Discontinuous Galerkin approximations in computational mechanics: hybridization, exact geometry and degree adaptivity

Discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretizations with exact representation of the geometry and local polynomial degree adaptivity are revisited. Hybridization techniques are employed to reduce the computational cost of DG approximations and devise the hybridizable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) method. Exact geometry described by non-uniform rational B-splines (NURBS) is integrated into HDG using the framework of the NURBS-enhanced finite element method (NEFEM). Moreover, optimal convergence and superconvergence properties of HDG-Voigt formulation in presence of symmetric second-order tensors are exploited to construct inexpensive error indicators and drive degree adaptive procedures. Applications involving the numerical simulation of problems in electrostatics, linear elasticity and incompressible viscous flows are presented. Moreover, this is done for both high-order HDG approximations and the lowest-order framework of face-centered finite volumes (FCFV).Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

New superconvergent structures developed from the finite volume element method in 1D

New superconvergent structures are introduced by the finite volume element method (FVEM), which allow us to choose the superconvergent points freely. The general orthogonal condition and the modified M-decomposition (MMD) technique are established to prove the superconvergence properties of the new structures. In addition, the relationships between the orthogonal condition and the convergence properties for the FVE schemes are carried out in Table 1. Numerical results are given to illustrate the theoretical results

Pre- and postprocessing techniques for determining goodness of computational meshes

Research in error estimation, mesh conditioning, and solution enhancement for finite element, finite difference, and finite volume methods has been incorporated into AUDITOR, a modern, user-friendly code, which operates on 2D and 3D unstructured neutral files to improve the accuracy and reliability of computational results. Residual error estimation capabilities provide local and global estimates of solution error in the energy norm. Higher order results for derived quantities may be extracted from initial solutions. Within the X-MOTIF graphical user interface, extensive visualization capabilities support critical evaluation of results in linear elasticity, steady state heat transfer, and both compressible and incompressible fluid dynamics

Adaptive low and high-order hybridized methods for unsteady incompressible flow simulations

Tesi en modalitat de cotutela: Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya i Università degli Studi di PaviaSimulations of incompressible flows are performed on a daily basis to solve problems of practical and industrial interest in several fields of engineering, including automotive, aeronautical, mechanical and biomedical applications. Although finite volume (FV) methods are still the preferred choice by the industry due to their efficiency and robustness, sensitivity to mesh quality and limited accuracy represent two main bottlenecks of these approaches. This is especially critical in the context of transient phenomena, in which FV methods show excessive numerical diffusion. In this context, there has been a growing interest towards high-order discretisation strategies in last decades. In this PhD thesis, a high-order adaptive hybidisable discontinuous Galerkin (HDG) method is proposed for the approximation of steady and unsteady laminar incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Voigt notation for symmetric second-order tensors is exploited to devise an HDG method for the Cauchy formulation of the momentum equation with optimal convergence properties, even when low-order polynomial degrees of approximation are considered. In addition, a postprocessing strategy accounting for rigid translational and rotational modes is proposed to construct an element-by-element superconvergent velocity field. The discrepancy between the computed and postprocessed velocities is utilised to define a local error indicator to drive degree adaptivity procedures and accurately capture localised features of the flow. The resulting HDG solver is thus extended to the case of transient problems via high-order time integration schemes, namely the explicit singly diagonal implicit Runge-Kutta (ESDIRK) schemes. In this context, the embedded explicit step is exploited to define an inexpensive estimate of the temporal error to devise an efficient timestep control strategy. Finally, in order to efficiently solve the global problem arising from the HDG discretisation, a preconditioned iterative solver is proposed. This is critical in the context of high-order approximations in three-dimensional domains leading to large-scale problems, especially in transient simulations. A block diagonal preconditioner coupled with an inexpensive approximation of the Schur complement of the matrix is proposed to reduce the computational cost of the overall HDG solver. Extensive numerical validation of two and three-dimensional steady and unsteady benchmark tests of viscous laminar incompressible flows is performed to validate the proposed methodology.Simulaciones de flujo incompresible se emplean a diario para resolver problemas de interés práctico e industrial en varios campos de la ingeniería, p.ej. en aplicaciones automovilísticas, aeronáuticas, mecánicas y biomédicas. Aunque los métodos de volúmenes finitos (FV) siguen siendo la opción preferida por la industria debido a su eficiencia y robustez, la sensibilidad a la calidad de la malla y la baja precisión representan dos limitaciones importantes para estas técnicas. Estas limitaciones son todavía más críticas en el contexto de simulaciones de fenómenos transitorios, donde los FV están penalizados por su excesiva difusión numérica. En este contexto, las estrategias de discretización de alto orden han ganado una popularidad creciente en las últimas décadas para problemas transitorios dónde se necesitan soluciones precisas. Esta tesis propone un método de Galerkin discontinuo híbrido (HDG), de alto orden y adaptativo para la aproximación de las ecuaciones de Navier-Stokes incomprensible laminar, en el caso estacionario y transitorio en el entorno de aplicaciones ingenieriles. Para ello, la notación de Voigt para tensores simétricos de segundo orden (habituales en mecánica de los medios continuos) permite introducir un método HDG para la formulación de Cauchy de la ecuación de momento. La novedad de este resultado reside en la convergencia óptima alcanzada por el método, incluso para aproximaciones de orden polinómico bajo. Además, se desarrolla una estrategia de post-proceso local para construir elemento a elemento un campo de velocidad súper-convergente, tomando en cuenta los modos rígidos de traslación y rotación. La discrepancia entre el campo de velocidad calculado y el súper-convergente, obtenido a través del post-proceso, permite definir un indicador del error local. De esta forma, se desarrolla una estrategia para realizar adecuar elemento a elemento el grado de la aproximación polinómica y así mejorar la precisión adaptándose a las características localizadas del flujo. Seguidamente, se extiende el método HDG propuesto al tratamiento de problemas dependientes del tiempo. Más concretamente, se consideran los esquemas de integración temporal de alto orden explicit singly diagonal implicit Runge-Kutta (ESDIRK). En este contexto, se utiliza el paso explícito embedded para calcular una estimación computacionalmente eficiente del error temporal y definir una estrategia de adaptividad del paso de tiempo. Finalmente, se desarrolla un precondicionador adaptado a la estrategia HDG que acelera la convergencia del método iterativo empleado y, de esta forma, obtener resoluciones eficaces del problema global surgido de la discretización HDG. Es importante resaltar la importancia de una herramienta de resolución eficiente para problemas de gran escala en el contexto de aproximaciones de alto orden y en dominios tridimensionales. Estas herramientas se hacen aún más criticas en simulaciones transitorias. Más concretamente, se proponen un precondicionador diagonal por bloques y una aproximación eficiente del complemento Schur de la matriz para reducir el coste computacional del método HDG. Para validar la metodología propuesta, se realizan varias simulaciones numéricas de flujo incompresible laminar viscoso, para problemas estacionarios y transitorios, en dos y tres dimensiones.Postprint (published version

B-spline collocation for two dimensional, time-dependent, parabolic PDEs

vi, 177 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm.Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-88).In this thesis, we consider B-spline collocation algorithms for solving two-dimensional in space, time-dependent parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs), defined over a rectangular region. We propose two ways to solve the problem: (i) The Method of Surfaces: Discretizing the problem in one of the spatial domains, we obtain a system of one-dimensional parabolic PDEs, which is then solved using a one-dimensional PDE system solver. (ii) Two-dimensional B-spline collocation: The numerical solution is represented as a bi-variate piecewise polynomial with unknown time-dependent coefficients. These coefficients are determined by requiring the numerical solution to satisfy the PDE at a number of points within the spatial domain, i.e., we collocate simultaneously in both spatial dimensions. This leads to an approximation of the PDE by a large system of time-dependent differential algebraic equations (DAEs), which we then solve using a high quality DAE solver

Superconvergent second order Cartesian method for solving free boundary problem for invadopodia formation

International audienceIn this paper, we present a superconvergent second order Cartesian method to solve a free boundary problem with two harmonic phases coupled through the moving interface. The model recently proposed by the authors and colleagues describes the formation of cell protrusions. The moving interface is described by a level set function and is advected at the velocity given by the gradient of the inner phase. The finite differences method proposed in this paper consists of a new stabilized ghost fluid method and second order discretizations for the Laplace operator with the boundary conditions (Dirichlet, Neumann or Robin conditions). Interestingly, the method to solve the harmonic subproblems is superconvergent on two levels, in the sense that the first and second order derivatives of the numerical solutions are obtained with the second order of accuracy, similarly to the solution itself. We exhibit numerical criteria on the data accuracy to get such properties and numerical simulations corroborate these criteria. In addition to these properties, we propose an appropriate extension of the velocity of the level-set to avoid any loss of consistency, and to obtain the second order of accuracy of the complete free boundary problem. Interestingly, we highlight the transmission of the superconvergent properties for the static subproblems and their preservation by the dynamical scheme. Our method is also well suited for quasistatic Hele-Shaw-like or Muskat-like problems

Isogeometric analysis based on Geometry Independent Field approximaTion (GIFT) and Polynomial Splines over Hierarchical T-meshes

This thesis addresses an adaptive higher-order method based on a Geometry Independent Field approximatTion(GIFT) of polynomial/rationals plines over hierarchical T-meshes(PHT/RHT-splines). In isogeometric analysis, basis functions used for constructing geometric models in computer-aided design(CAD) are also employed to discretize the partial differential equations(PDEs) for numerical analysis. Non-uniform rational B-Splines(NURBS) are the most commonly used basis functions in CAD. However, they may not be ideal for numerical analysis where local refinement is required. The alternative method GIFT deploys different splines for geometry and numerical analysis. NURBS are utilized for the geometry representation, while for the field solution, PHT/RHT-splines are used. PHT-splines not only inherit the useful properties of B-splines and NURBS, but also possess the capabilities of local refinement and hierarchical structure. The smooth basis function properties of PHT-splines make them suitable for analysis purposes. While most problems considered in isogeometric analysis can be solved efficiently when the solution is smooth, many non-trivial problems have rough solutions. For example, this can be caused by the presence of re-entrant corners in the domain. For such problems, a tensor-product basis (as in the case of NURBS) is less suitable for resolving the singularities that appear since refinement propagates throughout the computational domain. Hierarchical bases and local refinement (as in the case of PHT-splines) allow for a more efficient way to resolve these singularities by adding more degrees of freedom where they are necessary. In order to drive the adaptive refinement, an efficient recovery-based error estimator is proposed in this thesis. The estimator produces a recovery solution which is a more accurate approximation than the computed numerical solution. Several two- and three-dimensional numerical investigations with PHT-splines of higher order and continuity prove that the proposed method is capable of obtaining results with higher accuracy, better convergence, fewer degrees of freedom and less computational cost than NURBS for smooth solution problems. The adaptive GIFT method utilizing PHT-splines with the recovery-based error estimator is used for solutions with discontinuities or singularities where adaptive local refinement in particular domains of interest achieves higher accuracy with fewer degrees of freedom. This method also proves that it can handle complicated multi-patch domains for two- and three-dimensional problems outperforming uniform refinement in terms of degrees of freedom and computational cost

Adaptive hybrid discontinuous methods for fluid and wave problems

This PhD thesis proposes a p-adaptive technique for the Hybridizable Discontinuous Galerkin method (HDG). The HDG method is a novel discontinuous Galerkin method (DG) with interesting characteristics. While retaining all the advantages of the common DG methods, such as the inherent stabilization and the local conservation properties, HDG allows to reduce the coupled degrees of freedom of the problem to those of an approximation of the solution de¿ned only on the faces of the mesh. Moreover, the convergence properties of the HDG solution allow to perform an element-by-element postprocess resulting in a superconvergent solution. Due to the discontinuous character of the approximation in HDG, p-variable computations are easily implemented. In this work the superconvergent postprocess is used to de¿ne a reliable and computationally cheap error estimator, that is used to drive an automatic adaptive process. The polynomial degree in each element is automatically adjusted aiming at obtaining a uniform error distribution below a user de¿ned tolerance. Since no topological modi¿cation of the discretization is involved, fast adaptations of the mesh are obtained. First, the p-adaptive HDG is applied to the solution of wave problems. In particular, the Mild Slope equation is used to model the problem of sea wave propagation is coastal areas and harbors. The HDG method is compared with the continuous Galerkin (CG) ¿nite element method, which is nowadays the common method used in the engineering practice for this kind of applications. Numerical experiments reveal that the e¿ciency of HDG is close to CG for uniform degree computations, clearly outperforming other DG methods such as the Compact Discontinuous Galerkin method. When p-adaptivity is considered, an important saving in computational cost is shown. Then, the methodology is applied to the solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations for the simulation of laminar ¿ows. Both steady state and transient applications are considered. Various numerical experiments are presented, in 2D and 3D, including academic examples and more challenging applications of engineering interest. Despite the simplicity and low cost of the error estimator, high e¿ciency is exhibited for analytical examples. Moreover, even though the adaptive technique is based on an error estimate for just the velocity ¿eld, high accuracy is attained for all variables, with sharp resolution of the key features of the ¿ow and accurate evaluation of the ¿uid-dynamic forces. In particular, high degrees are automatically located along boundary layers, reducing the need for highly distorted elements in the computational mesh. Numerical tests show an important reduction in computational cost, compared to uniform degree computations, for both steady and unsteady computations