Discrete maximum principle of a high order finite difference scheme for a generalized Allen–Cahn equation

Abstract

We consider solving a generalized Allen-Cahn equation coupled with a passive convection for a given incompressible velocity field. The numerical scheme consists of the first order accurate stabilized implicit explicit time discretization and a fourth order accurate finite difference scheme, which is obtained from the finite difference formulation of the $Q^2$ spectral element method. We prove that the discrete maximum principle holds under suitable mesh size and time step constraints. The same result also applies to construct a bound-preserving scheme for any passive convection with an incompressible velocity field.