You need JavaScript to view this

A piecewise linear finite element discretization of the diffusion equation for arbitrary polyhedral grids

Abstract

We develop a piecewise linear (PWL) Galerkin finite element spatial discretization for the multi-dimensional radiation diffusion equation. It uses recently introduced piecewise linear weight and basis functions in the finite element approximation and it can be applied on arbitrary polygonal (2D) or polyhedral (3D) grids. We first demonstrate some analytical properties of the PWL method and perform a simple mode analysis to compare the PWL method with Palmer's vertex-centered finite-volume method and with a bilinear continuous finite element method. We then show that this new PWL method gives solutions comparable to those from Palmer's. However, since the PWL method produces a symmetric positive-definite coefficient matrix, it should be substantially more computationally efficient than Palmer's method, which produces an asymmetric matrix. We conclude that the Galerkin PWL method is an attractive option for solving diffusion equations on unstructured grids.
Authors:
Bailey, Teresa S. , E-mail: baileyte@tamu.edu; [1]  Adams, Marvin L. , E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu; [1]  Yang, Brian; [2]  Zika, Michael R. , E-mail: zika@llnl.gov [2] 
  1. Texas A and M University, Department of Nuclear Engineering, College Station, TX 77843-3133 (United States)
  2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94551 (United States)
Publication Date:
Apr 01, 2008
Product Type:
Journal Article
Resource Relation:
Journal Name: Journal of Computational Physics; Journal Volume: 227; Journal Issue: 8; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.jcp.2007.11.026; PII: S0021-9991(07)00505-0; Copyright (c) 2007 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; APPROXIMATIONS; ASYMMETRY; DIFFUSION EQUATIONS; FINITE ELEMENT METHOD; MATRICES
OSTI ID:
21028317
Country of Origin:
United States
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
Journal ID: ISSN 0021-9991; JCTPAH; TRN: US08R0988050232
Availability:
Available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2007.11.026;INIS
Submitting Site:
INIS
Size:
page(s) 3738-3757
Announcement Date:
Jun 02, 2008

Citation Formats

Bailey, Teresa S. , E-mail: baileyte@tamu.edu, Adams, Marvin L. , E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu, Yang, Brian, and Zika, Michael R. , E-mail: zika@llnl.gov. A piecewise linear finite element discretization of the diffusion equation for arbitrary polyhedral grids. United States: N. p., 2008. Web. doi:10.1016/j.jcp.2007.11.026.
Bailey, Teresa S. , E-mail: baileyte@tamu.edu, Adams, Marvin L. , E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu, Yang, Brian, & Zika, Michael R. , E-mail: zika@llnl.gov. A piecewise linear finite element discretization of the diffusion equation for arbitrary polyhedral grids. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2007.11.026
Bailey, Teresa S. , E-mail: baileyte@tamu.edu, Adams, Marvin L. , E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu, Yang, Brian, and Zika, Michael R. , E-mail: zika@llnl.gov. 2008. "A piecewise linear finite element discretization of the diffusion equation for arbitrary polyhedral grids." United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2007.11.026.
@misc{etde_21028317,
title = {A piecewise linear finite element discretization of the diffusion equation for arbitrary polyhedral grids}
author = {Bailey, Teresa S. , E-mail: baileyte@tamu.edu, Adams, Marvin L. , E-mail: mladams@tamu.edu, Yang, Brian, and Zika, Michael R. , E-mail: zika@llnl.gov}
abstractNote = {We develop a piecewise linear (PWL) Galerkin finite element spatial discretization for the multi-dimensional radiation diffusion equation. It uses recently introduced piecewise linear weight and basis functions in the finite element approximation and it can be applied on arbitrary polygonal (2D) or polyhedral (3D) grids. We first demonstrate some analytical properties of the PWL method and perform a simple mode analysis to compare the PWL method with Palmer's vertex-centered finite-volume method and with a bilinear continuous finite element method. We then show that this new PWL method gives solutions comparable to those from Palmer's. However, since the PWL method produces a symmetric positive-definite coefficient matrix, it should be substantially more computationally efficient than Palmer's method, which produces an asymmetric matrix. We conclude that the Galerkin PWL method is an attractive option for solving diffusion equations on unstructured grids.}
doi = {10.1016/j.jcp.2007.11.026}
journal = []
issue = {8}
volume = {227}
place = {United States}
year = {2008}
month = {Apr}
}