Port reduction in parametrized component static condensation: approximation and a posteriori error estimation

We introduce a port (interface) approximation and a posteriori error bound framework for a general component‐based static condensation method in the context of parameter‐dependent linear elliptic partial differential equations. The key ingredients are as follows: (i) efficient empirical port approximation spaces—the dimensions of these spaces may be chosen small to reduce the computational cost associated with formation and solution of the static condensation system; and (ii) a computationally tractable a posteriori error bound realized through a non‐conforming approximation and associated conditioner—the error in the global system approximation, or in a scalar output quantity, may be bounded relatively sharply with respect to the underlying finite element discretization. Our approximation and a posteriori error bound framework is of particular computational relevance for the static condensation reduced basis element (SCRBE) method. We provide several numerical examples within the SCRBE context, which serve to demonstrate the convergence rate of our port approximation procedure as well as the efficacy of our port reduction error bounds. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.