Adaptive Finite Element Method I: Solution Algorithm and Computational Examples.

Abstract

An adaptive finite element method is developed to solve initial boundary value problems for vector systems of parabolic partial differential equations in one space dimension and time. The differential equations are discretized in space using piecewise linear finite element approximations. Superconvergence properties and quadratic polynomials are used to derive a computation ally inexpensive approximation to the spatial component of the error. This technique is coupled with time integration schemes of successively higher orders to obtain an approximation of the temporal and total discretization errors. These approximate errors are used to control an adaptive mesh refinement strategy. Refinement is performed in space, time, or both space and time depending on the dominant component of the error estimate. A computer code coupling this refinement strategy and stable mesh movement has been written and applied to a number of problems. These computations confirm that proper mesh movement can reduce the computational efforts associated with mesh refinement

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA288979

Entities

People

  • J. E. Flaberty
  • J. M. Coyle

Organizations

  • United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Chemical Reactions
  • Computational Complexity
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computational Science
  • Computations
  • Computers
  • Differential Equations
  • Elastic Waves
  • Engineering
  • Equations
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Military Research
  • Numerical Analysis
  • Partial Differential Equations
  • Polynomials
  • Radial Stress

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)

Technology Areas

  • Space