A Local Refinement Finite Element Method for Time Dependent Partial Differential Equations,

Abstract

This article discusses an adaptive local refinement finite element method for solving initial-boundary value problems for vector systems of partial differential equations in one space dimension and time. The method uses piecewise bilinear rectangular space-time finite elements. For each time step, grids are automatically added to regions where the local discretization error is estimated as being larger than a prescribed tolerance. The authors discuss several aspects of our algorithm, including the tree structure that is used to represent the finite element solution and grids, an error estimation technique, and initial and boundary conditions at coarse-fine mesh interfaces. They also present computational results for a simple linear hyperbolic problem, a problem involving Burger's equation, and a model combustion problem. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1985
Accession Number
ADP004938

Entities

People

  • J. E. Flaherty
  • P. K. Moore

Organizations

  • Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Value Problems
  • Differential Equations
  • Equations
  • Finite Element Analysis
  • Formulas (Mathematics)
  • Mathematical Analysis
  • Mathematics
  • Partial Differential Equations
  • Real Variables

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

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

Technology Areas

  • Space