Raviart-Thomas Elements Research Articles

Explicit A Posteriori Error Representation for Variational Problems and Application to TV-Minimization

AbstractIn this paper, we propose a general approach for explicit a posteriori error representation for convex minimization problems using basic convex duality relations. Exploiting discrete orthogonality relations in the space of element-wise constant vector fields as well as a discrete integration-by-parts formula between the Crouzeix–Raviart and the Raviart–Thomas element, all convex duality relations are transferred to a discrete level, making the explicit a posteriori error representation –initially based on continuous arguments only– practicable from a numerical point of view. In addition, we provide a generalized Marini formula that determines a discrete primal solution in terms of a given discrete dual solution. We benchmark all these concepts via the Rudin–Osher–Fatemi model. This leads to an adaptive algorithm that yields a (quasi-optimal) linear convergence rate.

Comparison of finite element and discrete exterior calculus in computation of time-harmonic wave propagation with controllability

This paper discusses computation of time-harmonic wave problems using a mixed formulation and the controllability method introduced by Roland Glowinski. As an example, a scattering problem (in an exterior domain) is considered, and the continuous problem is first formulated in terms of differential forms. Based on the continuous formulation, we write the discrete problem and the controllability algorithm for methods based on both the finite element exterior calculus (FEEC) and the discrete exterior calculus (DEC). As the discrete exterior calculus method provides us with a diagonal “mass matrix”, time-stepping in the DEC approach is remarkably more efficient than in the FEEC approach. For the computations in this paper, we choose the lowest order Whitney elements (a.k.a. Raviart–Thomas elements) for the FEEC approach, and in the DEC discretization we use different diagonal approximations for the Hodge star. Especially, in the DEC approach, a “harmonic Hodge” approximation is used, the derivation of which is based on the time-harmonicity of the problem. Different type of grids are used to study the sensitivity of the solution to the quality of the grid. Putting an effort on meshes regular enough, the computed DEC-solution is as accurate as the FEEC-solution, but reached in the fraction of the time. Both methods seem to be able to keep the solution accuracy rather well in computations with a high wave number (corresponding to a high frequency and a small wave length).

Numerical Algorithms for Divergence-Free Velocity Applications

This work focuses on the well-known issue of mass conservation in the context of the finite element technique for computational fluid dynamic simulations. Specifically, non-conventional finite element families for solving Navier–Stokes equations are investigated to address the mathematical constraint of incompressible flows. Raviart–Thomas finite elements are employed for the achievement of a discrete free-divergence velocity. In particular, the proposed algorithm projects the velocity field into the discrete free-divergence space by using the lowest-order Raviart–Thomas element. This decomposition is applied in the context of the projection method, a numerical algorithm employed for solving Navier–Stokes equations. Numerical examples validate the approach’s effectiveness, considering different types of computational grids. Additionally, the presented paper considers an interface advection problem using marker approximation in the context of multiphase flow simulations. Numerical tests, equipped with an analytical velocity field for the surface advection, are presented to compare exact and non-exact divergence-free velocity interpolation.

A mixed finite element method for the forward problem of electrical impedance tomography with the shunt model

We propose a mixed finite element method for the forward problem of electrical impedance tomography with the shunt model. The method is based on a constrained minimization formulation in terms of the current density, where parts of the Lagrange multiplier are interpreted as the voltages on the electrodes. We justify the well-posedness of this continuous formulation, estimate the regularity of its solution, and use Raviart–Thomas elements for its discretization. The resulting mixed method is then proved to be stable, and converge especially with respect to the voltages on the electrodes. Simulation on a 2D model also gives consistent results.

Polytopal templates for semi-continuous vectorial finite elements of arbitrary order on triangulations and tetrahedralizations

The Hilbert spaces H(curl) and H(div) are employed in various variational problems formulated in the context of the de Rham complex in order to guarantee well-posedness. Seeing as the well-posedness follows automatically from the continuous setting to the discrete setting in the presence of commuting interpolants as per Fortin’s criterion, the construction of conforming subspaces becomes a crucial step in the formulation of stable numerical schemes. This work aims to introduce a novel, simple method of directly constructing semi-continuous vectorial base functions on the reference element via template vectors associated with the geometric polytopes of the element and an underlying H1-conforming polynomial subspace. The base functions are then mapped from the reference element to the element in the physical domain via consistent Piola transformations. The method is defined in such a way, that the underlying H1-conforming subspace can be chosen independently, thus allowing for constructions of arbitrary polynomial order. We prove a linearly independent construction of Nédélec elements of the first and second type, Brezzi–Douglas–Marini elements, and Raviart–Thomas elements on triangulations and tetrahedralizations. The application of the method is demonstrated with two examples in the relaxed micromorphic model.

A new optimal error analysis of a mixed finite element method for advection–diffusion–reaction Brinkman flow

AbstractThis article deals with the error analysis of a Galerkin‐mixed finite element methods for the advection–reaction–diffusion Brinkman flow in porous media. Numerical methods for incompressible miscible flow in porous media have been studied extensively in the last several decades. In practical applications, the lowest‐order Galerkin‐mixed method is the most popular one, where the linear Lagrange element is used for the concentration and the lowest‐order Raviart–Thomas element, the lowest‐order Nédélec edge element and piece‐wise constant discontinuous Galerkin element are used for the velocity, vorticity and pressure, respectively. The existing error estimate of this lowest‐order finite element method is only for all variables in spatial direction, which is not optimal for the concentration variable. This paper focuses on a new and optimal error estimate of a linearized backward Euler Galerkin‐mixed FEMs, where the second‐order accuracy for the concentration in spatial directions is established unconditionally. The key to our optimal error analysis is a new negative norm estimate for Nédélec edge element. Moreover, based on the computed numerical concentration, we propose a simple one‐step recovery technique to obtain a new numerical velocity, vorticity and pressure with second‐order accuracy. Numerical experiments are provided to confirm our theoretical analysis.

An efficient and easy-to-implement recovery-based a posteriori error estimator for isogeometric analysis of the Stokes equation

In this article, we present an efficient recovery-based a posteriori error estimator for adaptive isogeometric analysis (IGA) of the Stokes equation, which is straightforward to implement. The increased regularity of splines in IGA versus Lagrange polynomials used in the classical finite element method plays a significant role for the success of the presented recovery technique. We consider LR B-splines (Johannessen et al., 2014) for the adaptive mesh refinement, and the isogeometric Taylor–Hood element, Sub-Grid element (Buffa et al., 2011), and Raviart–Thomas element (divergence-conforming) (Buffa et al., 2010; Evans and Hughes, 2013; Johannessen et al., 2015) for the mixed discretization of the Stokes equation. Three benchmark problems with analytical solutions are tested, and they demonstrate clearly the great performance of the recovery-based error estimator compared to classical residual-based error estimator.

Superconvergence analysis of an [formula omitted]-Galerkin mixed FEM for Klein–Gordon–Zakharov equations with power law nonlinearity

This paper aims to study an H1-Galerkin mixed finite element method (FEM) for Klein–Gordon–Zakharov (KGZ) equations with power law nonlinearity. The bilinear element and zero-order Raviart–Thomas element (Q11/Q10×Q01) are taken as approximation spaces for the original variables p, ϕ and the auxiliary variables u=∇p and ψ=∇ϕ, respectively. The supercloseness and superconvergence estimates of order O(h2+τ2) are presented for p and ϕ in the H1 norm and u and ψ in the L2 norm, which improve the known results that the original variable ϕ can only reach optimal error estimate shown in numerical experiments without theoretical analysis. Here h is the subdivision parameter and τ is the time step. Finally, some numerical results are provided to support the theoretical analysis.

A Reissner–Mindlin plate formulation using symmetric Hu-Zhang elements via polytopal transformations

In this work we develop new finite element discretisations of the shear-deformable Reissner–Mindlin plate problem based on the Hellinger–Reissner principle of symmetric stresses. Specifically, we use conforming Hu-Zhang elements to discretise the bending moments in the space of symmetric square integrable fields with a square integrable divergence M∈HZ⊂Hsym(Div). The latter results in highly accurate approximations of the bending moments M and in the rotation field being in the Lebesgue space ϕ∈[L2]2, such that the Kirchhoff–Love constraint can be satisfied for t→0. In order to preserve optimal convergence rates across all variables for the case t→0, we present an extension of the formulation using Raviart–Thomas elements for the shear stress q∈RT⊂H(div).We prove existence and uniqueness in the continuous setting and rely on exact complexes for inheritance of well-posedness in the discrete setting.This work introduces an efficient construction of the Hu-Zhang base functions on the reference element via the polytopal template methodology and Legendre polynomials, making it applicable to hp-FEM. The base functions on the reference element are then mapped to the physical element using novel polytopal transformations, which are suitable also for curved geometries.The robustness of the formulations and the construction of the Hu-Zhang element are tested for shear-locking, curved geometries and an L-shaped domain with a singularity in the bending moments M. Further, we compare the performance of the novel formulations with the primal-, MITC- and recently introduced TDNNS methods.

A pressure-robust mixed finite element method for the coupled Stokes–Darcy problem

A pressure-robust numerical method for the coupled Stokes–Darcy problem is proposed. We use the continuous piecewise linear polynomial space combined with the lowest order Raviart–Thomas space to discretize the Stokes equation in the fluid region and the lowest order Raviart–Thomas elements to discretize the Darcy equation in the porous media domain. We also perform a divergence-free reconstruction of the test function for the right-hand term. Our method has good properties of convergence, pressure-robustness and local mass conservation in the sense of projection. A discrete inf-sup condition and error estimates for the numerical scheme are demonstrated, the error of velocity is independent of viscosity and pressure. Finally, the theoretical analysis is validated with several examples, demonstrating the superiority of the pressure-robust scheme.

A five-field mixed formulation for stationary magnetohydrodynamic flows in porous media

We introduce and analyze a new mixed variational formulation for a stationary magnetohydrodynamic flows in porous media problem, whose governing equations are given by the steady Brinkman–Forchheimer equations coupled with the Maxwell equations. Besides the velocity, magnetic field and a Lagrange multiplier associated to the divergence-free condition of the magnetic field, a convenient translation of the velocity gradient and the pseudostress tensor are introduced as further unknowns. As a consequence, we obtain a five-field Banach spaces-based mixed variational formulation, where the aforementioned variables are the main unknowns of the system. The resulting mixed scheme is then written equivalently as a fixed-point equation, so that the well-known Banach theorem, combined with classical results on nonlinear monotone operators and a sufficiently small data assumption, are applied to prove the unique solvability of the continuous and discrete systems. In particular, the analysis of the discrete scheme requires a quasi-uniformity assumption on mesh. The finite element discretization involves Raviart–Thomas elements of order k≥0 for the pseudostress tensor, discontinuous piecewise polynomial elements of degree k for the velocity and the translation of the velocity gradient, Nédélec elements of degree k for the magnetic field and Lagrange elements of degree k+1 for the associated Lagrange multiplier. Stability, convergence, and optimal a priori error estimates for the associated Galerkin scheme are obtained. Numerical tests illustrate the theoretical results.

De Rham compatible Deep Neural Network FEM

On general regular simplicial partitions T of bounded polytopal domains Ω⊂Rd, d∈{2,3}, we construct exact neural network (NN) emulations of all lowest order finite element spaces in the discrete de Rham complex. These include the spaces of piecewise constant functions, continuous piecewise linear (CPwL) functions, the classical “Raviart–Thomas element”, and the “Nédélec edge element”. For all but the CPwL case, our network architectures employ both ReLU (rectified linear unit) and BiSU (binary step unit) activations to capture discontinuities. In the important case of CPwL functions, we prove that it suffices to work with pure ReLU nets. Our construction and DNN architecture generalizes previous results in that no geometric restrictions on the regular simplicial partitions T of Ω are required for DNN emulation. In addition, for CPwL functions our DNN construction is valid in any dimension d≥2. Our “FE-Nets” are required in the variationally correct, structure-preserving approximation of boundary value problems of electromagnetism in nonconvex polyhedra Ω⊂R3. They are thus an essential ingredient in the application of e.g., the methodology of “physics-informed NNs” or “deep Ritz methods” to electromagnetic field simulation via deep learning techniques. We indicate generalizations of our constructions to higher-order compatible spaces and other, non-compatible classes of discretizations, in particular the “Crouzeix–Raviart” elements and Hybridized, Higher Order (HHO) methods.

New mixed finite element methods for the coupled Stokes and Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations in Banach spaces

In this paper we employ a Banach spaces-based framework to introduce and analyze new mixed finite element methods for the numerical solution of the coupled Stokes and Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations, which is a nonlinear model describing the dynamics of electrically charged incompressible fluids. The pressure of the fluid is eliminated from the system (though computed afterwardsviaa postprocessing formula) thanks to the incompressibility condition and the incorporation of the fluid pseudostress as an auxiliary unknown. In turn, besides the electrostatic potential and the concentration of ionized particles, we use the electric field (rescaled gradient of the potential) and total ionic fluxes as new unknowns. The resulting fully mixed variational formulation in Banach spaces can be written as a coupled system consisting of two saddle-point problems, each one with nonlinear source terms depending on the remaining unknowns, and a perturbed saddle-point problem with linear source terms, which is in turn additionally perturbed by a bilinear form. The well-posedness of the continuous formulation is a consequence of a fixed-point strategy in combination with the Banach theorem, the Babuška–Brezzi theory, the solvability of abstract perturbed saddle-point problems, and the Banach–Nečas–Babuška theorem. For this we also employ smallness assumptions on the data. An analogous approach, but using now both the Brouwer and Banach theorems, and invoking suitable stability conditions on arbitrary finite element subspaces, is employed to conclude the existence and uniqueness of solution for the associated Galerkin scheme.A priorierror estimates are derived, and examples of discrete spaces that fit the theory, include,e.g., Raviart–Thomas elements of orderkalong with piecewise polynomials of degree ≤k. In addition, the latter yield approximate local conservation of momentum for all three equations involved. Finally, rates of convergence are specified and several numerical experiments confirm the theoretical error bounds. These tests also illustrate the aforementioned balance-preserving properties and the applicability of the proposed family of methods.

A mixed FEM for the coupled Brinkman–Forchheimer/Darcy problem

This paper develops the a priori analysis of a mixed finite element method for the filtration of an incompressible fluid through a non-deformable saturated porous medium with heterogeneous permeability. Flows are governed by the Brinkman–Forchheimer and Darcy equations in the more and less permeable regions, respectively, and the corresponding transmission conditions are given by mass conservation and continuity of momentum. We consider the standard mixed formulation in the Brinkman–Forchheimer domain and the dual-mixed one in the Darcy region, and we impose the continuity of the normal velocities by introducing suitable Lagrange multiplier. The finite element discretization involves Bernardi–Raugel and Raviart–Thomas elements for the velocities, piecewise constants for the pressures, and continuous piecewise linear elements for the Lagrange multiplier. Stability, convergence, and a priori error estimates for the associated Galerkin scheme are obtained. Numerical tests illustrate the theoretical results.

Low-Order Preconditioning for the High-Order Finite Element de Rham Complex

In this paper we present a unified framework for constructing spectrally equivalent low-order-refined discretizations for the high-order finite element de Rham complex. This theory covers diffusion problems in $H^1$, $H({\rm curl})$, and $H({\rm div})$, and is based on combining a low-order discretization posed on a refined mesh with a high-order basis for N\'ed\'elec and Raviart-Thomas elements that makes use of the concept of polynomial histopolation (polynomial fitting using prescribed mean values over certain regions). This spectral equivalence, coupled with algebraic multigrid methods constructed using the low-order discretization, results in highly scalable matrix-free preconditioners for high-order finite element problems in the full de Rham complex. Additionally, a new lowest-order (piecewise constant) preconditioner is developed for high-order interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretizations, for which spectral equivalence results and convergence proofs for algebraic multigrid methods are provided. In all cases, the spectral equivalence results are independent of polynomial degree and mesh size; for DG methods, they are also independent of the penalty parameter. These new solvers are flexible and easy to use; any "black-box" preconditioner for low-order problems can be used to create an effective and efficient preconditioner for the corresponding high-order problem. A number of numerical experiments are presented, based on an implmentation in the finite element library MFEM. The theoretical properties of these preconditioners are corroborated, and the flexibility and scalability of the method are demonstrated on a range of challenging three-dimensional problems.

Improving the accuracy of discretisations of the vector transport equation on the lowest-order quadrilateral Raviart-Thomas finite elements

Within finite element models of fluids, vector-valued fields such as velocity or momentum variables are commonly discretised using the Raviart-Thomas elements. However, when using the lowest-order quadrilateral Raviart-Thomas elements, standard finite element discretisations of the vector transport equation typically have a low order of spatial accuracy. This paper describes two schemes that improve the accuracy of transporting such vector-valued fields on two-dimensional curved manifolds.The first scheme that is presented reconstructs the transported field in a higher-order function space, where the transport equation is then solved. The second scheme applies a mixed finite element formulation to the vector transport equation, simultaneously solving for the transported field and its vorticity. An approach to stabilising this mixed vector-vorticity formulation is presented that uses a Streamline Upwind Petrov-Galerkin (SUPG) method. These schemes are then demonstrated, along with their accuracy properties, through some numerical tests. Two new test cases are used to assess the transport of vector-valued fields on curved manifolds, solving the vector transport equation in isolation. The improvement of the schemes is also shown through two standard test cases for rotating shallow-water models.

Analysis of a new mixed FEM for stationary incompressible magneto-hydrodynamics

In this paper we propose and analyze a new mixed finite element method for a stationary magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) model. The method is based on the utilization of a new dual-mixed formulation recently introduced for the Navier-Stokes problem, which is coupled with a classical primal formulation for the Maxwell equations. The latter implies that the velocity and a pseudostress tensor relating the velocity gradient with the convective term for the hydrodynamic equations, together with the magnetic field and a Lagrange multiplier related with the divergence-free property of the magnetic field, become the main unknowns of the system. Then the associated Galerkin scheme can be defined by employing Raviart–Thomas elements of degree k for the aforementioned pseudostress tensor, discontinuous piecewise polynomial elements of degree k for the velocity, Nédélec elements of degree k for the magnetic field and Lagrange elements of degree k for the associated Lagrange multiplier. The analysis of the continuous and discrete problems are carried out by means of the Lax–Milgram lemma, the Banach–Nečas–Babuška and Banach fixed-point theorems, under a sufficiently small data assumption. In particular, the analysis of the discrete scheme requires a quasi-uniformity assumption on mesh. We also develop an a priori error analysis and show that the proposed finite element method is optimal convergent. Finally, some numerical results illustrating the good performance of the method are provided.

Displacement‐pseudostress formulation for the linear elasticity spectral problem

AbstractIn this paper we analyze a mixed displacement‐pseudostress formulation for the elasticity eigenvalue problem. We propose a finite element method to approximate the pseudostress tensor with Raviart–Thomas elements and the displacement with piecewise polynomials. With the aid of the classic theory for compact operators, we prove that our method is convergent and does not introduce spurious modes. Error estimates for the proposed method are derived. Finally, we report some numerical tests supporting the theoretical results.

Coupled Analysis of Acoustic Space and Thin-Plate Vibrations by a Lumped-Mass Model Using Raviart–Thomas Elements

Suppression of noise and vibration in machine products is an important problem, and many methods have been studied. In particular, structural–acoustic coupled effects due to the weight reduction of machines cannot be ignored. In structural–acoustic coupled analysis, the finite-element method in which the acoustic space is described by sound pressure and the structure is described by displacement is often used. However, the eigenvalue analysis in that method takes a great deal of computational time because the mass and stiffness matrices are asymmetric. Instead, in this paper, we propose an efficient coupled analysis method for a three-dimensional acoustic space and a two-dimensional thin plate using a lumped-mass model. The proposed modeling method is derived systematically using Raviart–Thomas elements. In addition, we propose a coordinate transformation method that accelerates the calculations by reducing the number of degrees of freedom (DOF). In this way, a symmetric eigenvalue problem with no extra DOF is derived. The effectiveness of the proposed method is confirmed by numerical calculations. This analysis method is particularly effective for systems in which the acoustic space contributes to the majority of the DOF, since the acoustic space is sparse owing to the adoption of edge elements.

A Posteriori Analysis for a Mixed FEM Discretization of the Linear Elasticity Spectral Problem

In this paper we analyze a posteriori error estimates for a mixed formulation of the linear elasticity eigenvalue problem. A posteriori estimators for the nearly and perfectly compressible elasticity spectral problems are proposed. With a post-process argument, we are able to prove reliability and efficiency for the proposed estimators. The numerical method is based in Raviart-Thomas elements to approximate the pseudostress and piecewise polynomials for the displacement. We illustrate our results with numerical tests in two and three dimensions.