Abstract

We present the design of a high-resolution Petrov–Galerkin (HRPG) method using linear finite elements
for the problem defined by the residual

R (phi):= partial phi /partial t + u partial phi /partial x - k partial^2 phi /partial x^2 +s phi -f

where k; s > o = 0. The structure of the method in 1D is identical to the consistent approximate upwind Petrov–
Galerkin (CAU/PG) method [A.C. Galeão, E.G. Dutra do Carmo, A consistent approximate upwind Petrov–
Galerkin method for the convection-dominated problems, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg. 68
(1988) 83–95] except for the definitions of the stabilization parameters. Such a structure may also be attained
via the finite-calculus (FIC) procedure [E. Oñate, Derivation of stabilized equations for numerical
solution of advective–diffusive transport and fluid flow problems, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg.
151 (1998) 233–265; E. Oñate, J. Miquel, G. Hauke, Stabilized formulation for the advection–diffusion–
absorption equation using finite-calculus and linear finite elements, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Engrg.
195 (2006) 3926–3946] by an appropriate definition of the characteristic length. The prefix ‘high-resolution’
is used here in the sense popularized by Harten, i.e. second order accuracy for smooth/regular regimes
and good shock-capturing in nonregular regimes. The design procedure embarks on the problem
of circumventing the Gibbs phenomenon observed in L2-projections. Next we study the conditions on
the stabilization parameters to circumvent the global oscillations due to the convective term. A conjuncture
of the two results is made to deal with the problem at hand that is usually plagued by Gibbs, global
and dispersive oscillations in the numerical solution. It is shown that the method indeed reproduces stabilized
high-resolution numerical solutions for a wide range of values of u; k; s and f . Finally, some remarks
are made on the extension of the HRPG method to multidimensions.