DMS Applied Mathematics Seminar

Speaker: Prof. Xu Zhang, Mississippi State University

Title: Immersed Finite Element Methods for Interface Problems (Basic idea, Development, Analysis, and Applications)

Abstract: Simulating a multi-scale/multi-physics phenomenon often involves a domain consisting of different materials. This often leads to the so-called interface problems of partial differential equations. Classical finite elements methods can solve interface problems satisfactorily if the mesh is aligned with interfaces; otherwise the convergence could be impaired. Immersed finite element (IFE) methods, on the other hand, allow the interface to be embedded in elements, so that Cartesian meshes can be used for problems with non-trivial interface geometry.

In this talk, we start with an introduction about the basic ideas of IFE methods for the second-order elliptic equation. We will present challenges of conventional IFE methods, and introduce some recent advances in designing more accurate and robust IFE schemes. Both a priori and a posteriori error estimation will be presented. Finally, we will demonstrate how IFE methods can be applied to more complicated interface model problems.