A cell-centred finite volume approximation for second order partial
derivative operators with full matrix on unstructured meshes in any space
dimension
Finite volume methods for problems involving second order operators with full
diffusion matrix can be used thanks to the definition of a discrete gradient
for piecewise constant functions on unstructured meshes satisfying an
orthogonality condition. This discrete gradient is shown to satisfy a strong
convergence property on the interpolation of regular functions, and a weak one
on functions bounded for a discrete H1 norm. To highlight the importance of
both properties, the convergence of the finite volume scheme on a homogeneous
Dirichlet problem with full diffusion matrix is proven, and an error estimate
is provided. Numerical tests show the actual accuracy of the method