65N30 Finite elements, Rayleigh-Ritz and Galerkin methods, finite methods
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- finite element method (6)
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- geodesic finite elements (3)
- mixed finite elements (3)
- optimal control (3)
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With symmetric local absorbing boundary conditions for the Helmholtz equation scattering problems can be solved on a truncated domain, where the outgoing radiation condition is approximated by a Dirichlet-to-Neumann map with higher tangential derivatives on its outer boundary. Feng's conditions are symmetric local absorbing boundary conditions, which are based on an asymptotic expansion of the coefficients of the exact Dirichlet-to-Neumann map for large radia of the circular outer boundary. In this article we analyse the well-posedness of variational formulations with symmetric local absorbing boundary conditions in general and show how the modelling error introduced by Feng's conditions depends on the radius of the truncated domain.
Adaptive Numerical Solution of Eigenvalue Problems arising from Finite Element Models. AMLS vs. AFEM
(2015)
We discuss adaptive numerical methods for the solution of eigenvalue problems arising either
from the finite element discretization of a partial differential equation (PDE) or from discrete finite element modeling.
When a model is described by a partial differential equation, the adaptive finite element method
starts from a coarse finite element mesh which, based on a posteriori error estimators, is adaptively refined
to obtain eigenvalue/eigenfunction approximations of prescribed accuracy. This method is well established for classes of elliptic PDEs,
but is still in its infancy for more complicated PDE models.
For complex technical systems, the typical approach is to directly derive finite element models
that are discrete in space and are combined with macroscopic models to describe certain phenomena like damping or friction.
In this case one typically starts with a fine uniform mesh and computes eigenvalues and eigenfunctions using
projection methods from numerical linear algebra that are often combined with the algebraic multilevel
substructuring to achieve an adequate performance.
These methods work well in practice but their convergence and error analysis is rather difficult.
We analyze the relationship between these two extreme approaches. Both approaches have their pros and cons which are discussed in detail.
Our observations are demonstrated with several numerical examples.
The efficient and reliable computation of guided modes in photonic crystal wave-guides is of great importance for designing optical devices. Transparent boundary conditions based on Dirichlet-to-Neumann operators allow for an exact computation of well-confined modes and modes close to the band edge in the sense that no modelling error is introduced. The well-known super-cell method, on the other hand, introduces a modelling error which may become prohibitively large for guided modes that are not well-confined. The Dirichlet-to-Neumann transparent boundary conditions are, however, not applicable for all frequencies as they are not uniquely defined and their computation is unstable for a countable set of frequencies that correspond to so called Dirichlet eigenvalues. In this work we describe how to overcome this theoretical difficulty introducing Robin-to-Robin transparent boundary conditions whose construction do not exhibit those forbidden frequencies. They seem, hence, well suited for an exact and reliable computation of guided modes in photonic crystal wave-guides.
In this paper we present an efficient algorithm for the calculation of photonic crystal band structures and band structures of photonic crystal waveguides. Our method relies on the fact that the dispersion curves of the band structure are smooth functions of the quasi-momentum in the one-dimensional Brillouin zone. We show the derivation and computation of the group velocity, the group velocity dispersion, and any higher derivative of the dispersion curves. These derivatives are then employed in a Taylor expansion of the dispersion curves. We control the error of the Taylor expansion with the help of a residual estimate and introduce an adaptive scheme for the selection of nodes in the one-dimensional Brillouin zone at which we solve the underlying eigenvalue problem and compute the derivatives of the dispersion curves. The proposed algorithm is not only advantageous as it decreases the computational effort to compute the band structure but also because it allows
for the identification of crossings and anti-crossings of dispersion curves, respectively. This identification is not possible with the standard approach of solving the underlying eigenvalue problem at a discrete set of values of the quasi-momentum without taking the mode parity into account.
In this work we present a complete algorithm for the exact computation of the guided mode band structure in photonic crystal (PhC) wave-guides. In contrast to the supercell method, the used approach does not introduce any modelling error and is hence independent of the confinement of the modes. The approach is based on Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DtN) transparent boundary conditions that yield a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. For the solution of this nonlinear eigenvalue problem we present a direct technique using Chebyshev interpolation that requires a band gap calculation of the PhC in advance. For this band gap calculation –- we introduce as a very efficient tool –- a Taylor expansion of the PhC band structure. We show that our algorithm –- like the supercell method –- converges exponentially, however, its computational costs –- in comparison to the supercell method –- only increase moderately since the size of the matrix to be inverted remains constant.
In this paper, we introduce a high order finite element (FEM) implementation using perfectly matched layer (PML) for the scattering by plasmonic structures inside layered media. The PML is proven to be very accurate and efficient by a comparative analysis with a commercial FEM software and the Multiple Multipole Program (MMP). A convergence analysis using hp-adaptive refinement inside the PML layer
shows that adaptive mesh refinement inside the PML layer is most efficient. Based on this convergence analysis an hp-strategy is proposed, which shows a remarkable error reduction for small additional computational costs.
According to the Helmholtz decomposition,
the irrotational parts of the momentum balance equations of
the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are balanced by the
pressure gradient.
Unfortunately, nearly all mixed methods for incompressible flows
violate this fundamental property, resulting in the well-known
numerical instability of poor mass conservation.
The origin of this problem is the
lack of $L^2$-orthogonality between discretely divergence-free velocities
and irrotational vector fields.
In order to cure this,
a new variational crime using divergence-free
velocity reconstructions is proposed.
Applying lowest order Raviart-Thomas velocity reconstructions
to the nonconforming Crouzeix-Raviart element
allows to construct
a cheap flow discretization for general 2d and 3d
simplex meshes that possesses the same
advantageous robustness properties like divergence-free flow
solvers.
In the Stokes case,
optimal a-priori error estimates for the velocity gradients
and the pressure are derived. Moreover, the discrete velocity
is independent of the continuous pressure.
Several detailed linear and nonlinear
numerical examples illustrate the theoretical findings.
We present new residual estimates based on Kato's square root theorem for spectral approximations of diagonalizable non-self-adjoint differential operators of convection-diffusion-reaction type. These estimates are incorporated as part of an hp-adaptive finite element algorithm for practical spectral computations, where it is shown that the
resulting a posteriori error estimates are reliable. Provided experiments demonstrate the efficiency and reliability of our approach.
The computation of guided modes in photonic crystal wave-guides is a key issue in the process of designing devices in photonic communications. Existing methods, such as the super-cell method, provide an efficient computation of well-confined modes. However, if the modes are not well-confined, the modelling error of the super-cell method becomes prohibitive and advanced methods applying transparent boundary conditions for periodic media are needed. In this work we demonstrate the numerical realization of a recently proposed Dirichlet-to-Neumann approach and compare the results with those of the super-cell method. For the resulting non-linear eigenvalue problem we propose an iterative solution based on Newton's method and a direct solution using Chebyshev interpolation of the non-linear operator. Based on the Dirichlet-to-Neumann approach, we present a formula for the group velocity of guided modes that can serve as an objective function in the optimization of photonic crystal wave-guides.
Grad-div stabilization has been proved to be a very useful tool in discretizations
of incompressible flow problems. Standard error analysis for inf-sup stable conforming pairs of
finite element spaces predicts that the stabilization parameter should be optimally chosen
to be $\mathcal O(1)$. This paper revisits this choice for the Stokes equations on the basis
of minimizing the $H^1(\Omega)$ error of the velocity and the $L^2(\Omega)$ error of the pressure.
It turns out, by applying a refined error analysis, that the optimal parameter choice is more subtle
than known so far in the literature. It depends on the used norm,
the solution, the family of finite
element spaces, and the type of mesh. Depending on the situation, the
optimal
stabilization parameter might range from being very small to very large.
The analytic results
are supported by numerical examples.
This paper discusses adaptive finite element methods (AFEMs) for the solution of elliptic eigenvalue problems associated with partial differential operators. An adaptive method based on nodal-patch refinement leads to an asymptotic error reduction property for the computed sequence of simple eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. This justifies the use of the proven saturation property for a class of reliable and efficient hierarchical a posteriori error estimators. Numerical experiments confirm that the saturation property is present even for very coarse meshes for many examples; in other cases the smallness assumption on the initial mesh may be severe.
We discuss the possibility of computing eigenpairs of some prototypical linear second-order self-adjoint elliptic partial differential operator (or its high-resolution finite element discretization) by numerical upscaling techniques. We compute a low-dimensional generalized finite element space that preserves small eigenvalues in a superconvergent way. The approximate eigenpairs are then obtained by solving the corresponding low-dimensional algebraic eigenvalue problem. The rigorous error bounds are based on two-scale decompositions of H1 by means of a certain Clement-type quasi-interpolation operator.
In this paper we propose and analyze a new Multiscale Method for solving semi-linear elliptic problems with heterogeneous and highly variable coeffcient functions. For this purpose we construct a generalized finite element basis that spans a low dimensional multiscale space. The basis is assembled by performing localized linear finescale computations in small patches that have a diameter of order H |log(H)| where H is the coarse mesh size. Without any assumptions on the type of the oscillations in the coeffcients, we give a rigorous proof for a linear convergence of the H1-error with respect to the coarse mesh
size. To solve the arising equations, we propose an algorithm that is based on a damped Newton scheme in the multiscale space.
A novel Finite Element Method (FEM) for the computational simulation in particle reinforced composite materials with many inclusions is presented. It is based on an adapted mesh which consists of triangles and parametric quadrilaterals in 2D. The number of elements and, hence, the number of degrees of freedom are proportional to the number of inclusions. The error of the method is independent of the distance of the neighboring inclusions. While being related to network methods, the approach can tackle more general settings. We present an efficient residual a posteriori error estimator which enables to compute reliable upper and lower error bounds. Several numerical examples illustrate the performance of the method and the error estimator. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the assumption of a lattice structure of inclusions can easily lead to incorrect predictions about material properties.
Recent research has shown that
in some practically relevant situations like multi-physics flows[11]
divergence-free mixed finite elements may have a significantly
smaller discretization error than standard non-divergence-free
mixed finite elements. In order to judge the overall performance of
divergence-free mixed finite elements, we
investigate linear solvers for the saddle point linear systems arising in $((P_k)^d,P_{k-1}^{disc})$ Scott-Vogelius finite element implementations of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. We investigate both direct and iterative solver methods.
Due to discontinuous pressure elements in the case of Scott-Vogelius elements, considerably more solver strategies seem to deliver promising results than in the case of standard mixed finite elements like
Taylor-Hood elements. For direct methods, we extend recent preliminary work using sparse banded solvers on the penalty method formulation to finer meshes, and discuss extensions. For iterative methods, we test augmented Lagrangian and H-LU preconditioners with GMRES, on both full and statically condensed systems.
Several numerical experiments are provided that show these classes of solvers are well suited for use with Scott-Vogelius elements, and could deliver an interesting overall performance in several applications.
We consider a shape implant design problem that arises in the context of facial surgery. We introduce a reformulation as an optimal control problem, where the control acts as a boundary force. The state is modelled as a minimizer of a polyconvex hyperelastic energy functional. We show existence of optimal solutions and derive - on a formal level - first order optimality conditions. Finally, preliminary numerical results are presented.
A capillary surface in a negative gravitational field describes the shape of the surface of a hanging drop in a capillary tube with wetting material on the bottom. Mathematical modeling leads to the volume- and obstacle-constrained minimization of a nonconvex nonlinear energy functional of mean curvature type which is unbounded from below. In 1984 Huisken proved the existence and regularity of local minimizers of this energy under the condition on gravitation being sufficiently weak. We prove convergence of a first order finite element approximation of these minimizers. Numerical results demonstrating the theoretic convergence order are given.
We present a unified computational framework for matching 3d geometric objects (points, lines, surfaces, volumes) of highly varying shape. Our approach is based on the Large Deformation Diffeomorphic Metric Mapping (LDDMM) method acting on $m$-currents. After stating an optimization algorithm in the function space of admissible morph generating velocity fields, two innovative aspects in this framework are presented: First, we spatially discretize the velocity field with conforming adaptive finite elements and discuss advantages of this new approach. Secondly, we directly compute the temporal evolution of discrete $m$-current attributes. Several numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
Analysis of the second phase of the GMRES convergence for a convection-diffusion model problem
(2012)
It is well konwn that GMRES applied to linear algebraic systems arising from a convection-diffusion model problem that has been discretized by the streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) method, typically displays two distinct phases of convergence: a slow initial phase followed by a convergence acceleration in the second phase. This paper complements the known results on the length of the initial phase by analyzing how the acceleration in the second phase of convergence is related to the mesh Peclet number and the choice of the stabilization parameter in the SUPG discretization. The analysis is based on some new expressions and bounds for the GMRES residuals, which can be of general interest.
Global spatial regularity for elasticity models with cracks, contact and other nonsmooth constraints
(2012)
A global higher differentiability result in Besov
spaces is proved for the displacement fields of linear elastic models
with self contact.
Domains with cracks are studied, where nonpenetration
conditions/Signorini conditions are imposed on the crack faces.
It is shown that
in a neighborhood of crack tips (in 2D) or
crack fronts (3D) the displacement fields are
$B^{3/2}_{2,\infty}$ regular.
The proof relies on a difference
quotient argument for the directions tangential to the crack. In order
to obtain the regularity estimates also in the normal direction, an
argument due to
Ebmeyer/Frehse/Kassmann is modified.
The methods are then applied to further examples like
contact problems with nonsmooth rigid foundations, to a model with
Tresca friction and
to minimization problems with
nonsmooth energies and constraints as they occur for instance in the modeling of
shape memory alloys.
Based on Falk's approximation Theorem for variational
inequalities, convergence rates for FE-discretizations of contact
problems are derived relying on the proven regularity properties.
Several numerical examples illustrate the theoretical results.
This paper establishes the equivalence of conforming Courant finite element method and nonconforming Crouzeix-Raviart finite element method in the sense that the respective energy error norms are equivalent up to generic constants and higher-order data oscillations in a Poisson model problem. The Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element method is better than the previous two whereas the conjecture of the converse relation is proved to be false.
This paper completes the analysis of comparison initiated by Braess in Calcolo (2010). Two numerical benchmarks illustrate the comparison theorems and the possible strict superiority of the Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element method. Applications include least-squares finite element methods and equality of approximation classes for concepts of optimality for adaptive finite element methods.
Explicit Error Estimates for Courant, Crouzeix-Raviart and Raviart-Thomas Finite Element Methods
(2011)
The elementary analysis of this paper presents explicit expressions of the constants in the a priori error estimates for the lowest-order Courant, Crouzeix-Raviart nonconforming and Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element methods in the Poisson model problem. The three constants and their dependences on some maximal angle in the triangulation are indeed all comparable and allow accurate a priori error control.
We investigate geodesic finite elements for functions with values in a space of zero curvature, like a torus or the M\"obius strip. Unlike in the general case, a closed-form expression for geodesic finite element functions is then available. This simplifies computations, and allows us to prove optimal estimates for the interpolation error in 1d and 2d. We also show the somewhat surprising result that the discretization by Kirchhoff transformation of the Richards equation proposed by Berninger et al. is a discretization by geodesic finite elements in the manifold $\mathbb{R}$ with a special metric.
This paper presents some weighted H2-regularity estimates for a model Poisson problem with discontinuous coefficient at high contrast. The coefficient represents a random particle reinforced composite material, i.e., highly conducting circular particles are randomly distributed in some background material with low conductivity. Based on these regularity results we study the percolation of thermal conductivity of the material as the volume fraction of the particles is close to the jammed state. We proof that the characteristic percolation behavior of the material is well captured by standard conforming finite element models.
In this paper a high-order finite element method with curvilinear elements is proposed for the simulation of plasmonic structures. Most finite element packages use low order basis functions and non-curved elements, which is very costly for demanding problems such as the simulation of nano-antennas. To enhance the performance of finite elements, we use curvilinear quadrilateral elements to calculate the near-field from an impinging plane wave with
second order absorbing boundary conditions. The magnetic field amplitude on the surface of one object is compared with a computation based on a multiple multipole expansion. Moreover, the convergence behavior of p-FEM with absorbing boundary conditions motivate an adaptive strategy of polynomial degree enhancement and enlargement of the domain.
The focus of this note lies on the numerical analysis of models describing the propagation
of a single crack in a linearly elastic material. The evolution of the crack is modeled as a
rate-independent process based on the Griffith criterion. We follow two different approaches
for setting up mathematically well defined models: the global energetic approach and an
approach based on a viscous regularization.
We prove the convergence of solutions of fully discretized models (i.e. with respect to time
and space) and derive relations between the discretization parameters (mesh size, time step
size, viscosity parameter, crack increment) which guarantee the convergence of the schemes.
Further, convergence rates are provided for the approximation of energy release rates by
certain discrete energy release rates. Thereby we discuss both, models with self-contact
conditions on the crack faces as well as models with pure Neumann conditions on the crack
faces. The convergence proofs rely on regularity estimates for the elastic fields close to the
crack tip and local and global finite element error estimates. Finally the theoretical results
are illustrated with some numerical calculations.
We introduce geodesic finite elements as a conforming way to discretize partial differential equations for functions $v : \Omega \to M$, where $\Omega$ is an open subset of $\R^d$ and $M$ is a Riemannian manifold. These geodesic finite elements naturally generalize standard first-order
finite elements for Euclidean spaces. They also generalize the geodesic finite elements proposed for $d=1$ by the author. Our formulation is equivariant under isometries of $M$, and hence preserves objectivity of continuous problem formulations. We concentrate on partial differential equations that can be formulated as minimization problems. Discretization leads to algebraic minimization problems on product manifolds $M^n$. These can be solved efficiently
using a Riemannian trust-region method. We propose a monotone multigrid method to solve the constrained inner problems with linear multigrid speed. As an example we numerically compute harmonic maps from a domain in $\R^3$
to $S^2$.
We propose transmission conditions of order $1$, $2$ and $3$ approximating the shielding behaviour of thin conducting curved sheets for the magneto-quasistatic eddy current model in 2D. This model reduction applies to sheets whose thicknesses $\eps$ are at the order of the skin depth or essentially smaller. The sheet has itself not to be resolved, only its midline is represented by an interface. The computation is directly in one step with almost no additional cost. We prove the well-posedness w.r.t.~to the small parameter $\eps$ and obtain optimal bound for the modelling error outside the sheet of order $\eps^{N+1}$ for the condition of order $N$. We end the paper with numerical experiments involving high order finite elements for sheets with varying curvature.
We consider Large Deformation Diffeomorphic Metric Mapping of general $m$-currents. After stating an optimization algorithm in the function space of admissable morph generating velocity fields, two innovative aspects in this framework are presented and numerically investigated: First, we spatially discretize the velocity field with conforming adaptive finite elements and discuss advantages of this new approach. Second, we directly compute the temporal evolution of discrete $m$-current attributes.
Three families of transmission conditions of different order are proposed for thin conducting sheets in the eddy current model. Resolving the thin sheet by a finite element mesh is often not possible. With these transmission conditions only the middle curve, but not the thin sheet itself, has not to be resolved by a finite element mesh. The families of transmission conditions are derived by an asymptotic expansion for small sheet thicknesses $\eps$, where each family results from a different asymptotic framework. In the first asymptotic framework the conductivity remains constant, scales with $1/\eps$ in the second and with $1/\eps^2$ in the third. The different asymptotics lead to different limit conditions, namely the vanishing sheet, a non-trivial borderline case, and the impermeable sheet, as well as different transmission conditions of higher orders. We investigated the stability, the convergence of the transmission conditions as well as their robustness. We call transmission conditions robust, if they provide accurate approximation for a wide range of sheet thicknesses and conductivities. We introduce an ordering of transmission conditions for the same sheet with respect to the robustness, and observe that the condition derived for the $1/\eps$ asymptotics is the most robust limit condition, contrary to order 1 and higher, where the transmission conditions derived for the $1/\eps^2$ asymptotics turn out to be most robust.
This paper presents concepts and implementation of the finite element toolbox Kaskade 7, a flexible C++ code for solving elliptic and parabolic PDE systems. Issues such as problem formulation, assembly and adaptivity are discussed at the example of optimal control problems. Trajectory compression for parabolic optimization problems is considered as a case study.
In this paper we will consider elliptic boundary value problems with
oscillatory diffusion coefficient, say A. We will derive regularity
estimates in Sobolev norms which are weighted by certain derivatives of A.
The constants in the regularity estimates then turn out to be independent of
the variations in A.
These regularity results will be employed for the derivation of error
estimates for hp-finite element discretizations which are explicit with
respect to the local variations of the diffusion coefficient.
This paper presents a combined adaptive finite element method with an iterative algebraic eigenvalue solver for the Laplace eigenvalue problem of quasi-optimal computational complexity. The analysis is based on a direct approach for eigenvalue problems and allows the use of higher order conforming finite element spaces with fixed polynomial degree k>0. The optimal adaptive finite element eigenvalue solver (AFEMES) involves a proper termination criterion for the algebraic eigenvalue solver and does not need any coarsening. Numerical evidence illustrates the optimal computational complexity.
We introduce geodesic finite elements as a new way to discretize
the nonlinear configuration space of a geometrically exact Cosserat rod.
These geodesic finite elements naturally generalize standard one-dimensional
finite elements to spaces of functions with values in a Riemannian manifold.
For the special orthogonal group, our approach reproduces the
interpolation formulas of [Crisfield/Jelenic:1999].
Geodesic finite elements are
conforming and lead to objective and path-independent problem formulations.
We introduce geodesic finite elements for general Riemannian manifolds,
discuss the relationship between geodesic finite elements and
coefficient vectors, and estimate the interpolation error.
Then we use them to find static equilibria of hyperelastic Cosserat rods.
Using the Riemannian trust-region algorithm of [Absil/Mahony/Sepulchre:2008]
we show numerically that the discretization error depends optimally on
the mesh size.
A posteriori error estimators for non-symmetric eigenvalue model problems are discussed in [Heuveline and Rannacher, A posteriori error control for finite element approximations of elliptic eigenvalue problems, 2001] in the context of the dual-weighted residual method (DWR). This paper directly analyses the variational formulation rather than the non-linear ansatz of Becker and Rannacher for some convection-diffusion model problem and presents error estimators for the eigenvalue error based on averaging techniques. In the case of linear P1 finite elements and globally constant coefficients, the error estimates of the residual and averaging error estimators are refined. Moreover, several postprocessing techniques attached to the DWR paradigm plus two new dual-weighted error estimators are compared in numerical experiments. The first new estimator utilises an auxiliary Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element method and the second exploits an averaging technique in combination with ideas of DWR.
Various applications in fluid dynamics and computational continuum mechanics motivate the development of reliable and efficient adaptive algorithms for mixed finite element methods. In order to save degrees of freedom, not all but just some selected set of finite element domains are refined. Hence the fundamental question of convergence as well as the question of optimality require new mathematical arguments. The presented adaptive algorithm for Raviart-Thomas mixed finite element methods solves the Poisson model problem, with optimal convergence rate.
Chen, Holst, and Xu presented "convergence and optimality of adaptive mixed finite element methods" (2008) following arguments of Rob Stevenson for the conforming finite element method. Their algorithm reduces oscillations separately, before approximating the solution by some adaptive algorithm in the spirit of W. Dörfler (1996). The algorithm proposed here appears more natural in switching to either reduction of the edge-error estimator or of the oscillations.
We consider a new adaptive finite element (AFEM) algorithm for elliptic PDE-eigenvalue problems.
In contrast to other approaches we incorporate the iterative solution of the resulting finite dimensional
algebraic eigenvalue problems into the adaptation process.
In this way we can balance the costs of the adaption process
for the mesh with the costs for the iterative eigenvalue method. We present error estimates that incorporate
the discretization errors, approximation errors in the eigenvalue solver and roundoff errors and use
these for the adaptation process. We show that for the adaptation process it is possible to restrict to
very few iterations
of a Krylov subspace solver for the eigenvalue problem on coarse meshes.
We present several examples and show that this new approach achieves
much better complexity than previous AFEM approaches which assume that the algebraic
eigenvalue problem is solved to full accuracy.
We present and analyze novel hierarchical a posteriori error estimates
for self-adjoint elliptic obstacle problems.
Our approach differs from straightforward, but non-reliable estimators~\cite{RHWHoppe_RKornhuber_1994a}
by an additional extra term accounting for the deviation
of the discrete free boundary in the localization step.
We prove efficiency and reliability
on a saturation assumption and a regularity condition on the underlying grid.
Heuristic arguments suggest
that the extra term is of higher order and preserves full locality.
Numerical computations confirm our theoretical findings.
We consider an adaptive finite element method (AFEM) for obstacle problems associated with linear second order elliptic boundary value problems and prove a reduction in the energy norm of the discretization error which leads to $R$-linear convergence. This result is shown to hold up to a consistery error due to the extension of the discrete multipliers (point functionals) to $H^{-1}$ and a possible mismatch between the continuous and discrete coincidence and noncoincidence sets. The AFEM is based on a residual-type error estimator consisting of element and edge residuals. The a posteriori error analysis reveals that the significant difference to the unconstrained case lies in the fact that these residuals only have to be taken into account within the discrete noncoincidence set. The proof of the error reduction property uses the reliability and the discrete local efficiency of the estimator as well as a perturbed Galerkin orthogonality. Numerical results are given illustrating the performance of the AFEM.
The discontinuous Galerkin (dG) method provides a hierarchy of time discretization schemes for evolutionary problems. A dG time discretization has been proposed for a variational inequality in the context of rate-independent inelastic material behaviour in [Alberty, Carstensen: Discontinuous {G}alerkin Time Discretization in Elastoplasticity: Motivation, Numerical Algorithms and Applications, Comp. Meth. Appl. Mech. Engrg. \textbf{191} (2002)] with the help of duality in convex analysis to justify certain jump terms. Convincing numerical experiments have already been displayed in the literature.\This paper establishes a mathematical a~priori error analysis for the dG($1$) scheme with discontinuous piecewise linear polynomials in the temporal and first-order finite elements for the spacial discretization. One novel key idea in the a~priori convergence analysis is an optimal trace estimate under convex constraints. The numerical investigation of the empirical convergence rate in a benchmark concludes the paper.
A refined a posteriori error analysis for symmetric eigenvalue problems and the convergence of the first-order adaptive finite element method (AFEM) is presented. The $H^1$ stability of the $L^2$ projection provides reliability and efficiency of the edge-contribution of standard residual-based error estimators for $P_1$ finite element methods. In fact, the volume contributions and even oscillations can be omitted for Courant finite element methods. This allows for a refined averaging scheme and so improves [Dong Mao, Lihua Shen and Aihui Zhou, Adaptive finite element algorithms for eigenvalue problems based on local averaging type a posteriori error estimates, Advanced in Computational Mathematics, 2006, 25: 135-160]. The proposed AFEM
monitors the edge-contributions in a bulk criterion and so enables a contraction property up to higher-order terms and global convergence. Numerical experiments exploit the remaining $L^2$ error contributions and confirm our theoretical findings. The averaging schemes show a high accuracy and the AFEM leads to optimal empirical convergence rates.
We construct and analyze multigrid methods
for discretized self-adjoint elliptic problems on triangular surfaces in $\RR^3$.
The methods involve the same weights for restriction and prolongation as in the case of planar triangulations
and therefore are easy to implement. We prove logarithmic bounds of the convergence
rates with constants solely depending on the ellipticity, the smoothers and on the
regularity of the triangles forming the triangular surface.
Our theoretical results are illustrated by numerical computations.
We show how time-dependent optimal control for partial differential equations can be realized in a modern high-level modeling and simulation package. We summarize the general formulation for distributed and boundary control for initial-boundary value problems for parabolic PDEs and derive the optimality system including the adjoint equation. The main difficulty therein is that the latter has to be integrated backwards in time. This implies that complicated implementation effort is necessary to couple state and adjoint equations to compute an optimal solution. Furthermore a large amount of computational effort or storage is required to provide the needed information (i.e the trajectories) of the state and adjoint variables. We show how this can be realized in the modeling and simulation package COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS, taking advantage of built-in discretization, solver and post-processing technologies and thus minimizing the implementation effort. We present two strategies: The treatment of the coupled optimality system in the space-time cylinder, and the iterative approach by sequentially solving state and adjoint system and updating the controls. Numerical examples show the elegance of the implementation and the efficiency of the two strategies.
We present globally convergent multigrid methods for the nonsymmetric
obstacle problems as arising from the discretization of Black–Scholes models of
American options with local volatilities and discrete data. No tuning or regularization
parameters occur. Our approach relies on symmetrization by transformation
and data recovery by superconvergence.
A class of optimal control problem for a semilinear elliptic partial differential equation
with control constraints is considered. It is well known that
sufficient second-order conditions ensure the stability of optimal solutions, the convergence of
numerical methods. Otherwise, such conditions are very difficult to verify (analytically or numerically).
We will propose a new approach: Starting with a numerical solution for a fixed mesh we will
show the existence of a local minimizer of the continuous problem. Moreover, we will prove that
this minimizer satisfies the sufficient second-order conditions.