Primal Mixed Formulation Research Articles

Mass conservation in the validation of fluid-poroelastic structure interaction solvers

Benchmark problems commonly used to test numerical methods for fluid-poroelastic structure interaction often rely on simple examples constructed using the method of manufactured solutions. In this work, we show that such examples are not adequate to demonstrate the performance of the method, especially in cases when the poroelastic system is written in the primal or primal-mixed formulation, and when the dynamics of the poroelastic structure are driven only by dynamic loading from the fluid, which often occurs in biomedical applications. In those cases, the only forcing on the structure comes from the interaction with the fluid at the fluid-structure interface, where the coupling conditions are imposed. One of those conditions is a kinematic condition which enforces the conservation of mass. If this condition is not accurately satisfied, the resulting dynamics might lead to highly inaccurate results in the entire domain. We present three benchmark problems: Example 1 is based on the method of manufactured solutions; Example 2 is based on parameters used in geomechanics; and Example 3 is a benchmark problem with parameters from hemodynamics. Using these examples, we test the performance of the primal, primal-mixed and dual-mixed formulations. While all methods perform well in the first two examples, the primal and primal-mixed formulations exhibit large errors in Example 3, where the densities of the fluid and solid are comparable, and the structure dynamics is purely driven by the fluid loading. To recover the accuracy, we propose to use the primal and primal-mixed methods with a penalty term, which helps to enforce the conservation of mass.

A stabilized cut finite element method for the Darcy problem on surfaces

We develop a cut finite element method for the Darcy problem on surfaces. The cut finite element method is based on embedding the surface in a three dimensional finite element mesh and using finite element spaces defined on the three dimensional mesh as trial and test functions. Since we consider a partial differential equation on a surface, the resulting discrete weak problem might be severely ill conditioned. We propose a full gradient and a normal gradient based stabilization computed on the background mesh to render the proposed formulation stable and well conditioned irrespective of the surface positioning within the mesh. Our formulation extends and simplifies the Masud–Hughes stabilized primal mixed formulation of the Darcy surface problem proposed in Hansbo and Larson (2016) on fitted triangulated surfaces. The tangential condition on the velocity and the pressure gradient is enforced only weakly, avoiding the need for any tangential projection. The presented numerical analysis accounts for different polynomial orders for the velocity, pressure, and geometry approximation which are corroborated by numerical experiments. In particular, we demonstrate both theoretically and through numerical results that the normal gradient stabilized variant results in a high order scheme.

A saddle point least squares approach for primal mixed formulations of second order PDEs

We present a Saddle Point Least Squares (SPLS) method for discretizing second order elliptic problems written as primal mixed variational formulations. A stability LBB condition and a data compatibility condition at the continuous level are automatically satisfied. The proposed discretization method follows a general SPLS approach and has the advantage that a discrete inf–sup condition is automatically satisfied for standard choices of the test and trial spaces. For the proposed iterative processes a nodal basis for the trial space is not required. Efficient preconditioning techniques that involve inversion only on the test space can be considered. Stability and approximation properties for two choices of discrete spaces are investigated. Applications of the new approach include discretization of second order problems with highly oscillatory coefficient, interface problems, and higher order approximation of the flux for elliptic problems with smooth coefficients.

A primal-mixed formulation for the strong coupling of quasi-Newtonian fluids with porous media

In this work we analyze a primal-mixed finite element method for the coupling of quasi-Newtonian fluids with porous media in 2D and 3D. The flows are governed by a class of nonlinear Stokes and linear Darcy equations, respectively, and the transmission conditions on the interface between the fluid and the porous medium are given by mass conservation, balance of normal forces and the Beavers-Joseph-Saffman law. We apply a primal formulation in the Stokes domain and a mixed formulation in the Darcy formulation. The "strong coupling" concept means that the conservation of mass across the interface is introduced as an essential condition in the space where the velocity unknowns live. In this way, under some assumptions on the nonlinear kinematic viscosity, a generalization of the Babuska-Brezzi theory is utilized to show the well posedness of the primal-mixed formulation. Then, we introduce a Galerkin scheme in which the discrete conservation of mass is imposed approximately through an orthogonal projector. The unique solvability of this discrete system and its Strang-type error estimate follow from the generalized Babuska-Brezzi theory as well. In particular, the feasible finite element subspaces include Bernadi-Raugel elements for the Stokes flow, and either the Raviart-Thomas elements of lowest order or the Brezzi-Douglas-Marini elements of first order for the Darcy flow, which yield nonconforming and conforming Galerkin schemes, respectively. In turn, piecewise constant functions are employed to approximate in both cases the global pressure field in the Stokes and Darcy domain. Finally, several numerical results illustrating the good performance of both discrete methods and confirming the theoretical rates of convergence, are provided.

Primal-mixed formulations for reaction–diffusion systems on deforming domains

We propose a finite element formulation for a coupled elasticity–reaction–diffusion system written in a fully Lagrangian form and governing the spatio-temporal interaction of species inside an elastic, or hyper-elastic body. A primal weak formulation is the baseline model for the reaction–diffusion system written in the deformed domain, and a finite element method with piecewise linear approximations is employed for its spatial discretization. On the other hand, the strain is introduced as mixed variable in the equations of elastodynamics, which in turn acts as coupling field needed to update the diffusion tensor of the modified reaction–diffusion system written in a deformed domain. The discrete mechanical problem yields a mixed finite element scheme based on row-wise Raviart–Thomas elements for stresses, Brezzi–Douglas–Marini elements for displacements, and piecewise constant pressure approximations. The application of the present framework in the study of several coupled biological systems on deforming geometries in two and three spatial dimensions is discussed, and some illustrative examples are provided and extensively analyzed.

3D finite element modeling and simulation of industrial semiconductor devices including impact ionization

In this article we address the numerical study of 3D semiconductor devices for applications in electronics industry including charge generation phenomena due to impact ionization. With this aim, we propose two novel 3D finite element (FE) models (methods A and B), for electron and hole Drift-Diffusion (DD) current densities. Method A is based on a primal-mixed formulation of the DD model as a function of the quasi-Fermi potential gradient, while method B is a modification of the standard DD formula based on the introduction of an artificial diffusion matrix. Method A is a Galerkin FE approximation of the density current (written in generalized ohmic form) where the harmonic average of the electrical conductivity is used instead of the standard average while method B is a genuine 3D extension of the classic 1D Scharfetter-Gummel difference formula interpreted as a stabilized Galerkin FE approximation with the use of an ‘optimal’ artificial diffusion. The proposed methods are compared in the 3D simulation of a p-n junction diode and of a p-MOS transistor in the on-state regime. Results show that method A outperforms method B in physical accuracy and numerical stability. Method A is then used in the 3D simulation of a n-MOS transistor in the off-state regime including impact ionization. Results demonstrate that the model is able to accurately compute the I-V characteristic of the device until drain-to-bulk junction breakdown.

A numerical study of primal mixed finite element approximations of Darcy equations

AbstractA numerical study of several finite element approximations for the primal mixed formulation of the Darcy equations is presented. In all cases the pressure is approximated by continuous piecewise‐linear functions. The difference between each scheme is in the choice of the finite element approximation space for the velocity. Numerical tests confirm the theoretical convergence of some of these schemes and we investigate the convergence properties of schemes for which theoretical results are not available. Numerical results for some 2D problems suggest that some of the new schemes provide better convergence properties for the velocity. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A primal mixed formulation for exterior transmission problems in ${\bf R}^2$

We combine a primal mixed finite element approach with a Dirichlet-to-Neumann mapping (arising from the boundary integral equation method) to study the weak solvability and Galerkin approximations of a class of linear exterior transmission problems in potential theory. Our results are mainly based on the Babuska-Brezzi theory for variational problems with constraints. We establish the uniqueness of solution for the continuous and discrete formulations, and show that finite element subspac es of Lagrange type satisfy the discrete compatibility conditions. In addition, we provide the error analysis, including polygonal approximations of the domain, and prove strong convergence of the Galerkin solutions. Moreover, under additional regularity assumptions on the solution of the continuous formulation, we obtain the asymptotic rate of convergence O(h).

An Unconstrained Mixed Method for the Biharmonic Problem

In this work we present a finite element method for the biharmonic problem based on the primal mixed formulation of Ciarlet and Raviart [A mixed finite element method for the biharmonic equation, in Symposium on Mathematical Aspects of Finite Elements in Partial Differential Equations, C. de Boor, ed., Academic Press, New York, 1974, pp. 125--143]. We introduce a dual mesh and a suitable approximation of the constraint that enables us to eliminate the auxiliary variable with no computational effort. Thus, the discrete problem turns to be governed by a system of linear equations with symmetric and positive definite coefficients and can be solved by classical algorithms. The construction of the stiffness matrix is obtained by using Courant triangles and can be done with great efficiency.

Primal mixed formulations for the coupling of FEM and BEM. Part I: linear problems

We apply the boundary integral equation method and a primal mixed finite element approach to study the weak solvability and Galerkin approximations of linear interior transmission problems arising in potential theory and elastostatics. The existence and uniqueness of solution of the resulting weak formulations and of the associated discrete schemes are derived by using the classical theory for variational problems with constraints. Suitable finite element subspaces of Lagrange type satisfying the compatibility conditions are utilized for defining the Galerkin scheme. The error analysis and corresponding rates of convergence are also provided.