A convergent nonconforming finite element method for compressible Stokes flow

We propose a nonconforming finite element method for isentropic viscous gas flow in situations where convective effects may be neglected. We approximate the continuity equation by a piecewise constant discontinuous Galerkin method. The velocity (momentum) equation is approximated by a finite element method on div-curl form using the nonconforming Crouzeix-Raviart space. Our main result is that the finite element method converges to a weak solution. The main challenge is to demonstrate the strong convergence of the density approximations, which is mandatory in view of the nonlinear pressure function. The analysis makes use of a higher integrability estimate on the density approximations, an equation for the "effective viscous flux", and renormalized versions of the discontinuous Galerkin method.Comment: 23 page

Stable finite element pair for Stokes problem and discrete Stokes complex on quadrilateral grids

In this paper, we first construct a nonconforming finite element pair for the incompressible Stokes problem on quadrilateral grids, and then construct a discrete Stokes complex associated with that finite element pair. The finite element spaces involved consist of piecewise polynomials only, and the divergence-free condition is imposed in a primal formulation. Combined with some existing results, these constructions can be generated onto grids that consist of both triangular and quadrilateral cells

Stable cheapest nonconforming finite elements for the Stokes equations

We introduce two pairs of stable cheapest nonconforming finite element space pairs to approximate the Stokes equations. One pair has each component of its velocity field to be approximated by the $P_1$ nonconforming quadrilateral element while the pressure field is approximated by the piecewise constant function with globally two-dimensional subspaces removed: one removed space is due to the integral mean--zero property and the other space consists of global checker--board patterns. The other pair consists of the velocity space as the $P_1$ nonconforming quadrilateral element enriched by a globally one--dimensional macro bubble function space based on $DSSY$ (Douglas-Santos-Sheen-Ye) nonconforming finite element space; the pressure field is approximated by the piecewise constant function with mean--zero space eliminated. We show that two element pairs satisfy the discrete inf-sup condition uniformly. And we investigate the relationship between them. Several numerical examples are shown to confirm the efficiency and reliability of the proposed methods

Introduction to discrete functional analysis techniques for the numerical study of diffusion equations with irregular data

We give an introduction to discrete functional analysis techniques for stationary and transient diffusion equations. We show how these techniques are used to establish the convergence of various numerical schemes without assuming non-physical regularity on the data. For simplicity of exposure, we mostly consider linear elliptic equations, and we briefly explain how these techniques can be adapted and extended to non-linear time-dependent meaningful models (Navier--Stokes equations, flows in porous media, etc.). These convergence techniques rely on discrete Sobolev norms and the translation to the discrete setting of functional analysis results

Continuous, Semi-discrete, and Fully Discretized Navier-Stokes Equations

The Navier--Stokes equations are commonly used to model and to simulate flow phenomena. We introduce the basic equations and discuss the standard methods for the spatial and temporal discretization. We analyse the semi-discrete equations -- a semi-explicit nonlinear DAE -- in terms of the strangeness index and quantify the numerical difficulties in the fully discrete schemes, that are induced by the strangeness of the system. By analyzing the Kronecker index of the difference-algebraic equations, that represent commonly and successfully used time stepping schemes for the Navier--Stokes equations, we show that those time-integration schemes factually remove the strangeness. The theoretical considerations are backed and illustrated by numerical examples.Comment: 28 pages, 2 figure, code available under DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.998909, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.99890

Robust arbitrary order mixed finite element methods for the incompressible Stokes equations

Standard mixed finite element methods for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations that relax the divergence constraint are not robust against large irrotational forces in the momentum balance and the velocity error depends on the continuous pressure. This robustness issue can be completely cured by using divergence-free mixed finite elements which deliver pressure-independent velocity error estimates. However, the construction of H1-conforming, divergence-free mixed finite element methods is rather difficult. Instead, we present a novel approach for the construction of arbitrary order mixed finite element methods which deliver pressure-independent velocity errors. The approach does not change the trial functions but replaces discretely divergence-free test functions in some operators of the weak formulation by divergence-free ones. This modification is applied to inf-sup stable conforming and nonconforming mixed finite element methods of arbitrary order in two and three dimensions. Optimal estimates for the incompressible Stokes equations are proved for the H1 and L2 errors of the velocity and the L2 error of the pressure. Moreover, both velocity errors are pressure-independent, demonstrating the improved robustness. Several numerical examples illustrate the results