Finite element approximations with quadrature for second‐order hyperbolic equations

In this article, the effect of numerical quadrature on the finite element Galerkin approximations to the solution of hyperbolic equations has been studied. Both semidiscrete and fully discrete schemes are analyzed and optimal estimates are derived in the L^∞(H¹), L^∞(L²) norms, whereas quasi‐optimal estimate is derived in the L^∞(L^∞) norm using energy methods. The analysis in the present paper improves upon the earlier results of Baker and Dougalis SIAM J Numer Anal 13 (1976), pp 577–598] under the minimum smoothness assumptions of Rauch SIAM J Numer Anal 22 (1985), pp 245–249] for a purely second‐order hyperbolic equation with quadrature. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 18: 537–559, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/num.10022