Explicit and implicit FEM-FCT algorithms with flux linearization

Abstract

A new approach to the design of flux-corrected transport (FCT) algorithms for continuous (linear/multilinear) finite element approximations of convection-dominated transport problems is pursued. The algebraic flux correction paradigm is revisited, and a family of nonlinear high-resolution schemes based on Zalesak’s fully multidimensional flux limiter is considered. In order to reduce the cost of flux correction, the raw antidiffusive fluxes are linearized about an auxiliary solution computed by a high- or low-order scheme. By virtue of this linearization, the costly computation of solution-dependent correction factors is to be performed just once per time step, and there is no need for iterative defect correction if the governing equation is linear. A predictor–corrector algorithm is proposed as an alternative to the hybridization of high- and low-order fluxes. Three FEM-FCT schemes based on the Runge–Kutta, Crank–Nicolson, and backward Euler time-stepping are introduced. A detailed comparative study is performed for linear convection–diffusion equations.