Superconvergence of the Gradient Approximation for Weak Galerkin Finite Element Methods on Nonuniform Rectangular Partitions

This article presents a superconvergence for the gradient approximation of the second order elliptic equation discretized by the weak Galerkin finite element methods on nonuniform rectangular partitions. The result shows a convergence of ${\cal O}(h^r)$, $1.5\leq r \leq 2$, for the numerical gradient obtained from the lowest order weak Galerkin element consisting of piecewise linear and constant functions. For this numerical scheme, the optimal order of error estimate is ${\cal O}(h)$ for the gradient approximation. The superconvergence reveals a superior performance of the weak Galerkin finite element methods. Some computational results are included to numerically validate the superconvergence theory

Superconvergence of Numerical Gradient for Weak Galerkin Finite Element Methods on Nonuniform Cartesian Partitions in Three Dimensions

A superconvergence error estimate for the gradient approximation of the second order elliptic problem in three dimensions is analyzed by using weak Galerkin finite element scheme on the uniform and non-uniform cubic partitions. Due to the loss of the symmetric property from two dimensions to three dimensions, this superconvergence result in three dimensions is not a trivial extension of the recent superconvergence result in two dimensions \cite{sup_LWW2018} from rectangular partitions to cubic partitions. The error estimate for the numerical gradient in the $L^{2}$-norm arrives at a superconvergence order of ${\cal O}(h^r) (1.5 \leq r\leq 2)$ when the lowest order weak Galerkin finite elements consisting of piecewise linear polynomials in the interior of the elements and piecewise constants on the faces of the elements are employed. A series of numerical experiments are illustrated to confirm the established superconvergence theory in three dimensions.Comment: 31 pages, 24 table