Divergence-free reconstruction operators for pressure-robust Stokes discretizations with continuous pressure finite elements

Classical inf-sup stable mixed finite elements for the incompressible (Navier--)Stokes equations are not pressure-robust, i.e., their velocity errors depend on the continuous pressure. How-ever, a modification only in the right hand side of a Stokes discretization is able to reestablish pressure-robustness, as shown recently for several inf-sup stable Stokes elements with discontinuous discrete pressures. In this contribution, this idea is extended to low and high order Taylor--Hood and mini elements, which have continuous discrete pressures. For the modification of the right hand side a velocity reconstruction operator is constructed that maps discretely divergence-free test functions to exactly divergence-free ones. The reconstruction is based on local H(div)-conforming flux equilibration on vertex patches, and fulfills certain orthogonality properties to provide consistency and optimal a-priori error estimates. Numerical examples for the incompressible Stokes and Navier--Stokes equations confirm that the new pressure-robust Taylor--Hood and mini elements converge with optimal order and outperform signi--cantly the classical versions of those elements when the continuous pressure is comparably large

An embedded--hybridized discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for the Stokes equations

We present and analyze a new embedded--hybridized discontinuous Galerkin finite element method for the Stokes problem. The method has the attractive properties of full hybridized methods, namely an $H({\rm div})$-conforming velocity field, pointwise satisfaction of the continuity equation and \emph{a priori} error estimates for the velocity that are independent of the pressure. The embedded--hybridized formulation has advantages over a full hybridized formulation in that it has fewer global degrees-of-freedom for a given mesh and the algebraic structure of the resulting linear system is better suited to fast iterative solvers. The analysis results are supported by a range of numerical examples that demonstrate rates of convergence, and which show computational efficiency gains over a full hybridized formulation

Divergence-preserving reconstructions on polygons and a really pressure-robust virtual element method for the Stokes problem

Non divergence-free discretisations for the incompressible Stokes problem may suffer from a lack of pressure-robustness characterised by large discretisations errors due to irrotational forces in the momentum balance. This paper argues that also divergence-free virtual element methods (VEM) on polygonal meshes are not really pressure-robust as long as the right-hand side is not discretised in a careful manner. To be able to evaluate the right-hand side for the testfunctions, some explicit interpolation of the virtual testfunctions is needed that can be evaluated pointwise everywhere. The standard discretisation via an L2 -bestapproximation does not preserve the divergence and so destroys the orthogonality between divergence-free testfunctions and possibly eminent gradient forces in the right-hand side. To repair this orthogonality and restore pressure-robustness another divergence-preserving reconstruction is suggested based on Raviart--Thomas approximations on local subtriangulations of the polygons. All findings are proven theoretically and are demonstrated numerically in two dimensions. The construction is also interesting for hybrid high-order methods on polygonal or polyhedral meshes

A nonconforming pressure-robust finite element method for the Stokes equations on anisotropic meshes

Most classical finite element schemes for the (Navier-)Stokes equations are neither pressure-robust, nor are they inf-sup stable on general anisotropic triangulations. A lack of pressure-robustness may lead to large velocity errors, whenever the Stokes momentum balance is dominated by a strong and complicated pressure gradient. It is a consequence of a method, which does not exactly satisfy the divergence constraint. However, inf-sup stable schemes can often be made pressure-robust just by a recent, modified discretization of the exterior forcing term, using $\mathbf{H}(\operatorname{div})$-conforming velocity reconstruction operators. This approach has so far only been analyzed on shape-regular triangulations. The novelty of the present contribution is that the reconstruction approach for the Crouzeix-Raviart method, which has a stable Fortin operator on arbitrary meshes, is combined with results on the interpolation error on anisotropic elements for reconstruction operators of Raviart-Thomas and Brezzi-Douglas-Marini type, generalizing the method to a large class of anisotropic triangulations. Numerical examples confirm the theoretical results in a 2D and a 3D test case

A pressure-robust embedded discontinuous Galerkin method for the Stokes problem by reconstruction operators

The embedded discontinuous Galerkin (EDG) finite element method for the Stokes problem results in a point-wise divergence-free approximate velocity on cells. However, the approximate velocity is not H(div)-conforming and it can be shown that this is the reason that the EDG method is not pressure-robust, i.e., the error in the velocity depends on the continuous pressure. In this paper we present a local reconstruction operator that maps discretely divergence-free test functions to exactly divergence-free test functions. This local reconstruction operator restores pressure-robustness by only changing the right hand side of the discretization, similar to the reconstruction operator recently introduced for the Taylor--Hood and mini elements by Lederer et al. (SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 55 (2017), pp. 1291--1314). We present an a priori error analysis of the discretization showing optimal convergence rates and pressure-robustness of the velocity error. These results are verified by numerical examples. The motivation for this research is that the resulting EDG method combines the versatility of discontinuous Galerkin methods with the computational efficiency of continuous Galerkin methods and accuracy of pressure-robust finite element methods

Refined a posteriori error estimation for classical and pressure-robust Stokes finite element methods

Recent works showed that pressure-robust modifications of mixed finite element methods for the Stokes equations outperform their standard versions in many cases. This is achieved by divergence-free reconstruction operators and results in pressure independent velocity error estimates which are robust with respect to small viscosities. In this paper we develop a posteriori error control which reflects this robustness. The main difficulty lies in the volume contribution of the standard residual-based approach that includes the $L^2$-norm of the right-hand side. However, the velocity is only steered by the divergence-free part of this source term. An efficient error estimator must approximate this divergence-free part in a proper manner, otherwise it can be dominated by the pressure error. To overcome this difficulty a novel approach is suggested that uses arguments from the stream function and vorticity formulation of the Navier--Stokes equations. The novel error estimators only take the $\mathrm{curl}$ of the right-hand side into account and so lead to provably reliable, efficient and pressure-independent upper bounds in case of a pressure-robust method in particular in pressure-dominant situations. This is also confirmed by some numerical examples with the novel pressure-robust modifications of the Taylor--Hood and mini finite element methods

Towards pressure-robust mixed methods for the incompressible Navier--Stokes equations

In this contribution, classical mixed methods for the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations that relax the divergence constraint and are discretely inf-sup stable, are reviewed. Though the relaxation of the divergence constraint was claimed to be harmless since the beginning of the 1970ies, Poisson locking is just replaced by another more subtle kind of locking phenomenon, which is sometimes called poor mass conservation. Indeed, divergence-free mixed methods and classical mixed methods behave qualitatively in a different way: divergence-free mixed methods are pressure-robust, which means that, e.g., their velocity error is independent of the continuous pressure. The lack of pressure-robustness in classical mixed methods can be traced back to a consistency error of an appropriately defined discrete Helmholtz projector. Numerical analysis and numerical examples reveal that really locking-free mixed methods must be discretely inf-sup stable and pressure-robust, simultaneously. Further, a recent discovery shows that locking-free, pressure-robust mixed methods do not have to be divergence-free. Indeed, relaxing the divergence constraint in the velocity trial functions is harmless, if the relaxation of the divergence constraint in some velocity test functions is repaired, accordingly

A nonconforming pressure-robust finite element method for the Stokes equations on anisotropic meshes

Most classical finite element schemes for the (Navier--)Stokes equations are neither pressure-robust, nor are they inf-sup stable on general anisotropic triangulations. A lack of pressure-robustness may lead to large velocity errors, whenever the Stokes momentum balance is dominated by a strong and complicated pressure gradient. It is a consequence of a method, which does not exactly satisfy the divergence constraint. However, inf-sup stable schemes can often be made pressure-robust just by a recent, modified discretization of the exterior forcing term, using H(div)-conforming velocity reconstruction operators. This approach has so far only been analyzed on shape-regular triangulations. The novelty of the present contribution is that the reconstruction approach for the Crouzeix--Raviart method, which has a stable Fortin operator on arbitrary meshes, is combined with results on the interpolation error on anisotropic elements for reconstruction operators of Raviart--Thomas and Brezzi--Douglas--Marini type, generalizing the method to a large class of anisotropic triangulations. Numerical examples confirm the theoretical results in a 2D and a 3D test case