Solution strategies for nonlinear conservation laws

Nonlinear conservation laws form the basis for models for a wide range of physical phenomena. Finding an optimal strategy for solving these problems can be challenging, and a good strategy for one problem may fail spectacularly for others. As different problems have different challenging features, exploiting knowledge about the problem structure is a key factor in achieving an efficient solution strategy. Most strategies found in literature for solving nonlinear problems involve a linearization step, usually using Newton's method, which replaces the original nonlinear problem by an iteration process consisting of a series of linear problems. A large effort is then spent on finding a good strategy for solving these linear problems. This involves choosing suitable preconditioners and linear solvers. This approach is in many cases a good choice and a multitude of different methods have been developed. However, the linearization step to some degree involves a loss of information about the original problem. This is not necessarily critical, but in many cases the structure of the nonlinear problem can be exploited to a larger extent than what is possible when working solely on the linearized problem. This may involve knowledge about dominating physical processes and specifically on whether a process is near equilibrium. By using nonlinear preconditioning techniques developed in recent years, certain attractive features such as automatic localization of computations to parts of the problem domain with the highest degree of nonlinearities arise. In the present work, these methods are further refined to obtain a framework for nonlinear preconditioning that also takes into account equilibrium information. This framework is developed mainly in the context of porous media, but in a general manner, allowing for application to a wide range of problems. A scalability study shows that the method is scalable for challenging two-phase flow problems. It is also demonstrated for nonlinear elasticity problems. Some models arising from nonlinear conservation laws are best solved using completely different strategies than the approach outlined above. One such example can be found in the field of surface gravity waves. For special types of nonlinear waves, such as solitary waves and undular bores, the well-known Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation has been shown to be a suitable model. This equation has many interesting properties not typical of nonlinear equations which may be exploited in the solver, and strategies usually reserved to linear problems may be applied. In this work includes a comparative study of two discretization methods with highly different properties for this equation

A space-time discontinuous Galerkin method for coupled poroelasticity-elasticity problems

This work is concerned with the analysis of a space-time finite element discontinuous Galerkin method on polytopal meshes (XT-PolydG) for the numerical discretization of wave propagation in coupled poroelastic-elastic media. The mathematical model consists of the low-frequency Biot's equations in the poroelastic medium and the elastodynamics equation for the elastic one. To realize the coupling, suitable transmission conditions on the interface between the two domains are (weakly) embedded in the formulation. The proposed PolydG discretization in space is then coupled with a dG time integration scheme, resulting in a full space-time dG discretization. We present the stability analysis for both the continuous and the semidiscrete formulations, and we derive error estimates for the semidiscrete formulation in a suitable energy norm. The method is applied to a wide set of numerical test cases to verify the theoretical bounds. Examples of physical interest are also presented to investigate the capability of the proposed method in relevant geophysical scenarios

Variational Theory and Domain Decomposition for Nonlocal Problems

In this article we present the first results on domain decomposition methods for nonlocal operators. We present a nonlocal variational formulation for these operators and establish the well-posedness of associated boundary value problems, proving a nonlocal Poincar\'{e} inequality. To determine the conditioning of the discretized operator, we prove a spectral equivalence which leads to a mesh size independent upper bound for the condition number of the stiffness matrix. We then introduce a nonlocal two-domain variational formulation utilizing nonlocal transmission conditions, and prove equivalence with the single-domain formulation. A nonlocal Schur complement is introduced. We establish condition number bounds for the nonlocal stiffness and Schur complement matrices. Supporting numerical experiments demonstrating the conditioning of the nonlocal one- and two-domain problems are presented.Comment: Updated the technical part. In press in Applied Mathematics and Computatio

A quasi-optimal non-overlapping domain decomposition method for two-dimensional time-harmonic elastic wave problems

peer reviewedThis article presents the construction of a new non-overlapping domain decomposition method (DDM) for two-dimensional elastic scattering problems. The method relies on a high-order Transmission Boundary Condition (TBC) between sub-domains, which accurately approximates the exact Dirichlet-to-Neumann map. First, we explain the derivation of this new TBC in the context of a non-overlapping DDM. Next, a mode-by-mode convergence study for a model problem is presented, which shows the new method to be quasi-optimal, i.e. with an optimal convergence rate for evanescent modes and an improved convergence rate for the other modes compared to the standard low-order Lysmer-Kuhlemeyer TBC. Finally, the effectiveness of the new DDM is demonstrated in a finite element context by analyzing the behavior of the method on high-frequency elastodynamic simulations. © 201

Iterative methods for scattering problems in isotropic or anisotropic elastic waveguides

International audienceWe consider the time-harmonic problem of the diffraction of an incident propagative mode by a localized defect, in an infinite straight isotropic elastic waveguide. We propose several iterative algorithms to compute an approximate solution of the problem, using a classical finite element discretization in a small area around the perturbation, and a modal expansion in unbounded straight parts of the guide. Each algorithm can be related to a so-called domain decomposition method, with or without an overlap between the domains. Specific transmission conditions are used, so that only the sparse finite element matrix has to be inverted, the modal expansion being obtained by a simple projection, using the Fraser bi-orthogonality relation. The benefit of using an overlap between the finite element domain and the modal domain is emphasized, in particular for the extension to the anisotropic case. The transparency of these new boundary conditions is checked for two- and three-dimensional anisotropic waveguides. Finally, in the isotropic case, numerical validation for two- and three-dimensional waveguides illustrates the efficiency of the new approach, compared to other existing methods, in terms of number of iterations and CPU time

Multilevel Schwarz Methods for Porous Media Problems

In this thesis, efficient overlapping multilevel Schwarz preconditioners are used to iteratively solve Hdiv-conforming finite element discretizations of models in poroelasticity, and an innovative two-scale multilevel Schwarz method is developed for the solution of pore-scale porous media models. The convergence of two-level Schwarz methods is rigorously proven for Biot’s consolidation model, as well as a Biot-Brinkman model by utilizing the conservation property of the discretization. The numerical performance of the proposed multiplicative and hybrid two-level Schwarz methods is tested in different problem settings by covering broad ranges of the parameter regimes, showing robust results in variations of the parameters in the system that are uniform in the mesh size. For extreme parameters a scaling of the system yields robustness of the iteration counts. Optimality of the relaxation factor of the hybrid method is investigated and the performance of the multilevel methods is shown to be nearly identical to the two-level case. The additional diffusion term in the Biot-Brinkman model yields a stabilization for high permeabilities. Additionally, a homogenizing two-scale multilevel Schwarz preconditioner is developed for the iterative solution of high-resolution computations of flow in porous media at the pore scale, i.e., a Stokes problem in a periodically perforated domain. Different homogenized operators known from the literature are used as coarse-scale operators within a multilevel Schwarz preconditioner applied to Hdiv-conforming discretizations of an extended model problem. A comparison in the numerical performance tests shows that an operator of Brinkman type with optimized effective tensor yields the best performance results in an axisymmetric configuration and a moderately anisotropic geometry of the obstacles, outperforming Darcy and Stokes as coarse-scale operators, as well as a standard multigrid method, that serves as a benchmark test

Near-optimal perfectly matched layers for indefinite Helmholtz problems

A new construction of an absorbing boundary condition for indefinite Helmholtz problems on unbounded domains is presented. This construction is based on a near-best uniform rational interpolant of the inverse square root function on the union of a negative and positive real interval, designed with the help of a classical result by Zolotarev. Using Krein's interpretation of a Stieltjes continued fraction, this interpolant can be converted into a three-term finite difference discretization of a perfectly matched layer (PML) which converges exponentially fast in the number of grid points. The convergence rate is asymptotically optimal for both propagative and evanescent wave modes. Several numerical experiments and illustrations are included.Comment: Accepted for publication in SIAM Review. To appear 201

Fundamentally New Coupled Approach to Contact Mechanics via the Dirichlet-Neumann Schwarz Alternating Method

Contact phenomena are essential in understanding the behavior of mechanical systems. Existing computational approaches for simulating mechanical contact often encounter numerical issues, such as inaccurate physical predictions, energy conservation errors, and unwanted oscillations. We introduce an alternative technique, rooted in the non-overlapping Schwarz alternating method, originally developed for domain decomposition. In multi-body contact scenarios, this method treats each body as a separate, non-overlapping domain and prevents interpenetration using an alternating Dirichlet-Neumann iterative process. This approach has a strong theoretical foundation, eliminates the need for contact constraints, and offers flexibility, making it well-suited for multiscale and multi-physics applications. We conducted a numerical comparison between the Schwarz method and traditional methods like Lagrange multiplier and penalty methods, focusing on a benchmark impact problem. Our results indicate that the Schwarz alternating method surpasses traditional methods in several key areas: it provides more accurate predictions for various measurable quantities and demonstrates exceptional energy conservation capabilities. To address the issue of unwanted oscillations in contact velocities and forces, we explored various algorithms and stabilization techniques, ultimately opting for the naive-stabilized Newmark scheme for its simplicity and effectiveness. Furthermore, we validated the efficiency of the Schwarz method in a three-dimensional impact problem, highlighting its innate capacity to accommodate different mesh topologies, time integration schemes, and time steps for each interacting body

A proof of convergence of a finite volume scheme for modified steady Richards’ equation describing transport processes in the pressing section of a paper machine

A number of water flow problems in porous media are modelled by Richards’ equation [1]. There exist a lot of different applications of this model. We are concerned with the simulation of the pressing section of a paper machine. This part of the industrial process provides the dewatering of the paper layer by the use of clothings, i.e. press felts, which absorb the water during pressing [2]. A system of nips are formed in the simplest case by rolls, which increase sheet dryness by pressing against each other (see Figure 1). A lot of theoretical studies were done for Richards’ equation (see [3], [4] and references therein). Most articles consider the case of x-independent coefficients. This simplifies the system considerably since, after Kirchhoff’s transformation of the problem, the elliptic operator becomes linear. In our case this condition is not satisfied and we have to consider nonlinear operator of second order. Moreover, all these articles are concerned with the nonstationary problem, while we are interested in the stationary case. Due to complexity of the physical process our problem has a specific feature. An additional convective term appears in our model because the porous media moves with the constant velocity through the pressing rolls. This term is zero in immobile porous media. We are not aware of papers, which deal with such kind of modified steady Richards’ problem. The goal of this paper is to obtain the stability results, to show the existence of a solution to the discrete problem, to prove the convergence of the approximate solution to the weak solution of the modified steady Richards’ equation, which describes the transport processes in the pressing section. In Section 2 we present the model which we consider. In Section 3 a numerical scheme obtained by the finite volume method is given. The main part of this paper is theoretical studies, which are given in Section 4. Section 5 presents a numerical experiment. The conclusion of this work is given in Section 6

Computational Electromagnetism and Acoustics

The challenge inherent in the accurate and efficient numerical modeling of wave propagation phenomena is the common grand theme in both computational electromagnetics and acoustics. Many excellent contributions at this Oberwolfach workshop were devoted to this theme and a wide range of numerical techniques and algorithms were mustered to tackle this challenge