Local Adaptive Mesh Research Articles

A posteriori-based, local multilevel mesh refinement for the Darcy porous media flow problem

In this work we develop an a posteriori-based adaptive local multilevel mesh refinement strategy for the Darcy porous media flow problem discretized with the finite volume method. Our approach is based on coupling the FIC “flux interface correction” method [1] and the equilibrated flux a posteriori error estimate [2]. The choice of the FIC method is motivated by the fact that it is well-adapted to problems discretized in conservative form since that the FIC provides corrections by balancing fluxes computed from both coarse and fin grids across the interface. The equilibrated flux a posteriori error estimate provides a guaranteed upper bound on the total error in the fluxes and takes advantage of the conservative scheme in such a way that the estimate can be easily coded and cheaply evaluated. We use this a posteriori estimate to detect automatically the zone of interest where the error is dominant in order to defined the local sub-grids. Numerous numerical experiments on practical problems illustrate the performance of our methodology. A comparison with a classical h-adaptive method is also carried out in this work.

Adaptive Local Mesh Refinement in 2D Finite Volume Method for Steady State and Transient Simulations of Semiconductor Devices

Adaptive Local Mesh Refinement in 2D Finite Volume Method for Steady State and Transient Simulations of Semiconductor Devices

ADAPTIVE PHASE-FIELD CONCURRENT MULTISCALE METHOD FOR EFFICIENT SIMULATION OF QUASI-BRITTLE FRACTURE

An adaptive phase-field concurrent multiscale method for efficient simulation of quasi-brittle fracture is presented. In this method, the analysis model is first subjected to coarse mesh discretization and the corresponding damage phase field calculation analysis. Then, adaptive dynamic local mesh refinement is performed for the coarse scale elements exceeding the given damage threshold during the iterative process. The locally refined mesh is defined as the local subdomain, the outermost coarse elements of the refined mesh, and the coarse elements without refinement are defined as the global subdomain. The variant s-version method is used to realize the direct coupling connection of mismatched meshes in different subdomains and the application of the continuity condition of field variables on the global-local subdomain interface. The division of the local subdomain, the global subdomain, and their overlapping domain are dynamically updated with the crack propagation path in the proposed method. The generation of the global-local computing mesh has great flexibility without the need for scale separation, which provides a more concise and flexible implementation for multiscale phase field adaptive simulation. The proposed method overcomes the extra burden and complexity of field variable conversion between coarse and fine scales, imposition of continuity conditions, and program implementation in existing phase field multiscale methods, which can be easily applied to the analysis on damage-fracture behavior of quasi-brittle structures. Typical examples verify the correctness, robustness, and advantages of the method.

Local Mesh Refinement and Coarsening Based on Analysis-Suitable T-Splines Surface and Its Application in Contact Problem

AbstractIn contact analysis, reducing the computing time has been an issue under the premise of ensuring calculation accuracy around the region with violent stress changes. To improve computational efficiency for contact analysis in flexible multibody system, this paper proposes an adaptive local mesh refinement and coarsening approach based on analysis-suitable T-splines (ASTS). First, the kinematic model of thin plate is established based on analysis-suitable T-spline surface, and large deformation of flexible thin plate is described by the elastic model created by nonlinear Green–Lagrange strain. Second, to reduce computing time in contact analysis and ensure analysis accuracy, based on contact state and refinement distance, an effective adaptive local element mesh update method is proposed, which only refine locally on subject's refinement region and integrate redundant elements to reduce the degree-of-freedom (DOF) of system. Third, to analyze the system with varying mesh, a new solving algorithm with dynamic variables and geometry update routine is developed. Finally, performance of the proposed method in static and dynamic simulation is validated by four numerical examples. Results and consuming time of ASTS-based varying mesh prove the feasibility of the proposed method in contact problems.

Multiresolution-Based Mesh Adaptation and Error Control for Lattice Boltzmann Methods with Applications to Hyperbolic Conservation Laws

Lattice Boltzmann methods (LBM) stand out for their simplicity and computational efficiency while offering the possibility of simulating complex phenomena. While they are optimal for Cartesian meshes, adapted meshes have traditionally been a stumbling block since it is difficult to predict the right physics through various levels of meshes. In this work, we design a class of fully adaptive LBM methods with dynamic mesh adaptation and error control relying on multiresolution analysis. This wavelet-based approach allows us to adapt the mesh based on the regularity of the solution and leads to a very efficient compression of the solution without loosing its quality and with the preservation of the properties of the original LBM method on the finest grid. This yields a general approach for a large spectrum of schemes and allows precise error bounds, without the need for deep modifications on the reference scheme. An error analysis is proposed. For the purpose of validating this error analysis, we conduct a series of test cases for various schemes and scalar and systems of conservation laws, where solutions with shocks are to be found and local mesh adaptation is especially relevant. Theoretical estimates are retrieved while a reduced memory footprint is observed. It paves the way to an implementation in a multidimensional framework and high computational efficiency of the method for both parabolic and hyperbolic equations, which is the subject of a companion paper.

An ALE residual distribution scheme for the unsteady Euler equations over triangular grids with local mesh adaptation

This work presents a novel interpolation-free mesh adaptation technique for the Euler equations within the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian framework. For the spatial discretization, we consider a residual distribution scheme, which provides a pretty simple way to achieve high order accuracy on unstructured grids. Thanks to a special interpretation of the mesh connectivity changes as a series of fictitious continuous deformations, we can enforce by construction the so-called geometric conservation law, which helps to avoid spurious oscillations while solving the governing equations over dynamic domains. This strategy preserves the numerical properties of the underlying, fixed-connectivity scheme, such as conservativeness and stability, as it avoids an explicit interpolation of the solution between different grids. The proposed approach is validated through the two-dimensional simulations of steady and unsteady flow problems over unstructured grids.

Modified equation based mesh adaptation algorithm for evolutionary scalar partial differential equations

AbstractIt is well known that on uniform mesh classical higher order schemes for evolutionary problems yield an oscillatory approximation of the solution containing discontinuity or boundary layers. In this article, an entirely new approach for constructing locally adaptive mesh is given to compute nonoscillatory solution by representative “second” order schemes. This is done using modified equation analysis and a notion of data dependent stability of schemes to identify the solution regions for local mesh adaptation. The proposed algorithm is applied on scalar problems to compute the solution with discontinuity or boundary layer. Presented numerical results show underlying second order schemes approximate discontinuities and boundary layers without spurious oscillations.

A residual‐based error estimator and mesh adaptivity for the time harmonic Maxwell equations applied to a Y‐beam splitter

AbstractIn this work, local mesh adaptivity for the time harmonic Maxwell equations is studied. The main purpose is to apply a known a posteriori residual‐based error estimator from the literature and to investigate its performance for a Y‐beam splitter setting. This configuration is an important prototype for the design of optical systems within the excellence cluster PhoenixD. Specifically, the branching region is of interest and requires a high accuracy of the numerical simulation. One numerical example shows the performance of our approach.

Dynamics of Single Droplet Splashing on Liquid Film by Coupling FVM with VOF

A three-dimensional numerical study of a single droplet splashing vertically on a liquid film is presented. The numerical method is based on the finite volume method (FVM) of Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the volume of fluid (VOF) method, and the adaptive local mesh refinement technology is adopted. It enables the liquid–gas interface to be tracked more accurately, and to be less computationally expensive. The relationship between the diameter of the free rim, the height of the crown with different numbers of collision Weber, and the thickness of the liquid film is explored. The results indicate that the crown height increases as the Weber number increases, and the diameter of the crown rim is inversely proportional to the collision Weber number. It can also be concluded that the dimensionless height of the crown decreases with the increase in the thickness of the dimensionless liquid film, which has little effect on the diameter of the crown rim during its growth.

Polynomial spline spaces of non-uniform bi-degree on T-meshes: combinatorial bounds on the dimension

Polynomial splines are ubiquitous in the fields of computer-aided geometric design and computational analysis. Splines on T-meshes, especially, have the potential to be incredibly versatile since local mesh adaptivity enables efficient modeling and approximation of local features. Meaningful use of such splines for modeling and approximation requires the construction of a suitable spanning set of linearly independent splines, and a theoretical understanding of the spline space dimension can be a useful tool when assessing possible approaches for building such splines. Here, we provide such a tool. Focusing on T-meshes, we study the dimension of the space of bivariate polynomial splines, and we discuss the general setting where local mesh adaptivity is combined with local polynomial degree adaptivity. The latter allows for the flexibility of choosing non-uniform bi-degrees for the splines, i.e., different bi-degrees on different faces of the T-mesh. In particular, approaching the problem using tools from homological algebra, we generalize the framework and the discourse presented by Mourrain (Math. Comput. 83(286):847–871, 2014) for uniform bi-degree splines. We derive combinatorial lower and upper bounds on the spline space dimension and subsequently outline sufficient conditions for the bounds to coincide.

Elastoplastic and limit analysis of 3D steel assemblies using second-order cone programming and dual finite-elements

We investigate the use of a second-order cone programming (SOCP) framework for computing complex 3D steel assemblies in the context of elastoplasticity and limit analysis. Displacement and stress-based variational formulations are considered and appropriate finite-element discretization strategies are chosen, yielding respectively an upper and lower bound estimate of the exact solution. An efficient interior-point algorithm is used to solve the associated optimization problems. The discrete solution convergence is estimated by comparing both static and kinematic solutions, offering a way to perform local mesh adaptation. The proposed framework is illustrated on the design of a moment-transmitting assembly, its performance is assessed by comparison with classical elastoplastic computations using Abaqus and, finally, T-stub resistance and failure mechanisms when assessing the strength of a column base plate are compared with the Eurocodes design rules.

IPACS: Integrated Phase-Field Advanced Crack Propagation Simulator. An adaptive, parallel, physics-based-discretization phase-field framework for fracture propagation in porous media

In this work, we review and describe our computational framework for solving multiphysics phase-field fracture problems in porous media. Therein, the following five coupled nonlinear physical models are addressed: displacements (geo-mechanics), a phase-field variable to indicate the fracture position, a pressure equation (to describe flow), a proppant concentration equation, and/or a saturation equation for two-phase fracture flow, and finally a finite element crack width problem. The overall coupled problem is solved with a staggered solution approach, known in subsurface modeling as the fixed-stress iteration. A main focus is on physics-based discretizations. Galerkin finite elements are employed for the displacement-phase-field system and the crack width problem. Enriched Galerkin formulations are used for the pressure equation. Further enrichments using entropy-vanishing viscosity are employed for the proppant and/or saturation equations. A robust and efficient quasi-monolithic semi-smooth Newton solver, local mesh adaptivity, and parallel implementations allow for competitive timings in terms of the computational cost. Our framework can treat two- and three-dimensional realistic field and laboratory examples. The resulting program is an in-house code named IPACS (Integrated Phase-field Advanced Crack Propagation Simulator) and is based on the finite element library deal.II. Representative numerical examples are included in this document.

A semi-implicit conservative sharp-interface method for liquid-solid phase transition

The solidification of an undercooled liquid is physically unstable. The dominating instability modes are affected by both the evolving temperature field in the solid and liquid phases, and characteristics of the phase interface such as the curvature and the propagation velocity. To capture the instability mode, therefore both the temperature field and the interface have to be represented accurately in a numerical model of the phase-change process. In this work, we develop conservative interface exchange terms for a sharp-interface formulation of liquid-solid phase transition. Conservation at the interface is maintained by explicit formulation of interface fluxes into both solid and liquid phases. We propose a semi-implicit level-set formulation to evolve the phase interface. A new formulation for the interface surface in a cut cell is derived, which includes the Stefan condition. We achieve low numerical dissipation by an explicit third-order Runge-Kutta scheme for time discretization, and a novel WENO-like (Weighted Essentially Non-Oscillatory) interface-gradient reconstruction. This distinguishes our level-set based sharp-interface model from previous level-set based approaches, which rely on finite-difference based interface treatment, and thus do not ensure discrete conservation at the interface. The flux terms in our approach take into account surface-tension and kinetic effects on the interface temperature (Gibbs-Thomson relation). The Stefan condition provides a relation between interface fluxes of mass and energy, and the interface-propagation velocity. Computational efficiency is maintained by a multiresolution approach for local mesh adaptation, and an adaptive local time-stepping scheme.We present one- and two-dimensional simulation results for the growth of a planar solidification front and a single parabolic dendrite affected by surface tension. The results agree well with experimental and analytical reference data, showing that the model is capable to capture both stable (planar) and unstable (dendritic-like) growth processes in the heat-diffusion dominated regime. The convergence order for successively finer meshes in the one-dimensional case is one for the interface location and the temperature field, outperforming previously reported level-set based approaches. We present numerical data of a growing crystal with four-fold symmetry. Our results indicate that the artificial dissipation of the underlying numerical scheme affects its capability to reproduce consistently physical tip-splitting instabilities. The proposed low-dissipation scheme is able to resolve such instabilities. Finally, we demonstrate the capability of the method to simulate multiple growing crystals with anisotropic surface-tension and kinetic effects.

Mesh adaptivity for quasi‐static phase‐field fractures based on a residual‐type a posteriori error estimator

In this work, we consider adaptive mesh refinement for a monolithic phase‐field description for fractures in brittle materials. Our approach is based on an a posteriori error estimator for the phase‐field variational inequality realizing the fracture irreversibility constraint. The key goal is the development of a reliable and efficient residual‐type error estimator for the phase‐field fracture model in each time‐step. Based on this error estimator, error indicators for local mesh adaptivity are extracted. The proposed estimator is based on a technique known for singularly perturbed equations in combination with estimators for variational inequalities. These theoretical developments are used to formulate an adaptive mesh refinement algorithm. For the numerical solution, the fracture irreversibility is imposed using a Lagrange multiplier. The resulting saddle‐point system has three unknowns: displacements, phase‐field, and a Lagrange multiplier for the crack irreversibility. Several numerical experiments demonstrate our theoretical findings with the newly developed estimators and the corresponding refinement strategy.

Inf–sup conditions on convex cones and applications to limit load analysis

The paper is devoted to a family of specific inf–sup conditions generated by tensor-valued functions on convex cones. First, we discuss the validity of such conditions and estimate the value of the respective constant. Then, the results are used to derive estimates of the distance to dual cones, which are required in the analysis of limit loads of perfectly plastic structures. The equivalence between the static and kinematic approaches to limit analysis is proven and computable majorants of the limit load are derived. Particular interest is paid to the Drucker–Prager yield criterion. The last section exposes a collection of numerical examples including basic geotechnical stability problems. The majorants of the limit load are computed and expected failure mechanisms of structures are visualized using local mesh adaptivity.

A p-multigrid strategy with anisotropic p-adaptation based on truncation errors for high-order discontinuous Galerkin methods

High-order discontinuous Galerkin methods have become a popular technique in computational fluid dynamics because their accuracy increases spectrally in smooth solutions with the order of the approximation. However, their main drawback is that increasing the order also increases the computational cost. Several techniques have been introduced in the past to reduce this cost. On the one hand, local mesh adaptation strategies based on error estimation have been proposed to reduce the number of degrees of freedom while keeping a similar accuracy. On the other hand, multigrid solvers may accelerate time marching computations for a fixed number of degrees of freedom.In this paper, we combine both methods and present a novel anisotropic p-adaptation multigrid algorithm for steady-state problems that uses the multigrid scheme both as a solver and as an anisotropic error estimator. To achieve this, we show that a recently developed anisotropic truncation error estimator [1, A. M. Rueda-Ramírez, G. Rubio, E. Ferrer, E. Valero, Truncation error estimation in the p-anisotropic discontinuous Galerkin spectral element method, J. Sci. Comput.] is perfectly suited to be performed inside the multigrid cycle with negligible extra cost. Furthermore, we introduce a multi-stage p-adaptation procedure which reduces the computational time when very accurate results are required.The proposed methods are tested for the compressible Navier–Stokes equations, where we investigate two steady-state cases. First, the 2D boundary layer flow on a flat plate is studied to assess accuracy and computational cost of the algorithm, where a speed-up of 816 is achieved compared to the traditional explicit method. Second, the 3D flow around a sphere is simulated and used to test the anisotropic properties of the proposed method, where a speed-up of 152 is achieved compared to the explicit method. The proposed multi-stage procedure achieved a speed-up of 2.6 in comparison to the single-stage method in highly accurate simulations.

A simple adaptive mesh refinement scheme for topology optimization using polygonal meshes

The objective of topology optimization is to find the most efficient distribution of material (optimal topology) in a given domain, subjected to design constraints defined by the user. The quality of the new boundary representation depends on the level of mesh refinement: The greater the number of elements in the mesh, the better is the representation of the optimized structure. However, the use of refined meshes implies a high computational cost, particularly with regard to the numerical solution of the linear systems of equations that arise from the finite element method. This paper proposes a new computational strategy for adaptive local mesh refinement using polygonal finite elements in arbitrary two-dimensional domains. The idea is to perform a mesh refinement in regions of material concentration, mostly in inner and outer boundaries, and a mesh derefinement in regions of low material concentration, such as in internal holes. Thus, it is possible to obtain high-resolution optimal topologies with a relatively low computational cost. Representative examples are presented to demonstrate the robustness and efficiency of the proposed methodology by comparing the results obtained here with results from the literature where refined meshes are kept constant throughout the topology optimization process.

On the coupling of local multilevel mesh refinement and ZZ methods for unilateral frictional contact problems in elastostatics

This paper addresses an efficient and robust automatic adaptive local multilevel mesh refinement strategy for unilateral frictional contact problems in elastostatics. The proposed strategy couples the Local Defect Correction multigrid method LDC (Hackbusch, 1984) with the ZZ (Zienkiewicz and Zhu, 1987) a posteriori error estimator. An extension of LDC method to frictional contact problems is introduced. An interesting feature of this extended LDC algorithm is that it still only lies on interpolations of displacement fields. Neither forces conservation nor exchange of contact status is required between the refinement levels. The ZZ a posteriori error estimator is exploited to automatically build the sub-grids of the LDC method. A criterion linked to the relative error in stress is used. The efficiency of the proposed strategy is analyzed on examples derived from nuclear engineering. Practical numerical choices are proposed and justified. The refinement process automatically varies and stops with respect to a given tolerance. Post-treatments show that the sub-grids focus around the contact areas and that the converged LDC solution always respects the prescribed tolerance.

An interpolation-free ALE scheme for unsteady inviscid flows computations with large boundary displacements over three-dimensional adaptive grids

A novel strategy to solve the finite volume discretization of the unsteady Euler equations within the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian framework over tetrahedral adaptive grids is proposed. The volume changes due to local mesh adaptation are treated as continuous deformations of the finite volumes and they are taken into account by adding fictitious numerical fluxes to the governing equation. This peculiar interpretation enables to avoid any explicit interpolation of the solution between different grids and to compute grid velocities so that the Geometric Conservation Law is automatically fulfilled also for connectivity changes. The solution on the new grid is obtained through standard ALE techniques, thus preserving the underlying scheme properties, such as conservativeness, stability and monotonicity. The adaptation procedure includes node insertion, node deletion, edge swapping and points relocation and it is exploited both to enhance grid quality after the boundary movement and to modify the grid spacing to increase solution accuracy. The presented approach is assessed by three-dimensional simulations of steady and unsteady flow fields. The capability of dealing with large boundary displacements is demonstrated by computing the flow around the translating infinite- and finite-span NACA 0012 wing moving through the domain at the flight speed. The proposed adaptive scheme is applied also to the simulation of a pitching infinite-span wing, where the bi-dimensional character of the flow is well reproduced despite the three-dimensional unstructured grid. Finally, the scheme is exploited in a piston-induced shock-tube problem to take into account simultaneously the large deformation of the domain and the shock wave. In all tests, mesh adaptation plays a crucial role.

Parallelization of the multi-level [formula omitted]-adaptive finite cell method

The multi-level hp-refinement scheme is a powerful extension of the finite element method that allows local mesh adaptation without the trouble of constraining hanging nodes. This is achieved through hierarchical high-order overlay meshes, a hp-scheme based on spatial refinement by superposition. An efficient parallelization of this method using standard domain decomposition approaches in combination with ghost elements faces the challenge of a large basis function support resulting from the overlay structure and is in many cases not feasible. In this contribution, a parallelization strategy for the multi-level hp-scheme is presented that is adapted to the scheme’s simple hierarchical structure. By distributing the computational domain among processes on the granularity of the active leaf elements and utilizing shared mesh data structures, good parallel performance is achieved, as redundant computations on ghost elements are avoided. We show the scheme’s parallel scalability for problems with a few hundred elements per process. Furthermore, the scheme is used in conjunction with the finite cell method to perform numerical simulations on domains of complex shape.