In this paper, we study the superconvergence of the error for the local discontinuous Galerkin (LDG) finite element method for one-dimensional linear parabolic equations when the alternating flux is used. We prove that if we apply piecewise $k$-th degree polynomials, the error between the LDG solution and the exact solution is ($k+2$)-th order superconvergent at the Radau points with suitable initial discretization. Moreover, we also prove the LDG solution is ($k+2$)-th order superconvergent for the error to a particular projection of the exact solution. Even though we only consider periodic boundary condition, this boundary condition is not essential, since we do not use Fourier analysis. Our analysis is valid for arbitrary regular meshes and for $\mathcal{P}^k$ polynomials with arbitrary $k\geq1$. We perform numerical experiments to demonstrate that the superconvergence rates proved in this paper are sharp.

A fourth-order finite difference method is proposed and studied for the primitive equations (PEs) of large-scale atmospheric and oceanic flow based on mean vorticity formulation. Since the vertical average of the horizontal velocity field is divergence-free, we can introduce mean vorticity and mean stream function which are connected by a 2-D Poisson equation. As a result, the PEs can be reformulated such that the prognostic equation for the horizontal velocity is replaced by evolutionary equa-tions for the mean vorticity field and the vertical derivative of the horizontal velocity. The mean vorticity equation is approximated by a compact difference scheme due to the difficulty of the mean vorticity boundary condition, while fourth-order long-stencil approximations are utilized to deal with transport type equations for computational convenience. The numerical values for the total velocity field (both horizontal and vertical) are statically determined by a discrete realization of a differential equation at each fixed horizontal point. The method is highly efficient and is capable of produc-ing highly resolved solutions at a reasonable computational cost. The full fourth-order accuracy is checked by an example of the reformulated PEs with force terms. Addi-tionally, numerical results of a large-scale oceanic circulation are presented.

In this paper, we aim to solve one and two dimensional hyperbolic conservation laws on arbitrarily distributed point clouds. The initial condition is given on such a point cloud, and the algorithm solves for point values of the solution at later time also on this point cloud. By using the Voronoi technique and by introducing a grouping algorithm, we divide the computational domain into non-overlapping cells. Each cell is a polygon and contains a minimum number of the given points to ensure accuracy. We carefully select points in each cell during the grouping procedure, and hence are able to interpolate or fit the discrete initial values with piecewise polynomials. By adapting the traditional discontinuous Galerkin method on the constructed polygonal mesh, we obtain a stable, conservative and high order method. Numerical results for both one and two dimensional scalar equations and Euler systems of compressible gas dynamics are provided to illustrate the good behavior of our mesh generation algorithm as well as the numerical scheme.

In this paper, we analyze the stability of the fourth order Runge-Kutta method for integrating semi-discrete approximations of time-dependent partial differential equations. Our study focuses on linear problems and covers general semi-bounded spatial discretizations. A counter example is given to show that the classical four-stage fourth order Runge-Kutta method can not preserve the one-step strong stability, even though the ordinary differential equation system is energy-decaying. But with an energy argument, we show that the strong stability property holds in two steps under an appropriate time step constraint. Based on this fact, the stability extends to general well-posed linear systems. As an application, we utilize the results to examine the stability of the fourth order Runge-Kutta approximations of several specific method of lines schemes for hyperbolic problems, including the spectral Galerkin method and the discontinuous Galerkin method.

A fourth order finite difference method is presented for the 2D unsteady viscous incompressible Boussinesq equations in vorticity-stream function formulation. The method is especially suitable for moderate to large Reynolds number flows. The momentum equation is discretized by a compact fourth order scheme with the no-slip boundary condition enforced using a local vorticity boundary condition. Fourth order long-stencil discretizations are used for the temperature transport equation with one-sided extrapolation applied near the boundary. The time stepping scheme for both equations is classical fourth order Runge–Kutta. The method is highly efficient. The main computation consists of the solution of two Poisson-like equations at each Runge–Kutta time stage for which standard FFT based fast Poisson solvers are used. An example of Lorenz flow is presented, in which the full fourth order accuracy is checked. The numerical simulation of a strong shear flow induced by a temperature jump, is resolved by two perfectly matching resolutions. Additionally, we present benchmark quality simulations of a differentially-heated cavity problem. This flow was the focus of a special session at the first MIT conference on Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics in June 2001.