐stepping methods for continuous interior penalty (CIP) finite element approximations of Sobolev equations with convection‐dominated term. Stability is obtained by adding an interior penalty term giving L² ‐control of the jump of the gradient over element faces. Several $\cal {A}$ ‐stable time‐stepping methods are analyzed and shown to be unconditionally stable and optimally convergent. We show that the contribution from the gradient jumps leading to an extended matrix pattern may be extrapolated from previous time steps, and hence handled explicitly without loss of stability and accuracy. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 2012     

Error estimates of finite element methods for nonstationary thermal convection problems with temperature-dependent coefficients

Summary. General error estimates are proved for a class of finite element schemes for nonstationary thermal convection problems with temperature-dependent coefficients. These variable coefficients turn the diffusion and the buoyancy terms to be nonlinear, which increases the nonlinearity of the problems. An argument based on the energy method leads to optimal error estimates for the velocity and the temperature without any stability conditions. Error estimates are also provided for schemes modified by approximate coefficients, which are used conveniently in practical computations.Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 65M12, 65M60, 76M10     

Quasi-conforming element techniques for penalty finite element methods

The Quasi-Conforming Element (QCE) technique is introduced in this paper for calculating Penalty Finite Element problems. Unlike the Reduced Integration methods, the QCE technique uses multiple sets of functions to approximate strains and is independent of the integration order. This technique is applied to the incompressible linear elastic problem and the medium thickness plate bending problem by means of examples, and the numerical results are shown. The related generalized variational principle is given.     

Adaptive finite element for semi-linear convection–diffusion problems

In this article a strategy of adaptive finite element for semi-linear problems, based on minimizing a residual-type estimator, is reported. We get an a posteriori error estimate which is asymptotically exact when the mesh size h tends to zero. By considering a model problem, the quality of this estimator is checked. It is numerically shown that without constraint on the mesh size h, the efficiency of the a posteriori error estimate can fail dramatically. This phenomenon is analysed and an algorithm which equidistributes the local estimators under the constraint h ⩽ h _max is proposed. This algorithm allows to improve the computed solution for semi-linear convection–diffusion problems, and can be used for stabilizing the Lagrange finite element method for linear convection–diffusion problems. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Locking-free finite element methods for shells

We propose a new family of finite element methods for the Naghdi shell model, one method associated with each nonnegative integer . The methods are based on a nonstandard mixed formulation, and the th method employs triangular Lagrange finite elements of degree augmented by bubble functions of degree for both the displacement and rotation variables, and discontinuous piecewise polynomials of degree for the shear and membrane stresses. This method can be implemented in terms of the displacement and rotation variables alone, as the minimization of an altered energy functional over the space mentioned. The alteration consists of the introduction of a weighted local projection into part, but not all, of the shear and membrane energy terms of the usual Naghdi energy. The relative error in the method, measured in a norm which combines the norm of the displacement and rotation fields and an appropriate norm of the shear and membrane stress fields, converges to zero with order uniformly with respect to the shell thickness for smooth solutions, at least under the assumption that certain geometrical coefficients in the Nagdhi model are replaced by piecewise constants.

     

On conforming finite element methods for the inhomogeneous stationary Navier-Stokes equations

Summary We consider the stationary Navier-Stokes equations, written in terms of the primitive variables, in the case where both the partial differential equations and boundary conditions are inhomogeneous. Under certain conditions on the data, the existence and uniqueness of the solution of a weak formulation of the equations can be guaranteed. A conforming finite element method is presented and optimal estimates for the error of the approximate solution are proved. In addition, the convergence properties of iterative methods for the solution of the discrete nonlinear algebraic systems resulting from the finite element algorithm are given. Numerical examples, using an efficient choice of finite element spaces, are also provided.Supported, in part, by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant No. AF-AFOSR-80-0083Supported, in part, by the same agency under Grant No. AF-AFOSR-80-0176-A. Both authors were also partially supported by NASA Contract No. NAS1-15810 while they were in residence at the Institute for Computer Applications in Science and Engineering, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23665, USA     

Nonconforming finite element methods

Some interesting and important nonconforming finite elements for the second- and fourth-order elliptic problems are briefly described and analyzed.     

Weighted quadrature rules for finite element methods

We discuss the numerical integration of polynomials times non-polynomial weighting functions in two dimensions arising from multiscale finite element computations. The proposed quadrature rules are significantly more accurate than standard quadratures and are better suited to existing finite element codes than formulas computed by symbolic integration. We validate this approach by introducing the new quadrature formulas into a multiscale finite element method for the two-dimensional reaction–diffusion equation.     

Adaptive finite element methods for Boussinesq equations

An a posteriori error analysis for Boussinesq equations is derived in this article. Then we compare this new estimate with a previous one developed for a regularized version of Boussinesq equations in a previous work. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 16: 214–236, 2000     

Interior estimates for nonconforming finite element methods

Summary. Interior error estimates are derived for a wide class of nonconforming finite element methods for second order scalar elliptic boundary value problems. It is shown that the error in an interior domain can be estimated by three terms: the first one measures the local approximability of the finite element space to the exact solution, the second one measures the degree of continuity of the finite element space (the consistency error), and the last one expresses the global effect through the error in an arbitrarily weak Sobolev norm over a slightly larger domain. As an application, interior superconvergences of some difference quotients of the finite element solution are obtained for the derivatives of the exact solution when the mesh satisfies some translation invariant condition. Received December 29, 1994     

Singularly perturbed finite element methods

Summary This paper introduces a new piecewise linear finite element, which is designed to handle singularly perturbed ordinary differential equations. Both pointwise and global estimates (which are independent of the perturbation parameter) are obtained.     

A second order characteristics finite element scheme for natural convection problems

In this paper a second order characteristics finite element scheme is applied to the numerical solution of natural convection problems. Firstly, after recalling the mathematical model, a second order time discretization of the material time derivative is introduced. Next, fully discretized schemes are proposed by using finite element methods. Numerical results for the two-dimensional problem of buoyancy-driven flow in a square cavity with differentially heated side walls are given and compared with a reference solution.