Dispersion error reduction for acoustic problems using the edge‐based smoothed finite element method (ES‐FEM)

The paper reports a detailed analysis on the numerical dispersion error in solving 2D acoustic problems governed by the Helmholtz equation using the edge‐based smoothed finite element method (ES‐FEM), in comparison with the standard FEM. It is found that the dispersion error of the standard FEM for solving acoustic problems is essentially caused by the ‘overly stiff’ feature of the discrete model. In such an ‘overly stiff’ FEM model, the wave propagates with an artificially higher ‘numerical’ speed, and hence the numerical wave‐number becomes significantly smaller than the actual exact one. Owing to the proper softening effects provided naturally by the edge‐based gradient smoothing operations, the ES‐FEM model, however, behaves much softer than the standard FEM model, leading to the so‐called very ‘close‐to‐exact’ stiffness. Therefore the ES‐FEM can naturally and effectively reduce the dispersion error in the numerical solution in solving acoustic problems. Results of both theoretical and numerical studies will support these important findings. It is shown clearly that the ES‐FEM suits ideally well for solving acoustic problems governed by the Helmholtz equations, because of the crucial effectiveness in reducing the dispersion error in the discrete numerical model. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dispersion free analysis of acoustic problems using the alpha finite element method

The classical finite element method (FEM) fails to provide accurate results to the Helmholtz equation with large wave numbers due to the well-known “pollution error” caused by the numerical dispersion, i.e. the numerical wave number is always smaller than the exact one. This dispersion error is essentially rooted at the “overly-stiff” feature of the FEM model. In this paper, an alpha finite element method (α-FEM) is then formulated for the acoustic problems by combining the “smaller wave number” model of FEM and the “larger wave number” model of NS-FEM through a scaling factor ${a\in [0,1]}The classical finite element method (FEM) fails to provide accurate results to the Helmholtz equation with large wave numbers due to the well-known “pollution error” caused by the numerical dispersion, i.e. the numerical wave number is always smaller than the exact one. This dispersion error is essentially rooted at the “overly-stiff” feature of the FEM model. In this paper, an alpha finite element method (α-FEM) is then formulated for the acoustic problems by combining the “smaller wave number” model of FEM and the “larger wave number” model of NS-FEM through a scaling factor a ? [0,1]{a\in [0,1]} . The motivation for this combined approach is essentially from the features of “overly-stiff” FEM model and “overly-soft” NS-FEM model, and accurate solutions can be obtained by tuning the α-FEM model. A technique is proposed to determine a particular alpha with which the α-FEM model can possess a very “close-to-exact” stiffness, which can effectively reduce the dispersion error leading to dispersion free solutions for acoustic problems. Theoretical and numerical studies shall demonstrate the excellent properties of the present α-FEM.     

Analysis of high‐order finite elements for convected wave propagation

In this paper, we examine the performance of high‐order finite element methods (FEM) for aeroacoustic propagation, based on the convected Helmholtz equation. A methodology is presented to measure the dispersion and amplitude errors of the p‐FEM, including non‐interpolating shape functions, such as ‘bubble’ shape functions. A series of simple test cases are also presented to support the results of the dispersion analysis. The main conclusion is that the properties of p‐FEM that make its strength for standard acoustics (e.g., exponential p‐convergence, low dispersion error) remain present for flow acoustics as well. However, the flow has a noticeable effect on the accuracy of the numerical solution, even when the change in wavelength due to the mean flow is accounted for, and an approximation of the dispersion error is proposed to describe the influence of the mean flow. Also discussed is the so‐called aliasing effect, which can reduce the accuracy of the solution in the case of downstream propagation. This can be avoided by an appropriate choice of mesh resolution. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A posteriori error estimation for finite element solutions of Helmholtz’ equation. part I: the quality of local indicators and estimators

This paper contains a first systematic analysis of a posteriori estimation for finite element solutions of the Helmholtz equation. In this first part, it is shown that the standard a posteriori estimates, based only on local computations, severely underestimate the exact error for the classes of wave numbers and the types of meshes employed in engineering analysis. This underestimation can be explained by observing that the standard error estimators cannot detect one component of the error, the pollution error, which is very significant at high wave numbers. Here, a rigorous analysis is carried out on a one-dimensional model problem. The analytical results for the residual estimator are illustrated and further investigated by numerical evaluation both for a residual estimator and for the ZZ-estimator based on smoothening. In the second part, reliable a posteriori estimators of the pollution error will be constructed. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Galerkin least-squares finite element method for the two-dimensional Helmholtz equation

In this paper a Galerkin least-squares (GLS) finite element method, in which residuals in least-squares form are added to the standard Galerkin variational equation, is developed to solve the Helmholtz equation in two dimensions. An important feature of GLS methods is the introduction of a local mesh parameter that may be designed to provide accurate solutions with relatively coarse meshes. Previous work has accomplished this for the one-dimensional Helmholtz equation using dispersion analysis. In this paper, the selection of the GLS mesh parameter for two dimensions is considered, and leads to elements that exhibit improved phase accuracy. For any given direction of wave propagation, an optimal GLS mesh parameter is determined using two-dimensional Fourier analysis. In general problems, the direction of wave propagation will not be known a priori. In this case, an optimal GLS parameter is found which reduces phase error for all possible wave vector orientations over elements. The optimal GLS parameters are derived for both consistent and lumped mass approximations. Several numerical examples are given and the results compared with those obtained from the Galerkin method. The extension of GLS to higher-order quadratic interpolations is also presented.     

Dispersion analysis of the gradient weighted finite element method for acoustic problems in one,two, and three dimensions

This paper reports a detailed analysis on the numerical dispersion error in solving one-, two-, and three-dimensional acoustic problems governed by the Helmholtz equation using the gradient weighted finite element method (GW-FEM) in comparison with the standard FEM and the modified methods presented in the literatures. The discretized system equations derived based on the gradient weighted operation corresponding to the considered method are first briefed. The discrete dispersion relationships relating the exact and numerical wave numbers defined in different dimensions are then formulated, which will be further used to investigate the dispersion effect mainly caused by the approximation of field variables. The influence of nondimensional wave number and wave propagation angle on the dispersion error is detailedly studied. Comparisons are made with the classical FEM and high-performance algorithms. Results of both theoretical and numerical experiments show that the present method can effectively reduce the pollution effect in computational acoustics owning to its crucial effectiveness in handing the dispersion error in the discrete numerical model.     

Exact finite element solutions to the Helmholtz equation

For one-, two- and three-dimensional co-ordinate systems finite element matrices for the wave or Helmholtz equation are used to produce a single difference equation holding at any point of a regular mesh. Under homogeneous Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions, these equations are solved exactly. The eigenfunctions are the discrete form of sine or cosine functions and the eigenvalues are shown to be in error by a term of + O(h²ⁿ) where n is the order of the polynomial approximation of the wave function. The solutions provide the means of testing computer programs against the exact solutions and allow comparison with other difference schemes.     

Solution of viscoelastic scattering problems in linear acoustics using hp Boundary/Finite Element Method

The interaction of acoustic waves with submerged structures remains one of the most difficult and challenging problems in underwater acoustics. Many techniques such as coupled Boundary Element (BE)/Finite Element (FE) or coupled Infinite Element (IE)/Finite Element approximations have evolved. In the present work, we focus on the steady‐state formulation only, and study a general coupled hp‐adaptive BE/FE method. A particular emphasis is placed on an a posteriori error estimation for the viscoelastic scattering problems. The highlights of the proposed methodology are as follows: (1) The exterior Helmholtz equation and the Sommerfeld radiation condition are replaced with an equivalent Burton–Miller (BM) boundary integral equation on the surface of the scatterer. (2) The BM equation is coupled to the steady‐state form of viscoelasticity equations modelling the behaviour of the structure. (3) The viscoelasticity equations are approximated using hp‐adaptive FE isoparametric discretizations with order of approximation p⩾5 in order to avoid the ‘locking’ phenomenon. (4) A compatible hp superparametric discretization is used to approximate the BM integral equation. (5) Both the FE and BE approximations are based on a weak form of the equations, and the Galerkin method, allowing for a full convergence analysis. (6) An a posteriori error estimate for the coupled problem of a residual type is derived, allowing for estimating the error in pressure on the wet surface of the scatterer. (7) An adaptive scheme, an extension of the Texas Three Step Adaptive Strategy is used to manipulate the mesh size h and the order of approximation p so as to approximately minimize the number of degrees of freedom required to produce a solution with a specified accuracy. The use of this hp‐scheme may exhibit exponential convergence rates. Several numerical experiments illustrate the methodology. These include detailed convergence studies for the problem of scattering of a plane acoustic wave on a viscoelastic sphere, and adaptive solutions of viscoelastic scattering problems for a series of MOCK0 models. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling of progressive short waves using wave envelopes

We consider progressive waves such that the time independent potential satisfies the Helmholtz equation, for example, the travelling wave diffracted from a body. In order to model the wave potential using finite elements it is usual to discretize the domain such that there are about ten nodal points per wavelength. However, such a procedure is computationally expensive and impractical if the waves are short. The goal is to be able to model accurately with few elements problems such as sonar and radar. Therefore we seek a new method in which the discretization of the domain is more economical. To do so, we express the complex potential ϕ in terms of the real wave envelope A and the real phase p such that ϕ=Ae^ip, and expect that in most regions the functions A and p vary much more gradually over the domain than does the oscillatory potential ϕ. Therefore instead of modelling the potential we model the wave envelope and the phase. The usual approach then uses the well known geometrical optics approximation (see p. 109 of Reference 1) : if the wave number k is large then the potential can be expanded in decreasing powers of k. The first two terms give the eikonal equation for the phase and the transport equation for the wave envelope respectively (see p. 149 of Reference 2). However, using the geometrical optics approximation (or ray theory) gives no diffraction effects. This approach shall therefore not be considered. (We note though that Keller's theory of geometrical diffraction, an extension to geometrical optics, does allow for diffraction effects and this may be considered at a later date.) We shall consider a new method which shall be described in the present paper and apply it to two-dimensional problems, although the method is equally valid for arbitary three-dimensional problems. (The method has already been validated for the case of one-dimensional problems.) An iterative procedure is described whereby an estimate of the phase is first given and from the resulting finite element calculation for the wave envelope a better estimate for the phase is obtained. The iterated values for the phase and wave envelope converge to the expected values for the test progressive wave examples considered. Even if a very poor estimate for the phase is first given the iterated values converge to the exact values but very slowly. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of the pollution on the admissible field error estimation for FE solutions of the Helmholtz equation

The a posteriori error estimation in constitutive law has already been extensively developed and applied to finite element solutions of structural analysis problems. The paper presents an extension of this estimator to problems governed by the Helmholtz equation (e.g. acoustic problems) that we have already partially reported, this paper containing informations about the construction of the admissible fields for acoustics. Moreover, it has been proven that the upper bound property of this estimator applied to elasticity problems (the error in constitutive law bounds from above the exact error in energy norm) does not generally apply to acoustic formulations due to the presence of the specific pollution error. The numerical investigations of the present paper confirm that the upper bound property of this type of estimator is verified only in the case of low (non‐dimensional) wave numbers while it is violated for high wave numbers due to the pollution effect. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

HYPERSINGULAR RESIDUALS—A NEW APPROACH FOR ERROR ESTIMATION IN THE BOUNDARY ELEMENT METHOD

This paper presents a new approach for a posteriori ‘pointwise’ error estimation in the boundary element method. The estimator relies upon evaluation of the residual of hypersingular integral equations, and is therefore intrinsic to the boundary integral equation approach. A methodology is developed for approximating the error on the boundary as well as in the interior of the domain. Extensive computational experiments have been performed for the two-dimensional Laplace equation and the numerical results indicate that the error estimates successfully track the form of the exact error curve. Moreover, a reasonable estimate of the magnitude of the actual error is also predicted.     

Numerical solution of the Helmholtz equation with high wavenumbers

This paper investigates the pollution effect, and explores the feasibility of a local spectral method, the discrete singular convolution (DSC) algorithm for solving the Helmholtz equation with high wavenumbers. Fourier analysis is employed to study the dispersive error of the DSC algorithm. Our analysis of dispersive errors indicates that the DSC algorithm yields a dispersion vanishing scheme. The dispersion analysis is further confirmed by the numerical results. For one‐ and higher‐dimensional Helmholtz equations, the DSC algorithm is shown to be an essentially pollution‐free scheme. Furthermore, for large‐scale computation, the grid density of the DSC algorithm can be close to the optimal two grid points per wavelength. The present study reveals that the DSC algorithm is accurate and efficient for solving the Helmholtz equation with high wavenumbers. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dispersion and pollution of the FEM solution for the Helmholtz equation in one,two and three dimensions

For high wave numbers, the Helmholtz equation suffers the so‐called ‘pollution effect’. This effect is directly related to the dispersion. A method to measure the dispersion on any numerical method related to the classical Galerkin FEM is presented. This method does not require to compute the numerical solution of the problem and is extremely fast. Numerical results on the classical Galerkin FEM (p‐method) is compared to modified methods presented in the literature. A study of the influence of the topology triangles is also carried out. The efficiency of the different methods is compared. The numerical results in two of the mesh and for square elements show that the high order elements control the dispersion well. The most effective modified method is the QSFEM [1,2] but it is also very complicated in the general setting. The residual‐free bubble [3,4] is effective in one dimension but not in higher dimensions. The least‐square method [1,5] approach lowers the dispersion but relatively little. The results for triangular meshes show that the best topology is the ‘criss‐cross’ pattern. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Robust Numerical Scheme for Singularly Perturbed Delay Differential Equations with Turning Point

Abstract

In this article, we propose a parameter uniform numerical method for singularly perturbed delay differential equations with turning point. Using interpolation, a new algorithm is developed to tackle the retarded term. A fitted operator finite difference scheme using Il’in Allen Southwell fitting factor is used for numerical discretization. Bounds on the analytical solution and its derivatives are obtained. The efficiency of the proposed numerical method is illustrated via applying the proposed method on some test problems. The solution is proved to be stable and ε-uniform error estimates are derived. It is shown that the delay argument has significant effect on the solution behavior.     

p-version least-squares finite element formulation for convection-diffusion problems

This paper presents a p-version least-squares finite element formulation of the convection-diffusion equation. The second-order differential equation describing convection-diffusion is reduced to a series of equivalent first-order differential equations for which the least-squares formulation is constructed using the same order of approximation for each of the dependent variables. The hierarchical approximation functions and the nodal variable operators are established by first constructing the one-dimensional hierarchical approximation functions of orders pξ and pη and the corresponding nodal variable operators in ξ and η-direction and then taking their products. Numerical results are presented and compared with analytical and numerical solutions for a two-dimensional test problem to demonstrate the accuracy and the convergence characteristics of the present formulation. The Gaussian quadrature rule used to calculate the numerical values of the element matrices, vectors as well as the error functional I(E), is established based on the highest degree of the polynomial in the integrands. It is demonstrated that this quadrature rule with the present p-version formulation produces excellent results for very low as well as extremely high Peclet numbers (10-10⁶) and, furthermore, the error functional I (sum of the integrals of E²) is a monotonically decreasing function of the number of degrees of freedom as the p-levels are increased for a fixed mesh. It is shown that exact integration with the h-version (linear and parabolic elements) produces inaccurate solutions at high Peclet numbers. Results are also presented using reduced integration. It is shown that the reduced integration with p-version produces accurate values of the primary variable even for relatively low p-levels but the error functional I (when calculated using the proper integration rule) has a much higher value (due to errors in the derivatives of the primary variable) and is a non-monotonic function of the degrees of freedom as p-levels are increased for a fixed mesh. Similar behaviour of the error functional I is also observed for the h-models using linear elements when reduced integration is used. Although the h-models using parabolic elements produce monotonic error functional behaviour as the number of degrees of freedom are increased, the error values are inferior to the p-version results using exact integration.     

Stability and accuracy of finite element methods for flow acoustics. I: general theory and application to one‐dimensional propagation

The dispersion properties of finite element models for aeroacoustic propagation based on the convected scalar Helmholtz equation and on the Galbrun equation are examined. The current study focusses on the effect of the mean flow on the dispersion and amplitude errors present in the discrete numerical solutions. A general two‐dimensional dispersion analysis is presented for the discrete problem on a regular unbounded mesh, and results are presented for the particular case of one‐dimensional acoustic propagation in which the wave direction is aligned with the mean flow. The magnitude and sign of the mean flow is shown to have a significant effect on the accuracy of the numerical schemes. Quadratic Helmholtz elements in particular are shown to be much less effective for downstream—as opposed to upstream—propagation, even when the effect of wave shortening or elongation due to the mean flow is taken into account. These trends are also observed in solutions obtained for simple test problems on finite meshes. A similar analysis of two‐dimensional propagation is presented in an accompanying article. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A wideband fast multipole accelerated boundary integral equation method for time‐harmonic elastodynamics in two dimensions

This article presents a wideband fast multipole method (FMM) to accelerate the boundary integral equation method for two‐dimensional elastodynamics in frequency domain. The present wideband FMM is established by coupling the low‐frequency FMM and the high‐frequency FMM that are formulated on the ingenious decomposition of the elastodynamic fundamental solution developed by Nishimura's group. For each of the two FMMs, we estimated the approximation parameters, that is, the expansion order for the low‐frequency FMM and the quadrature order for the high‐frequency FMM according to the requested accuracy, considering the coexistence of the derivatives of the Helmholtz kernels for the longitudinal and transcendental waves in the Burton–Muller type boundary integral equation of interest. In the numerical tests, the error resulting from the fast multipole approximation was monotonically decreased as the requested accuracy level was raised. Also, the computational complexity of the present fast boundary integral equation method agreed with the theory, that is, Nlog N, where N is the number of boundary elements in a series of scattering problems. The present fast boundary integral equation method is promising for simulations of the elastic systems with subwavelength structures. As an example, the wave propagation along a waveguide fabricated in a finite‐size phononic crystal was demonstrated. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of the dispersion error in the numerical wave number of standard and stabilized finite element approximations of the Helmholtz equation

An estimator for the error in the wave number is presented in the context of finite element approximations of the Helmholtz equation. The proposed estimate is an extension of the ideas introduced in Steffens and D'?ez (Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engng 2009; 198 :1389–1400). In the previous work, the error assessment technique was developed for standard Galerkin approximations. Here, the methodology is extended to deal also with stabilized approximations of the Helmholtz equation. Thus, the accuracy of the stabilized solutions is analyzed, including also their sensitivity to the stabilization parameters depending on the mesh topology. The procedure builds up an inexpensive approximation of the exact solution, using post‐processing techniques standard in error estimation analysis, from which the estimate of the error in the wave number is computed using a simple closed expression. The recovery technique used in Steffens and Díez (Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engng 2009; 198 :1389–1400) is based in a polynomial least‐squares fitting. Here a new recovery strategy is introduced, using exponential (in a complex setup, trigonometric) local approximations respecting the nature of the solution of the wave problem. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE p-VERSION OF THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD IN INCREMENTAL ELASTO-PLASTIC ANALYSIS

Whereas the higher-order versions of the finite element method (p- and hp-versions) are fairly well established as highly efficient methods for monitoring and controlling the discretization error in linear problems, little has been done to exploit their benefits in elasto-plastic structural analysis. In this paper, we discuss which aspects of incremental elasto-plastic finite element analysis are particularly amenable to improvements by the p-version. These theoretical considerations are supported by several numerical experiments. First, we study an example for which an analytical solution is available. It is demonstrated that the p-version performs very well even in cycles of elasto-plastic loading and unloading, not only as compared with the traditional h-version but also with respect to the exact solution. Finally, an example of considerable practical importance—the analysis of a cold-working lug—is presented which demonstrates how the modelling tools offered by higher-order finite element techniques can contribute to an improved approximation of practical problems.     

Investigation of diffusion in p-version ‘LSFE’ and ‘STLSFE’ formulations

This paper deals with investigation of diffusion for p-version least squares finite element formulation (LSFEF) and p-version space-time coupled least squares finite element formulation (STLSFEF) for steady-state and transient problems. Convection dominated flows result in hyperbolic system of equations which leads to ill-conditioned matrices when using Galerkin formulation. Various techniques (SUPG, SUPG-with discontinuity capturing operator etc.) have been devised to overcome the difficulties arising primarily due to hyperbolic terms and sharp gradients. In this paper, it is demonstrated that when using p-version STLSFEF or LSFEF, no such difficulties are encountered in formulation as well as in the solution procedure. Almost all numerical processes suffer from numerical diffusion to some extent, however, it is demonstrated in this paper that in p-version STLSFE and LSFE formulations numerical diffusion can be completely eliminated by mesh refinement and p-level increase and the formulations are free of inherent diffusion. Several model problems are considered with dominant convective terms to investigate diffusion in p-version LSFEF and STLSFEF. Two dimensional convection-diffusion problems are used as steady state representative cases. One dimensional transient problems considered in this paper include pure advection, convection-diffusion and Burgers' equation. Numerical results are also compared with exact solutions and those reported in the literature.