Some remarks on the constant in the strengthened CBS inequality: Estimate for hierarchical finite element discretizations of elasticity problems

For a class of two‐dimensional boundary value problems including diffusion and elasticity problems, it is proved that the constants in the corresponding strengthened Cauchy‐Buniakowski‐Schwarz (CBS) inequality in the cases of two‐level hierarchical piecewise‐linear/piecewise‐linear and piecewise‐linear/piecewise‐quadratic finite element discretizations with triangular meshes differ by the factor 0.75. For plane linear elasticity problems and triangulations with right isosceles triangles, formulas are presented that show the dependence of the constant in the CBS inequality on the Poisson's ratio. Furthermore, numerically determined bounds of the constant in the CBS inequality are given for plane linear elasticity problems discretized by means of arbitrary triangles and for three‐dimensional elasticity problems discretized by means of tetrahedral elements. Finally, the robustness of iterative solvers for elasticity problems is discussed briefly. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 15: 469–487, 1999