The Finite Element Method For Boundary Value Problems

Written by two well-respected experts in the field, The Finite Element Method for Boundary Value Problems: Mathematics and Computations bridges the gap between applied mathematics and application-oriented computational studies using FEM. Mathematically rigorous, the FEM is presented as a method of approximation for differential operators that are mathematically classified as self-adjoint, non-self-adjoint, and non-linear, thus addressing totality of all BVPs in various areas of engineering, applied mathematics, and physical sciences. These classes of operators are utilized in various methods of approximation: Galerkin method, Petrov-Galerkin Method, weighted residual method, Galerkin method with weak form, least squares method based on residual functional, etc. to establish unconditionally stable finite element computational processes using calculus of variations. Readers are able to grasp the mathematical foundation of finite element method as well as its versatility of applications. h-, p-, and k-versions of finite element method, hierarchical approximations, convergence, error estimation, error computation, and adaptivity are additional significant aspects of this book.

Finite Element Solution of Boundary Value Problems: Theory and Computation provides an introduction to both the theoretical and computational aspects of the finite element method for solving boundary value problems for partial differential equations. This book is composed of seven chapters and begins with surveys of the two kinds of preconditioning techniques, one based on the symmetric successive overrelaxation iterative method for solving a system of equations and a form of incomplete factorization. The subsequent chapters deal with the concepts from functional analysis of boundary value problems. These topics are followed by discussions of the Ritz method, which minimizes the quadratic functional associated with a given boundary value problem over some finite-dimensional subspace of the original space of functions. Other chapters are devoted to direct methods, including Gaussian elimination and related methods, for solving a system of linear algebraic equations. The final chapter continues the analysis of preconditioned conjugate gradient methods, concentrating on applications to finite element problems. This chapter also looks into the techniques for reducing rounding errors in the iterative solution of finite element equations. This book will be of value to advanced undergraduates and graduates in the areas of numerical analysis, mathematics, and computer science, as well as for theoretically inclined workers in engineering and the physical sciences.

This book presents a unified theory of the Finite Element Method and the Boundary Element Method for a numerical solution of second order elliptic boundary value problems. This includes the solvability, stability, and error analysis as well as efficient methods to solve the resulting linear systems. Applications are the potential equation, the system of linear elastostatics and the Stokes system. While there are textbooks on the finite element method, this is one of the first books on Theory of Boundary Element Methods. It is suitable for self study and exercises are included.

Providing an introduction to functional analysis, this text treats in detail its application to boundary-value problems and finite elements, and is distinguished by the fact that abstract concepts are motivated and illustrated wherever possible. It is intended for use by senior undergraduates and graduates in mathematics, the physical sciences and engineering, who may not have been exposed to the conventional prerequisites for a course in functional analysis, such as real analysis. Mature researchers wishing to learn the basic ideas of functional analysis will equally find this useful. Offers a good grounding in those aspects of functional analysis which are most relevant to a proper understanding and appreciation of the mathematical aspects of boundary-value problems and the finite element method.

The objective of this book is to analyze within reasonable limits (it is not a treatise) the basic mathematical aspects of the finite element method. The book should also serve as an introduction to current research on this subject. On the one hand, it is also intended to be a working textbook for advanced courses in Numerical Analysis, as typically taught in graduate courses in American and French universities. For example, it is the author’s experience that a one-semester course (on a three-hour per week basis) can be taught from Chapters 1, 2 and 3 (with the exception of Section 3.3), while another one-semester course can be taught from Chapters 4 and 6. On the other hand, it is hoped that this book will prove to be useful for researchers interested in advanced aspects of the numerical analysis of the finite element method. In this respect, Section 3.3, Chapters 5, 7 and 8, and the sections on “Additional Bibliography and Comments should provide many suggestions for conducting seminars.

A novel computational procedure called the scaled boundary finite-element method is described which combines the advantages of the finite-element and boundary-element methods : Of the finite-element method that no fundamental solution is required and thus expanding the scope of application, for instance to anisotropic material without an increase in complexity and that singular integrals are avoided and that symmetry of the results is automatically satisfied. Of the boundary-element method that the spatial dimension is reduced by one as only the boundary is discretized with surface finite elements, reducing the data preparation and computational efforts, that the boundary conditions at infinity are satisfied exactly and that no approximation other than that of the surface finite elements on the boundary is introduced. In addition, the scaled boundary finite-element method presents appealing features of its own : an analytical solution inside the domain is achieved, permitting for instance accurate stress intensity factors to be determined directly and no spatial discretization of certain free and fixed boundaries and interfaces between different materials is required. In addition, the scaled boundary finite-element method combines the advantages of the analytical and numerical approaches. In the directions parallel to the boundary, where the behaviour is, in general, smooth, the weighted-residual approximation of finite elements applies, leading to convergence in the finite-element sense. In the third (radial) direction, the procedure is analytical, permitting e.g. stress-intensity factors to be determined directly based on their definition or the boundary conditions at infinity to be satisfied exactly. In a nutshell, the scaled boundary finite-element method is a semi-analytical fundamental-solution-less boundary-element method based on finite elements. The best of both worlds is achieved in two ways: with respect to the analytical and numerical methods and with respect to the finite-element and boundary-element methods within the numerical procedures. The book serves two goals: Part I is an elementary text, without any prerequisites, a primer, but which using a simple model problem still covers all aspects of the method and Part II presents a detailed derivation of the general case of statics, elastodynamics and diffusion.

The main purpose of this book is to provide a simple and accessible introduction to the mixed finite element method as a fundamental tool to numerically solve a wide class of boundary value problems arising in physics and engineering sciences. The book is based on material that was taught in corresponding undergraduate and graduate courses at the Universidad de Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile, during the last 7 years. As compared with several other classical books in the subject, the main features of the present one have to do, on one hand, with an attempt of presenting and explaining most of the details in the proofs and in the different applications. In particular several results and aspects of the corresponding analysis that are usually available only in papers or proceedings are included here.

An accessible introduction to the finite element method for solving numeric problems, this volume offers the keys to an important technique in computational mathematics. Suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses, it outlines clear connections with applications and considers numerous examples from a variety of science- and engineering-related specialties.This text encompasses all varieties of the basic linear partial differential equations, including elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic problems, as well as stationary and time-dependent problems. Additional topics include finite element methods for integral equations, an introduction to nonlinear problems, and considerations of unique developments of finite element techniques related to parabolic problems, including methods for automatic time step control. The relevant mathematics are expressed in non-technical terms whenever possible, in the interests of keeping the treatment accessible to a majority of students.