Approximate Solution of Two Dimensional Disc-like Systems by One Dimensional Reduction: An Approach through the Green Function Formalism Using the Finite Elements Method

Abstract

We present a comprehensive study for common second order PDE’s in two dimensional disc-like systems and show how their solution can be approximated by finding the Green function of an effective one dimensional system. After elaborating on the formalism, we propose to secure an exact solution via a Fourier expansion of the Green function, which entails solving an infinitely countable system of differential equations for the Green–Fourier modes that in the simplest case yields the source-free Green distribution. We present results on non separable systems—or such whose solution cannot be obtained by the usual variable separation technique—on both annulus and disc geometries, and show how the resulting one dimensional Fourier modes potentially generate a near-exact solution. Numerical solutions will be obtained via finite differentiation using Finite Difference Method (FDM) or Finite Element Method (FEM) with the three-point stencil approximation to derivatives. Comparing to known exact solutions, our results achieve an estimated numerical relative error below 10−6. Solutions show the well-known presence of peaks when r=r′ and a smooth behavior otherwise, for differential equations involving well-behaved functions. We also verified how the Green functions are symmetric under the presence of a “weight function”, which is guaranteed to exist in the presence of a curl-free vector field. Solutions of non-homogeneous differential equations are also shown using the Green formalism and showing consistent results.