Primer of Adaptive Finite Element Methods

This book gives an introduction to the finite element method as a general computational method for solving partial differential equations approximately. Our approach is mathematical in nature with a strong focus on the underlying mathematical principles, such as approximation properties of piecewise polynomial spaces, and variational formulations of partial differential equations, but with a minimum level of advanced mathematical machinery from functional analysis and partial differential equations.

The book provides a self-contained treatment of stochastic finite element methods. It helps the reader to establish a solid background on stochastic and reliability analysis of structural systems and enables practicing engineers to better manage the concepts of analysis and design in the presence of uncertainty. The book covers the basic topics of computational stochastic mechanics focusing on the stochastic analysis of structural systems in the framework of the finite element method.

This book provides several applications of the finite element method (FEM) for solving real-world problems. This book describes the development of FEM and discusses and illustrates its specific applications.

This volume on some recent aspects of finite element methods and their applications is dedicated to Ulrich Langer and Arnd Meyer on the occasion of their 60th birthdays in 2012. Their work combines the numerical analysis of finite element algorithms, their efficient implementation on state of the art hardware architectures, and the collaboration with engineers and practitioners. In this spirit, this volume contains contributions of former students and collaborators indicating the broad range of their interests in the theory and application of finite element methods.

New finite elements are needed as well in research as in industry environments for the development of virtual prediction techniques. The design and implementation of novel finite elements for specific purposes is a tedious and time consuming task, especially for nonlinear formulations. The automation of this process can help to speed up this process considerably since the generation of the final computer code can be accelerated by order of several magnitudes.

FEM, and the associated computer software are widely recognized as some of the most effective tools for solutions of large-scale engineering applications. Efficient equation and eigen-solvers play critical roles in solving these problems. Sparse matrix technologies have evolved and are now mature enough that all popular and commercialized FEM codes have inserted sparse solvers into their software.

This book presents practical applications of the finite element method to general differential equations. The underlying strategy of deriving the finite element solution is introduced using linear ordinary differential equations, thus allowing the basic concepts of the finite element solution to be introduced without being obscured by the additional mathematical detail required when applying this technique to partial differential equations. The author generalizes the presented approach to partial differential equations which include nonlinearities.

Finite element methods have become ever more important to engineers as tools for design and optimization, now even for solving non-linear technological problems. However, several aspects must be considered for finite-element simulations which are specific for non-linear problems: These problems require the knowledge and the understanding of theoretical foundations and their finite-element discretization as well as algorithms for solving the non-linear equations.

Christoph Lohmann introduces a very general framework for the analysis and design of bound-preserving finite element methods. The results of his in-depth theoretical investigations lead to promising new extensions and modifications of existing algebraic flux correction schemes. The main focus is on new limiting techniques designed to control the range of solution values for advected scalar quantities or the eigenvalue range of symmetric tensors. The author performs a detailed case study for the Folgar-Tucker model of fiber orientation dynamics. Using eigenvalue range preserving limiters and admissible closure approximations, he develops a physics-compatible numerical algorithm for this model.