A New Triangular Spectral Element Method I: Implementation and Analysis on a Triangle

This paper serves as our first effort to develop a new triangular spectral element method (TSEM) on unstructured meshes, using the rectangle-triangle mapping proposed in the conference note [21]. Here, we provide some new insights into the originality and distinctive features of the mapping, and show that this transform only induces a logarithmic singularity, which allows us to devise a fast, stable and accurate numerical algorithm for its removal. Consequently, any triangular element can be treated as efficiently as a quadrilateral element, which affords a great flexibility in handling complex computational domains. Benefited from the fact that the image of the mapping includes the polynomial space as a subset, we are able to obtain optimal $L^2$- and $H^1$-estimates of approximation by the proposed basis functions on triangle. The implementation details and some numerical examples are provided to validate the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed method. All these will pave the way for developing an unstructured TSEM based on, e.g., the hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin formulation

Efficient Tensor-Product Spectral-Element Operators with the Summation-by-Parts Property on Curved Triangles and Tetrahedra

We present an extension of the summation-by-parts (SBP) framework to tensor-product spectral-element operators in collapsed coordinates. The proposed approach enables the construction of provably stable discretizations of arbitrary order which combine the geometric flexibility of unstructured triangular and tetrahedral meshes with the efficiency of sum-factorization algorithms. Specifically, a methodology is developed for constructing triangular and tetrahedral spectral-element operators of any order which possess the SBP property (i.e. satisfying a discrete analogue of integration by parts) as well as a tensor-product decomposition. Such operators are then employed within the context of discontinuous spectral-element methods based on nodal expansions collocated at the tensor-product quadrature nodes as well as modal expansions employing Proriol-Koornwinder-Dubiner polynomials, the latter approach resolving the time step limitation associated with the singularity of the collapsed coordinate transformation. Energy-stable formulations for curvilinear meshes are obtained using a skew-symmetric splitting of the metric terms, and a weight-adjusted approximation is used to efficiently invert the curvilinear modal mass matrix. The proposed schemes are compared to those using non-tensorial multidimensional SBP operators, and are found to offer comparable accuracy to such schemes in the context of smooth linear advection problems on curved meshes, but at a reduced computational cost for higher polynomial degrees.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figure

Invariant-based approach to symmetry class detection

In this paper, the problem of the identification of the symmetry class of a given tensor is asked. Contrary to classical approaches which are based on the spectral properties of the linear operator describing the elasticity, our setting is based on the invariants of the irreducible tensors appearing in the harmonic decomposition of the elasticity tensor [Forte-Vianello, 1996]. To that aim we first introduce a geometrical description of the space of elasticity tensors. This framework is used to derive invariant-based conditions that characterize symmetry classes. For low order symmetry classes, such conditions are given on a triplet of quadratic forms extracted from the harmonic decomposition of the elasticity tensor $C$, meanwhile for higher-order classes conditions are provided in terms of elements of $H^{4}$, the higher irreducible space in the decomposition of $C$. Proceeding in such a way some well known conditions appearing in the Mehrabadi-Cowin theorem for the existence of a symmetry plane are retrieved, and a set of algebraic relations on polynomial invariants characterizing the orthotropic, trigonal, tetragonal, transverse isotropic and cubic symmetry classes are provided. Using a genericity assumption on the elasticity tensor under study, an algorithm to identify the symmetry class of a large set of tensors is finally provided.Comment: 32 page

Spectral/hp element methods: recent developments, applications, and perspectives

The spectral/hp element method combines the geometric flexibility of the classical h-type finite element technique with the desirable numerical properties of spectral methods, employing high-degree piecewise polynomial basis functions on coarse finite element-type meshes. The spatial approximation is based upon orthogonal polynomials, such as Legendre or Chebychev polynomials, modified to accommodate C0-continuous expansions. Computationally and theoretically, by increasing the polynomial order p, high-precision solutions and fast convergence can be obtained and, in particular, under certain regularity assumptions an exponential reduction in approximation error between numerical and exact solutions can be achieved. This method has now been applied in many simulation studies of both fundamental and practical engineering flows. This paper briefly describes the formulation of the spectral/hp element method and provides an overview of its application to computational fluid dynamics. In particular, it focuses on the use the spectral/hp element method in transitional flows and ocean engineering. Finally, some of the major challenges to be overcome in order to use the spectral/hp element method in more complex science and engineering applications are discussed

Some constants related to numerical ranges

In an attempt to progress towards proving the conjecture the numerical range W (A) is a 2--spectral set for the matrix A, we propose a study of various constants. We review some partial results, many problems are still open. We describe our corresponding numerical tests

Optimal convergence estimates for the trace of the polynomial L2-projection operator on a simplex

In this paper we study convergence of the L2-projection onto the space of polynomials up to degree p on a simplex in Rd, d >= 2. Optimal error estimates are established in the case of Sobolev regularity and illustrated on several numerical examples. The proof is based on the collapsed coordinate transform and the expansion into various polynomial bases involving Jacobi polynomials and their antiderivatives. The results of the present paper generalize corresponding estimates for cubes in Rd from [P. Houston, C. Schwab, E. Süli, Discontinuous hp-finite element methods for advection-diffusion-reaction problems. SIAM J. Numer. Anal. 39 (2002), no. 6, 2133-2163]

The Medium Amplitude Response of Nonlinear Maxwell-Oldroyd Type Models in Simple Shear

A general framework for Maxwell-Oldroyd type differential constitutive models is examined, in which an unspecified nonlinear function of the stress and rate-of-deformation tensors is incorporated into the well-known corotational version of the Jeffreys model discussed by Oldroyd. For medium amplitude simple shear deformations, the recently developed mathematical framework of medium amplitude parallel superposition (MAPS) rheology reveals that this generalized nonlinear Maxwell model can produce only a limited number of distinct signatures, which combine linearly in a well-posed basis expansion for the third order complex viscosity. This basis expansion represents a library of MAPS signatures for distinct constitutive models that are contained within the generalized nonlinear Maxwell model. We describe a framework for quantitative model identification using this basis expansion, and discuss its limitations in distinguishing distinct nonlinear features of the underlying constitutive models from medium amplitude shear stress data. The leading order contributions to the normal stress differences are also considered, revealing that only the second normal stress difference provides distinct information about the weakly nonlinear response space of the model. After briefly considering the conditions for time-strain separability within the generalized nonlinear Maxwell model, we apply the basis expansion of the third order complex viscosity to derive the medium amplitude signatures of the model in specific shear deformation protocols. Finally, we use these signatures for estimation of model parameters from rheological data obtained by these different deformation protocols, revealing that three-tone oscillatory shear deformations produce data that is readily able to distinguish all features of the medium amplitude, simple shear response space of this generalized class of constitutive models.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figure