On a mesh optimization method based on a minimization of interpolation error (Q1075010)

A new optimization technique for the finite element method (FEM) is presented. Such a technique essentially emerges from two main works: A series of papers by \textit{J. U. Brackbill} [Appl. Math. Comput. 10-11, 277-295 (1982; Zbl 0499.76011)] and \textit{J. U. Brackbill} and \textit{J. Saltzman} [J. Comput. Phys. 46, 342-368 (1982; Zbl 0489.76007) and Appl. Math. Comput. 10-11, 865-884 (1982; Zbl 0493.65066)] and a recent paper by \textit{A. Diaz}, \textit{V. Kikuchi} and \textit{J. Taylor} [Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 41, 29-45 (1983; Zbl 0509.73071)]. In the present paper the authors determine suboptimal (rather than optimal) meshes for minimizing the interpolation error, which result in a better FEM approximation. Thus the authors' method appears to be a generalization of the mesh generation technique especially from a practical, computational point of view.