Raviart-Thomas Finite Elements Research Articles

A posteriori error estimate for the non-stationary concentration equation coupled with the Darcy system discretized by the Raviart–Thomas finite element

A posteriori error estimate for the non-stationary concentration equation coupled with the Darcy system discretized by the Raviart–Thomas finite element

Asymptotically exact a posteriori error estimates for the BDM finite element approximation of mixed Laplace eigenvalue problems

We derive optimal and asymptotically exact a posteriori error estimates for the approximation of the eigenfunction of the Laplace eigenvalue problem. To do so, we combine two results from the literature. First, we use the hypercircle techniques developed for mixed eigenvalue approximations with Raviart-Thomas finite elements. In addition, we use the post-processings introduced for the eigenvalue and eigenfunction based on mixed approximations with the Brezzi-Douglas-Marini finite element. To combine these approaches, we define a novel additional local post-processing for the fluxes that appropriately modifies the divergence without compromising the approximation properties. Consequently, the new flux can be used to derive optimal and asymptotically exact upper bounds for the eigenfunction, and optimal upper bounds for the corresponding eigenvalue. Numerical examples validate the theory and motivate the use of an adaptive mesh refinement.

Variational discretization of one-dimensional elliptic optimal control problems with BV functions based on the mixed formulation

<p style='text-indent:20px;'>We consider optimal control of an elliptic two-point boundary value problem governed by functions of bounded variation (BV). The cost functional is composed of a tracking term for the state and the BV-seminorm of the control. We use the mixed formulation for the state equation together with the variational discretization approach, where we use the classical lowest order Raviart-Thomas finite elements for the state equation. Consequently the variational discrete control is a piecewise constant function over the finite element grid. We prove error estimates for the variational discretization approach in combination with the mixed formulation of the state equation and confirm our analytical findings with numerical experiments.</p>

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.

Refined isogeometric analysis of quadratic eigenvalue problems

Certain applications that analyze damping effects require the solution of quadratic eigenvalue problems (QEPs). We use refined isogeometric analysis (rIGA) to solve quadratic eigenproblems. rIGA discretization, while conserving desirable properties of maximum-continuity isogeometric analysis (IGA), reduces the interconnection between degrees of freedom by adding low-continuity basis functions. This connectivity reduction in rIGA’s algebraic system results in faster matrix LU factorizations when using multifrontal direct solvers. We compare computational costs of rIGA versus those of IGA when employing Krylov eigensolvers to solve quadratic eigenproblems arising in 2D vector-valued multifield problems. For large problem sizes, the eigencomputation cost is governed by the cost of LU factorization, followed by costs of several matrix–vector and vector–vector multiplications, which correspond to Krylov projections. We minimize the computational cost by introducing C0 and C1 separators at specific element interfaces for our rIGA generalizations of the curl-conforming Nédélec and divergence-conforming Raviart–Thomas finite elements. Let p be the polynomial degree of basis functions; the LU factorization is up to O((p−1)2) times faster when using rIGA compared to IGA in the asymptotic regime. Thus, rIGA theoretically improves the total eigencomputation cost by O((p−1)2) for sufficiently large problem sizes. Yet, in practical cases of moderate-size eigenproblems, the improvement rate deteriorates as the number of computed eigenvalues increases because of multiple matrix–vector and vector–vector operations. Our numerical tests show that rIGA accelerates the solution of quadratic eigensystems by O(p−1) for moderately sized problems when we seek to compute a reasonable number of eigenvalues.

APPLICATION OF THE SPH EQUIVALENCE TECHNIQUE TO THE CABRI FULL CORE IN NON-FUNDAMENTAL MODE

We developed a SPH equivalence technique in non-fundamental mode condition between a CABRI full-core model solved with the method of characteristics (MOC) in 2D and a simplified full-core model solved with the simplified P3 (SP3) method, linear anisotropic sources and discretized with Raviart-Thomas finite elements over a pure Cartesian mesh. The MOC and SP3 calculations are performed with DRAGON5 and DONJON5 codes, respectively. A three-parameter database is generated by DRAGON5 and is interpolated in DONJON5 as a function of the core condition. An objective function is set as the root mean square (RMS) error (MOC-SP3 discrepancy) on absorption distribution and leakage rates defined over the macro-geometry in DONJON5. Our algorithm is a quasi-Newtonian gradient search based on the Limited memory Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno (LBFGS) method. Numerical results are presented with Hafnium bars withdrawn or inserted.

Geometric Variational Finite Element Discretizations for Fluids

Abstract We present an overview of finite element variational integrators for compressible and incompressible fluids with variable density. The numerical schemes are derived by discretizing, in a structure preserving way, the Lie group formulation of fluid dynamics on diffeomorphism groups and the associated variational principles. Given a triangulation on the fluid domain, the discrete group of diffeomorphisms is defined as a certain subgroup of the group of linear isomorphisms of a finite element space of functions. In this setting, discrete vector fields correspond to a certain subspace of the Lie algebra of this group. This subspace is shown to be isomorphic to a Raviart-Thomas finite element space. We illustrate the conservation properties of the scheme with the Rayleigh-Taylor instability test.

Extended finite element method in mixed-hybrid model of singular groundwater flow

A model of groundwater flow in porous media influenced by wells (boreholes, channels) is considered. The model is motivated by the reduced dimension approach which suits fractured porous media problems, especially in granite rocks. The wells are modeled as lower dimensional 1d objects intersecting the surrounding bulk rock domain and causing singularities in the solution. The domains are discretized independently resulting in a mesh of mixed dimensions.The extended finite element methods (XFEM) with a proper enrichment is applied to couple the flow between the wells and the bulk rock and to better approximate the singularities.In this contribution, we derive and solve a mixed model for pressure and velocity. We suggest a new enrichment (similar to Stable generalized FEM) for velocity on top of standard zero order Raviart–Thomas finite elements. The properties of the suggested XFEM are validated on a set of numerical tests and the optimal convergence rate is demonstrated. Test cases both in 2d and 3d are presented.

A mixed finite element method for the Poisson problem using a biorthogonal system with Raviart–Thomas elements

AbstractWe use a three‐field mixed formulation of the Poisson equation to develop a mixed finite element method using Raviart–Thomas elements. We use a locally constructed biorthogonal system for Raviart–Thomas finite elements to improve the computational efficiency of the approach. We analyze the existence, uniqueness and stability of the discrete problem and show an a priori error estimate. We also develop an a posteriori error estimate for our formulation. Numerical results are presented to demonstrate the performance of our approach.

A Variational Finite Element Discretization of Compressible Flow

We present a finite element variational integrator for compressible flows. The numerical scheme is derived by discretizing, in a structure-preserving way, the Lie group formulation of fluid dynamics on diffeomorphism groups and the associated variational principles. Given a triangulation on the fluid domain, the discrete group of diffeomorphisms is defined as a certain subgroup of the group of linear isomorphisms of a finite element space of functions. In this setting, discrete vector fields correspond to a certain subspace of the Lie algebra of this group. This subspace is shown to be isomorphic to a Raviart–Thomas finite element space. The resulting finite element discretization corresponds to a weak form of the compressible fluid equation that does not seem to have been used in the finite element literature. It extends previous work done on incompressible flows and at the lowest order on compressible flows. We illustrate the conservation properties of the scheme with some numerical simulations.

New degrees of freedom for high-order Whitney approximations of Darcy’s flows

We consider the flow of a viscous incompressible fluid through a rigid homogeneous porous medium. We propose a high-order discretisation based on Whitney finite elements, namely, Raviart-Thomas finite elements of degree r + 1 for the discharge and discontinuous piecewise polynomial finite elements of degree r for the pressure, with r ≥ 0. We comment on the use of new degrees of freedom that have a clear physical meaning, the so-called weights on the small simplices, for the involved discharge and pressure fields. We describe a new numerical strategy to solve the discrete problem based on a tree-cotree block-decomposition of the unknowns that is natural when considering these new degrees of freedom. Preliminary numerical tests in two dimensions confirm the stability of the adopted method and the effectiveness of the new degrees of freedom.

A mimetic method for polygons

A new method for mimetic interpolation on polygonal meshes is described. This new method is based on harmonic function interpolation. Explicit formulas for harmonic functions on general polygons do not exist, so truncated harmonic polynomial expansions are used for computational efficiency. We show that the naive harmonic polynomial expansion, is not stable for arbitrary polygons. However, higher level truncations of harmonic interpolations are stable and accurate. This new method is shown to be a direct extension of the lowest order Raviart-Thomas finite elements to polygons. This method is also a direct extension of the finite volume MAC method to polygons. The accuracy of the interpolation is shown to be first-order irrespective of the polynomial truncation level. However the accuracy of vector Laplace equation solutions using this inner product is shown to be second-order accurate, in keeping with other lowest order Mimetic methods. The versatility of this numerical method is demonstrated on a multiphase incompressible flow problem with a density jump of 1000, on a moving polygonal mesh.

A posteriori error analysis for the mixed Laplace eigenvalue problem: investigations for the BDM‐element

AbstractA posteriori error estimates for the mixed numerical approximation of the Laplace eigenvalue problem can be derived using a reconstruction in the standard ‐conforming space for the primal variable of the mixed problem. In the case of Raviart–Thomas finite elements of arbitrary polynomial degree the resulting error estimator constitutes a guaranteed upper bound for the error and is shown to be local efficient. This paper shows that the extension for the BDM‐element is not straightforward.

Asymptotically Exact A Posteriori Error Analysis for the Mixed Laplace Eigenvalue Problem

Abstract This paper derives a posteriori error estimates for the mixed numerical approximation of the Laplace eigenvalue problem. We discuss a reconstruction in the standard H 0 1 {H_{0}^{1}} -conforming space for the primal variable of the mixed Laplace eigenvalue problem and compare it with analogous approaches present in the literature for the corresponding source problem. In the case of Raviart–Thomas finite elements of arbitrary polynomial degree, the resulting error estimator constitutes a guaranteed upper bound for the error and is shown to be local efficient. Our reconstruction is performed locally on a set of vertex patches.

Raviart–Thomas finite elements of Petrov–Galerkin type

Finite volume methods are widely used, in particular because they allow an explicit and local computation of a discrete gradient. This computation is only based on the values of a given scalar field. In this contribution, we wish to achieve the same goal in a mixed finite element context of Petrov–Galerkin type so as to ensure a local computation of the gradient at the interfaces of the elements. The shape functions are the Raviart–Thomas finite elements. Our purpose is to define test functions that are in duality with these shape functions: precisely, the shape and test functions will be asked to satisfy some orthogonality property. This paradigm is addressed for the discrete solution of the Poisson problem. The general theory of Babuška brings necessary and sufficient stability conditions for a Petrov–Galerkin mixed problem to be convergent. In order to ensure stability, we propose specific constraints for the dual test functions. With this choice, we prove that the mixed Petrov–Galerkin scheme is identical to the four point finite volume scheme of Herbin, and to the mass lumping approach developed by Baranger, Maitre and Oudin. Convergence is proven with the usual techniques of mixed finite elements.

Least-Squares Methods for Elasticity and Stokes Equations with Weakly Imposed Symmetry

Abstract This paper develops and analyzes two least-squares methods for the numerical solution of linear elasticity and Stokes equations in both two and three dimensions. Both approaches use the L 2 {L^{2}} norm to define least-squares functionals. One is based on the stress-displacement/velocity-rotation/vorticity-pressure (SDRP/SVVP) formulation, and the other is based on the stress-displacement/velocity-rotation/vorticity (SDR/SVV) formulation. The introduction of the rotation/vorticity variable enables us to weakly enforce the symmetry of the stress. It is shown that the homogeneous least-squares functionals are elliptic and continuous in the norm of H ⁢ ( div ; Ω ) {H(\mathrm{div};\Omega)} for the stress, of H 1 ⁢ ( Ω ) {H^{1}(\Omega)} for the displacement/velocity, and of L 2 ⁢ ( Ω ) {L^{2}(\Omega)} for the rotation/vorticity and the pressure. This immediately implies optimal error estimates in the energy norm for conforming finite element approximations. As well, it admits optimal multigrid solution methods if Raviart–Thomas finite element spaces are used to approximate the stress tensor. Through a refined duality argument, an optimal L 2 {L^{2}} norm error estimates for the displacement/velocity are also established. Finally, numerical results for a Cook’s membrane problem of planar elasticity are included in order to illustrate the robustness of our method in the incompressible limit.

Accuracy of a coupled mixed and Galerkin finite element approximation for poroelasticity

In this paper, we consider a combined mixed finite element and continuous Galerkin finite element formulation for a coupled flow and geomechanics model. We use the lowest order Raviart–Thomas finite elements for the spatial approximation of the flow variables and continuous piecewise linear finite elements for the deformation variable. This numerical approach appears to be a common choice in the existing reservoir engineering simulators. We focus on deriving error estimates in a discrete-in-time setting. Previous a priori error estimates described in the literature e.g. \[2], \[19], which are optimal, show first order convergence in space with respect to the $L^2$-norm for the pressure and for the average fluid velocity and also first order convergence in space with respect to the $H^1$-norm for the displacement. Here we prove one extra order of convergence for the displacement approximation with respect to the $L^2$-norm. We also demonstrate that, by including a post-processing step in the scheme, the order of convergence of the approximation of pressure can be improved. Even though this result is critical for deriving the $L^2$-norm error estimates for the approximation of the deformation variable, surprisingly the corresponding gain of one convergence order holds independently of including or not the post-processing step in the method.

Total roto-translational variation

We consider curvature depending variational models for image regularization, such as Euler's elastica. These models are known to provide strong priors for the continuity of edges and hence have important applications in shape-and image processing. We consider a lifted convex representation of these models in the roto-translation space: In this space, curvature depending variational energies are represented by means of a convex functional defined on divergence free vector fields. The line energies are then easily extended to any scalar function. It yields a natural generalization of the total variation to the roto-translation space. As our main result, we show that the proposed convex representation is tight for characteristic functions of smooth shapes. We also discuss cases where this representation fails. For numerical solution, we propose a staggered grid discretization based on an averaged Raviart-Thomas finite elements approximation. This discretization is consistent, up to minor details, with the underlying continuous model. The resulting non-smooth convex optimization problem is solved using a first-order primal-dual algorithm. We illustrate the results of our numerical algorithm on various problems from shape-and image processing.

Discrete Total Variation with Finite Elements and Applications to Imaging

The total variation (TV)-seminorm is considered for piecewise polynomial, globally discontinuous (DG) and continuous (CG) finite element functions on simplicial meshes. A novel, discrete variant (DTV) based on a nodal quadrature formula is defined. DTV has favorable properties, compared to the original TV-seminorm for finite element functions. These include a convenient dual representation in terms of the supremum over the space of Raviart–Thomas finite element functions, subject to a set of simple constraints. It can therefore be shown that a variety of algorithms for classical image reconstruction problems, including TV- $$L^2$$ denoising and inpainting, can be implemented in low- and higher-order finite element spaces with the same efficiency as their counterparts originally developed for images on Cartesian grids.

A graph approach for the construction of high order divergence-free Raviart–Thomas finite elements

We propose and analyze an efficient algorithm for the computation of a basis of the space of divergence-free Raviart–Thomas finite elements. The algorithm is based on graph techniques. The key point is to realize that, with very natural degrees of freedom for fields in the space of Raviart–Thomas finite elements of degree $$r+1$$ and for elements of the space of discontinuous piecewise polynomial functions of degree $$r \ge 0$$ , the matrix associated with the divergence operator is the incidence matrix of a particular graph. By choosing a spanning tree of this graph, it is possible to identify an invertible square submatrix of the divergence matrix and to compute easily the moments of a field in the space of Raviart–Thomas finite elements with assigned divergence. This approach extends to finite elements of high degree the method introduced by Alotto and Perugia (Calcolo 36:233–248, 1999) for finite elements of degree one. The analyzed approach is used to construct a basis of the space of divergence-free Raviart–Thomas finite elements. The numerical tests show that the performance of the algorithm depends neither on the topology of the domain nor or the polynomial degree r.