A Numerical Comparison between Two Unconstrained Variational Formulations.
Abstract
In an effort to relieve the often cumbersome burden of meeting the requirements on the end conditions and to unify the solution formulation for boundary- and initial-value problems, unconstrained variational statements have been introduced in conjunction with some approximate methods. In the case of a boundary value problem, it is shown in this paper that two different variational statements can be established: one is arrived at by the use of the LaGrange multipliers, the other by energy considerations. The numerical convergence of the solutions associated with finite element schemes using one of these two different variational statements is compared with that of the other. In the case of an initial value problem, both formulations can again be established when the adjoint field variable and the adjoint variational statement are introduced. The numerical data presented here indicate that while both methods generate excellent convergent results for the boundary value problem, the method of stiff springs yields results which show much better convergence for the initial value problem than those achieved by LaGrange multipliers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA076176
Entities
People
- J. J. Wu
- T. E. Simkins
Organizations
- United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center