A stable and conservative finite difference scheme for the Cahn-Hilliard equation

Summary. We propose a stable and conservative finite difference scheme to solve numerically the Cahn-Hilliard equation which describes a phase separation phenomenon. Numerical solutions to the equation is hard to obtain because it is a nonlinear and nearly ill-posed problem. We design a new difference scheme based on a general strategy proposed recently by Furihata and Mori. The new scheme inherits characteristic properties, the conservation of mass and the decrease of the total energy, from the equation. The decrease of the total energy implies boundedness of discretized Sobolev norm of the solution. This in turn implies, by discretized Sobolev's lemma, boundedness of max norm of the solution, and hence the stability of the solution. An error estimate for the solution is obtained and the order is . Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme. Received July 22, 1997 / Revised version received October 19, 1999 / Published online August 2, 2000     

An asymptotically optimal finite element scheme for the arch problem

Received November 22, 1993     

Accelerated monotone iterative methods for finite difference equations of reaction-diffusion

This paper is concerned with numerical methods for a finite difference system of reaction-diffusion-convection equation under nonlinear boundary condition. Various monotone iterative methods are presented, and each of these methods leads to an existence-comparison theorem as well as a computational algorithm for numerical solutions. The monotone property of the iterations gives improved upper and lower bounds of the solution in each iteration, and the rate of convergence of the iterations is either quadratic or nearly quadratic depending on the property of the nonlinear function. Application is given to a model problem from chemical engineering, and some numerical results, including a test problem with known analytical solution, are presented to illustrate the various rates of convergence of the iterations. Received November 2, 1995 / Revised version received February 10, 1997     

A new superconvergence property of Wilson nonconforming finite element

Summary. In this paper the Wilson nonconforming finite element method is considered to solve a class of two-dimensional second-order elliptic boundary value problems. A new superconvergence property at the vertices and the midpoints of four edges of rectangular meshes is obtained. Received May 5, 1995 / Revised version received November 11, 1996     

A minimal stabilisation procedure for mixed finite element methods

Summary. Stabilisation methods are often used to circumvent the difficulties associated with the stability of mixed finite element methods. Stabilisation however also means an excessive amount of dissipation or the loss of nice conservation properties. It would thus be desirable to reduce these disadvantages to a minimum. We present a general framework, not restricted to mixed methods, that permits to introduce a minimal stabilising term and hence a minimal perturbation with respect to the original problem. To do so, we rely on the fact that some part of the problem is stable and should not be modified. Sections 2 and 3 present the method in an abstract framework. Section 4 and 5 present two classes of stabilisations for the inf-sup condition in mixed problems. We present many examples, most arising from the discretisation of flow problems. Section 6 presents examples in which the stabilising terms is introduced to cure coercivity problems. Received August 9, 1999 / Revised version received May 19, 2000 / Published online March 20, 2001     

Mixed finite element approximation of a degenerate elliptic problem

Summary. We present a mixed finite element approximation of an elliptic problem with degenerate coefficients, arising in the study of the electromagnetic field in a resonant structure with cylindrical symmetry. Optimal error bounds are derived. Received May 4, 1994 / Revised version received September 27, 1994     

A sparse finite element method with high accuracy Part I

Summary. In this paper, we develop and analyze a new finite element method called the sparse finite element method for second order elliptic problems. This method involves much fewer degrees of freedom than the standard finite element method. We show nevertheless that such a sparse finite element method still possesses the superconvergence and other high accuracy properties same as those of the standard finite element method. The main technique in our analysis is the use of some integral identities. Received October 1, 1995 / Revised version received August 23, 1999 / Published online February 5, 2001     

Convergence of a finite element method for non-parametric mean curvature flow

Summary. Convergence for the spatial discretization by linear finite elements of the non-parametric mean curvature flow is proved under natural regularity assumptions on the continuous solution. Asymptotic convergence is also obtained for the time derivative which is proportional to mean curvature. An existence result for the continuous problem in adequate spaces is included. Received September 30, 1993     

Superconvergence and a posteriori error estimation for triangular mixed finite elements

Summary. In this paper,we prove superconvergence results for the vector variable when lowest order triangular mixed finite elements of Raviart-Thomas type [17] on uniform triangulations are used, i.e., that the -distance between the approximate solution and a suitable projection of the real solution is of higher order than the -error. We prove results for both Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. Recently, Duran [9] proved similar results for rectangular mixed finite elements, and superconvergence along the Gauss-lines for rectangular mixed finite elements was considered by Douglas, Ewing, Lazarov and Wang in [11], [8] and [18]. The triangular case however needs some extra effort. Using the superconvergence results, a simple postprocessing of the approximate solution will give an asymptotically exact a posteriori error estimator for the -error in the approximation of the vector variable. Received December 6, 1992 / Revised version received October 2, 1993     

An unusual stabilized finite element method for a generalized Stokes problem

Summary. An unusual stabilized finite element is presented and analyzed herein for a generalized Stokes problem with a dominating zeroth order term. The method consists in subtracting a mesh dependent term from the formulation without compromising consistency. The design of this mesh dependent term, as well as the stabilization parameter involved, are suggested by bubble condensation. Stability is proven for any combination of velocity and pressure spaces, under the hypotheses of continuity for the pressure space. Optimal order error estimates are derived for the velocity and the pressure, using the standard norms for these unknowns. Numerical experiments confirming these theoretical results, and comparisons with previous methods are presented. Received April 26, 2001 / Revised version received July 30, 2001 / Published online October 17, 2001 Correspondence to: Gabriel R. Barrenechea     

An analysis of finite element locking in a parameter dependent model problem

Summary. We consider the bilinear finite element approximation of smooth solutions to a simple parameter dependent elliptic model problem, the problem of highly anisotropic heat conduction. We show that under favorable circumstances that depend on both the finite element mesh and on the type of boundary conditions, the effect of parametric locking of the standard FEM can be reduced by a simple variational crime. In our analysis we split the error in two orthogonal components, the approximation error and the consistency error, and obtain different bounds for these separate components. Also some numerical results are shown. Received September 6, 1999 / Revised version received March 28, 2000 / Published online April 5, 2001     

Analysis of finite difference schemes for unsteady Navier-Stokes equations in vorticity formulation

Summary. In this paper, we provide stability and convergence analysis for a class of finite difference schemes for unsteady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in vorticity-stream function formulation. The no-slip boundary condition for the velocity is converted into local vorticity boundary conditions. Thom's formula, Wilkes' formula, or other local formulas in the earlier literature can be used in the second order method; while high order formulas, such as Briley's formula, can be used in the fourth order compact difference scheme proposed by E and Liu. The stability analysis of these long-stencil formulas cannot be directly derived from straightforward manipulations since more than one interior point is involved in the formula. The main idea of the stability analysis is to control local terms by global quantities via discrete elliptic regularity for stream function. We choose to analyze the second order scheme with Wilkes' formula in detail. In this case, we can avoid the complicated technique necessitated by the Strang-type high order expansions. As a consequence, our analysis results in almost optimal regularity assumption for the exact solution. The above methodology is very general. We also give a detailed analysis for the fourth order scheme using a 1-D Stokes model. Received December 10, 1999 / Revised version received November 5, 2000 / Published online August 17, 2001     

Finite difference reaction–diffusion equations with nonlinear diffusion coefficients

Summary. A monotone iterative method for numerical solutions of a class of finite difference reaction-diffusion equations with nonlinear diffusion coefficient is presented. It is shown that by using an upper solution or a lower solution as the initial iteration the corresponding sequence converges monotonically to a unique solution of the finite difference system. It is also shown that the solution of the finite difference system converges to the solution of the continuous equation as the mesh size decreases to zero. Received February 18, 1998 / Revised version received April 21, 1999 / Published online February 17, 2000     

Quasi-norm error bounds for the finite element approximation of a non-Newtonian flow

Summary. We consider the finite element approximation of a non-Newtonian flow, where the viscosity obeys a general law including the Carreau or power law. For sufficiently regular solutions we prove energy type error bounds for the velocity and pressure. These bounds improve on existing results in the literature. A key step in the analysis is to prove abstract error bounds initially in a quasi-norm, which naturally arises in degenerate problems of this type. Received May 25, 1993 / Revised version received January 11, 1994     

A term by term stabilization algorithm for finite element solution of incompressible flow problems

This paper introduces a stabilization technique for Finite Element numerical solution of 2D and 3D incompressible flow problems. It may be applied to stabilize the discretization of the pressure gradient, and also of any individual operator term such as the convection, curl or divergence operators, with specific levels of numerical diffusion for each one of them. Its computational complexity is reduced with respect to usual (residual-based) stabilization techniques. We consider piecewise affine Finite Elements, for which we obtain optimal error bounds for steady Navier-Stokes and also for generalized Stokes equations (including convection). We include some numerical experiment in well known 2D test cases, that show its good performances. Received March 15, 1996 / Revised version received January 17, 1997     

On a decoupled algorithm for solving a finite element problem for the approximation of viscoelastic fluid flow

Summary. The aim of this work is to study a decoupled algorithm of a fixed point for solving a finite element (FE) problem for the approximation of viscoelastic fluid flow obeying an Oldroyd B differential model. The interest for this algorithm lies in its applications to numerical simulation and in the cost of computing. Furthermore it is easy to bring this algorithm into play. The unknowns are the viscoelastic part of the extra stress tensor, the velocity and the pressure. We suppose that the solution is sufficiently smooth and small. The approximation of stress, velocity and pressure are resp. discontinuous, continuous, continuous FE. Upwinding needed for convection of , is made by discontinuous FE. The method consists to solve alternatively a transport equation for the stress, and a Stokes like problem for velocity and pressure. Previously, results of existence of the solution for the approximate problem and error bounds have been obtained using fixed point techniques with coupled algorithm. In this paper we show that the mapping of the decoupled fixed point algorithm is locally (in a neighbourhood of ) contracting and we obtain existence, unicity (locally) of the solution of the approximate problem and error bounds. Received July 29, 1994 / Revised version received March 13, 1995     

A second order finite difference error indicator for adaptive transonic flow computations

Summary. An adaptive finite element method for the calculation of transonic potential flows was developed. An error indicator based on first order finite differences of gradients is introduced as a local error estimator. It measures second order distributional derivatives. Estimates involving this error estimator, a residual and the error are given. The error estimator can be used as a criterion for mesh refinement. We also give some computational results. Received September 16, 1993 / Revised version received June 7, 1994     

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     

The Mortar finite element method with Lagrange multipliers

Summary. The present paper deals with a variant of a non conforming domain decomposition technique: the mortar finite element method. In the opposition to the original method this variant is never conforming because of the relaxation of the matching constraints at the vertices (and the edges in 3D) of subdomains. It is shown that, written under primal hybrid formulation, the approximation problem, issued from a discretization of a second order elliptic equation in 2D, is nonetheless well posed and provides a discrete solution that satisfies optimal error estimates with respect to natural norms. Finally the parallelization advantages consequence of this variant are also addressed. Received December 1, 1996 / Revised version received November 23, 1998 / Published online September 24, 1999     

A mixed formulation for 3D magnetostatic problems: theoretical analysis and face-edge finite element approximation

Summary. A mixed field-based variational formulation for the solution of threedimensional magnetostatic problems is presented and analyzed. This method is based upon the minimization of a functional related to the error in the constitutive magnetic relationship, while constraints represented by Maxwell's equations are imposed by means of Lagrange multipliers. In this way, both the magnetic field and the magnetic induction field can be approximated by using the most appropriate family of vector finite elements, and boundary conditions can be imposed in a natural way. Moreover, this method is more suitable than classical approaches for the approximation of problems featuring strong discontinuities of the magnetic permeability, as is usually the case. A finite element discretization involving face and edge elements is also proposed, performing stability analysis and giving error estimates. Received January 23, 1998 / Revised version received July 23, 1998 / Published online September 24, 1999