Mesh refinement - h- and p-versions of the finite element method

9 Mesh refinement - h- and p-versions of the finite element method 

The family of hierarchical elements are specifically designed to minimize the computational cost of repeated computations in the p-version of the finite element method (Zienkiewicz and Taylor, 1994). Successive approximations based on hierarchical elements utilize the derivations of a lower step to generate the solution for a higher-order approximation. This can significantly reduce the 

The weighted residual method provides a flexible mathematical framework for the construction of a variety of numerical solution schemes for the differential equations arising in engineering problems. In particular, as is shown in the followmg section, its application in conjunction with the finite element discretizations yields powerful solution algorithms for field problems. To outline this technique we consider a steady-state boundary value problem represented by the following mathematical model 

42 WEIGHTED RESIDUAL FINll E ELEMENT METHODS - AN OUTLINE 

The residual, Rq, is a function of position in Q. The weighted residual method is based on the elimination of this residual, in some overall manner, over the entire domain. To achieve this the residual is weighted by an appropriate number of position dependent functions and a summation is carried out. This is written as 

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