This monograph presents a summary account of the subject of a posteriori error estimation for finite element approximations of problems in mechanics. The study primarily focuses on methods for linear elliptic boundary value problems. However, error estimation for unsymmetrical systems, nonlinear problems, including the Navier-Stokes equations, and indefinite problems, such as represented by the Stokes problem are included. The main thrust is to obtain error estimators for the error measured in the energy norm, but techniques for other norms are also discussed.

A Posteriori Error Estimation in Finite Element Analysis

This book is a tutorial written by researchers and developers behind the FEniCS Project and explores an advanced, expressive approach to the development of mathematical software. The presentation spans mathematical background, software design and the use of FEniCS in applications. Theoretical aspects are complemented with computer code which is available as free/open source software. The book begins with a special introductory tutorial for beginners. Followingare chapters in Part I addressing fundamental aspects of the approach to automating the creation of finite element solvers. Chapters in Part II address the design and implementation of the FEnicS software. Chapters in Part III present the application of FEniCS to a wide range of applications, including fluid flow, solid mechanics, electromagnetics and geophysics.

Automated Solution of Differential Equations by the Finite Element Method: The FEniCS Book

In this paper, we study the local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) methods for nonlinear, time-dependent convection-diffusion systems. These methods are an extension of the Runge--Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) methods for purely hyperbolic systems to convection-diffusion systems and share with those methods their high parallelizability, high-order formal accuracy, and easy handling of complicated geometries for convection-dominated problems. It is proven that for scalar equations, the LDG methods are L2-stable in the nonlinear case. Moreover, in the linear case, it is shown that if polynomials of degree k are used, the methods are kth order accurate for general triangulations; although this order of convergence is suboptimal, it is sharp for the LDG methods. Preliminary numerical examples displaying the performance of the method are shown.

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The Local Discontinuous Galerkin Method for Time-Dependent Convection-Diffusion Systems

This article surveys a general approach to error control and adaptive mesh design in Galerkin finite element methods that is based on duality principles as used in optimal control. Most of the existing work on a posteriori error analysis deals with error estimation in global norms like the ‘energy norm’ or the L2 norm, involving usually unknown ‘stability constants’. However, in most applications, the error in a global norm does not provide useful bounds for the errors in the quantities of real physical interest. Further, their sensitivity to local error sources is not properly represented by global stability constants. These deficiencies are overcome by employing duality techniques, as is common in a priori error analysis of finite element methods, and replacing the global stability constants by computationally obtained local sensitivity factors. Combining this with Galerkin orthogonality, a posteriori estimates can be derived directly for the error in the target quantity. In these estimates local residuals of the computed solution are multiplied by weights which measure the dependence of the error on the local residuals. Those, in turn, can be controlled by locally refining or coarsening the computational mesh. The weights are obtained by approximately solving a linear adjoint problem. The resulting a posteriori error estimates provide the basis of a feedback process for successively constructing economical meshes and corresponding error bounds tailored to the particular goal of the computation. This approach, called the ‘dual-weighted-residual method’, is introduced initially within an abstract functional analytic setting, and is then developed in detail for several model situations featuring the characteristic properties of elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic problems. After having discussed the basic properties of duality-based adaptivity, we demonstrate the potential of this approach by presenting a selection of results obtained for practical test cases. These include problems from viscous fluid flow, chemically reactive flow, elasto-plasticity, radiative transfer, and optimal control. Throughout the paper, open theoretical and practical problems are stated together with references to the relevant literature.

An optimal control approach to a posteriori error estimation in finite element methods

Barycentric interpolation is a variant of Lagrange polynomial interpolation that is fast and stable. It deserves to be known as the standard method of polynomial interpolation.

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Barycentric Lagrange Interpolation

Knowing thus the Algorithm of this calculus, which I call Differential Calculus, all differential equations can be solved by a common method (Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, 1646–1719).
When, severa ...

Introduction to Adaptive Methods for Differential Equations

This paper is the first part in a series of papers on adaptive finite element methods for parabolic problems. In this paper, an adaptive algorithm is presented and analyzed for choosing the space a...

Adaptive finite element methods for parabolic problems. I.: a linear model problem

From the Publisher:
This two volume introduction to the computational solution of differential equations uses a unified approach organized around the adaptive finite element method It presents a synthesis of mathematical modeling, analysis, and computation

Computational Differential Equations

We extend our program on adaptive finite element methods for parabolic problems to a class of nonlinear scalar problems. We prove a posteriori error estimates, design corresponding adaptive algorithms, and present some numerical results.

Adaptive finite element methods for parabolic problems IV: nonlinear problems

Optimal error estimates are derived for a complete discretization of linear parabolic problems using space–time finite elements. The discretization is done first in time using the discontinuous Galerkin method and then in space using the standard Galerkin method. The underlying partitions in time and space need not be quasi uniform and the partition in space may be changed from time step to time step. The error bounds show, in particular, that the error may be controlled globally in time on a given tolerance level by controlling the discretization error on each individual time step on the same (given) level, i.e., without error accumulation effects. The derivation of the estimates is based on the orthogonality of the Galerkin procedure and the use of strong stability estimates. The particular and precise form of these error estimates makes it possible to design efficient adaptive methods with reliable automatic error control for parabolic problems in the norms under consideration.

Kenneth Eriksson

Papers

Introduction to Adaptive Methods for Differential Equations

Adaptive finite element methods for parabolic problems. I.: a linear model problem

Computational Differential Equations

Adaptive finite element methods for parabolic problems IV: nonlinear problems

Adaptive finite element methods for parabolic problems II: optimal error estimates in L ∞ L 2 and L ∞ L ∞