Solution techniques finite elements

B. M. A. Rahman, and J. B. Davies, Penalty function improvement of waveguide solution by finite element, IEEE Transactions Microwave Theory and Techniques 32, 922-928 (1984). 

For example, uniform meshes give rise to highly structured and simplified forms of matrices, as in Eq. (15.5), which are amenable to rapid solution techniques but are very sensitive to the size of the mesh The larger the mesh, the poorer the solution. More complicated meshes and formulations of the approximation scheme used to set up the solution scheme are used more rarely because of difficulties in programming them and their increased cost in time to achieve solution. Similarly, finite-element schemes have varying degrees of success, depending on choice of mesh, sample functions, and so on. 

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... 

The simplicity gained by choosing identical weight and shape functions has made the standard Galerkin method the most widely used technique in the finite element solution of differential equations. Because of the centrality of this technique in the development of practical schemes for polymer flow problems, the entire procedure of the Galerkin finite element solution of a field problem is further elucidated in the following worked example. 

Development of weighted residual finite element schemes that can yield stable solutions for hyperbolic partial differential equations has been the subject of a considerable amount of research. The most successful outcome of these attempts is the development of the streamline upwinding technique by Brooks and Hughes (1982). The basic concept in the streamline upwinding is to modify the weighting function in the Galerkin scheme as... 

The standard least-squares approach provides an alternative to the Galerkin method in the development of finite element solution schemes for differential equations. However, it can also be shown to belong to the class of weighted residual techniques (Zienkiewicz and Morgan, 1983). In the least-squares finite element method the sum of the squares of the residuals, generated via the substitution of the unknown functions by finite element approximations, is formed and subsequently minimized to obtain the working equations of the scheme. The procedure can be illustrated by the following example, consider... 

Taylor, C. and Hood, P., 1973. A numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations using the finite element technique. Comput. Fluids 1, 73-100. 

The use of selectively reduced integration to obtain accurate non-trivial solutions for incompressible flow problems by the continuous penalty method is not robust and failure may occur. An alternative method called the discrete penalty technique was therefore developed. In this technique separate discretizations for the equation of motion and the penalty relationship (3.6) are first obtained and then the pressure in the equation of motion is substituted using these discretized forms. Finite elements used in conjunction with the discrete penalty scheme must provide appropriate interpolation orders for velocity and pressure to satisfy the BB condition. This is in contrast to the continuous penalty method in which the satisfaction of the stability condition is achieved indirectly through... 

Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method. In the ALE technique the finite element mesh used in the simulation is moved, in each time step, according to a predetermined pattern. In this procedure the element and node numbers and nodal connectivity remain constant but the shape and/or position of the elements change from one time step to the next. Therefore the solution mesh appears to move with a velocity which is different from the flow velocity. Components of the mesh velocity are time derivatives of nodal coordinate displacements expressed in a two-dimensional Cartesian system as... 

The most frequently used modifications of the basic Gaussian elimination method in finite element analysis are the LU decomposition and frontal solution techniques. 

The right-hand side in Equation (6.18) is known and hence its solution yields the error 5x in the original solution. The procedure can be iterated to improve the solution step-by-step. Note that implementation of this algorithm in the context of finite element computations may be very expensive. A significant advantage of the LU decomposition technique now becomes clear, because using this technique [A] can be decomposed only once and stored. Therefore in the solution of Equation (6.18) only the right-hand side needs to be calculated. 

D.F. Hawken, J.J. Gottlieb, and J.S. Hansen, Review of Some Adaptive Node-Movement Techniques in Finite-Element and Finite-Difference Solutions of Partial Differential Equations, J. Comput. Phys. 95 (1991). 

The three modes of numerical solution techniques are finite difference, finite element, and spectral methods. These methods perform the following steps ... 

Problems of inclusions in solids are also treated by exact elasticity approaches such as Muskhelishvili s complex-variable-mapping techniques [3-9]. In addition, numerical solution techniques such as finite elements and finite differences have been used extensively. 

Many techniques exist for solution of the equilibrium, buckling, and vibration problems formulated in the preceding subsections. The techniques range from fortuitous exact solutions that are obtained essentially by observation through numerical approximations such as finite element... 

Finite element methods are one of several approximate numerical techniques available for the solution of engineering boundary value problems. Analysis of materials processing operations lead to equations of this type, and finite element methods have a number of advantages in modeling such processes. This document is intended as an overview of this technique, to include examples relevant to polymer processing technology. 

Without a solution, formulated mathematical systems (models) are of little value. Four solution procedures are mainly followed the analytical, the numerical (e.g., finite different, finite element), the statistical, and the iterative. Numerical techniques have been standard practice in soil quality modeling. Analytical techniques are usually employed for simplified and idealized situations. Statistical techniques have academic respect, and iterative solutions are developed for specialized cases. Both the simulation and the analytic models can employ numerical solution procedures for their equations. Although the above terminology is not standard in the literature, it has been used here as a means of outlining some of the concepts of modeling. 

Models of the above have been presented by various researchers of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the academia. The above equation has been solved principally (a) numerically over a temporal and spatial discretized domain, via finite difference or finite element mathematical techniques (e.g., 11) (b) analytically, by seeking exact solutions for simplified environmental conditions (e.g., 12) or (c) probabilistically (e.g., 13). 

Two remaining problems relating to the treatment of solvation include the slowness of Poisson-Boltzmann calculations, when these are used to treat electrostatic effects, and the difficulty of keeping buried, explicit solvent in equilibrium with the external solvent when, e.g., there are changes in nearby solute groups in an alchemical simulation. Faster methods for solving the Poisson-Boltzmann equation by means of parallel finite element techniques are becoming available, however.22 24... 

---