A Two-Level Method for Mimetic Finite Difference Discretizations of Elliptic Problems

We propose and analyze a two-level method for mimetic finite difference approximations of second order elliptic boundary value problems. We prove that the two-level algorithm is uniformly convergent, i.e., the number of iterations needed to achieve convergence is uniformly bounded independently of the characteristic size of the underling partition. We also show that the resulting scheme provides a uniform preconditioner with respect to the number of degrees of freedom. Numerical results that validate the theory are also presented

Analysis of Compatible Discrete Operator Schemes for the Stokes Equations on Polyhedral Meshes

Compatible Discrete Operator schemes preserve basic properties of the continuous model at the discrete level. They combine discrete differential operators that discretize exactly topological laws and discrete Hodge operators that approximate constitutive relations. We devise and analyze two families of such schemes for the Stokes equations in curl formulation, with the pressure degrees of freedom located at either mesh vertices or cells. The schemes ensure local mass and momentum conservation. We prove discrete stability by establishing novel discrete Poincar\'e inequalities. Using commutators related to the consistency error, we derive error estimates with first-order convergence rates for smooth solutions. We analyze two strategies for discretizing the external load, so as to deliver tight error estimates when the external load has a large irrotational or divergence-free part. Finally, numerical results are presented on three-dimensional polyhedral meshes

Addressing Integration Error for Polygonal Finite Elements Through Polynomial Projections: A Patch Test Connection

Polygonal finite elements generally do not pass the patch test as a result of quadrature error in the evaluation of weak form integrals. In this work, we examine the consequences of lack of polynomial consistency and show that it can lead to a deterioration of convergence of the finite element solutions. We propose a general remedy, inspired by techniques in the recent literature of mimetic finite differences, for restoring consistency and thereby ensuring the satisfaction of the patch test and recovering optimal rates of convergence. The proposed approach, based on polynomial projections of the basis functions, allows for the use of moderate number of integration points and brings the computational cost of polygonal finite elements closer to that of the commonly used linear triangles and bilinear quadrilaterals. Numerical studies of a two-dimensional scalar diffusion problem accompany the theoretical considerations

An agglomeration-based massively parallel non-overlapping additive Schwarz preconditioner for high-order discontinuous Galerkin methods on polytopic grids

In this article we design and analyze a class of two-level non-overlapping additive Schwarz preconditioners for the solution of the linear system of equations stemming from discontinuous Galerkin discretizations of second-order elliptic partial differential equations on polytopic meshes. The preconditioner is based on a coarse space and a non-overlapping partition of the computational domain where local solvers are applied in parallel. In particular, the coarse space can potentially be chosen to be non-embedded with respect to the finer space; indeed it can be obtained from the fine grid by employing agglomeration and edge coarsening techniques. We investigate the dependence of the condition number of the preconditioned system with respect to the diffusion coefficient and the discretization parameters, i.e., the mesh size and the polynomial degree of the fine and coarse spaces. Numerical examples are presented which confirm the theoretical bounds