Numerical evaluation of finite element methods in convection-diffusion problems (Q1864696)

The author is concerned with a stability analysis of finite element approximations of convection-dominated convection-diffusion problems resulting in a stability test which allows to distinguish between unstable, stable and monotone methods. The test relies on a stability condition that is the discrete counterpart of a condition holding true for the exact differential operator on a proper subdomain that excludes exponential boundary layers. It is related to an inf-sup condition and its practical implementation gives rise to an associated generalized eigenvalue problem. The square root of the minimum eigenvalue can be interpreted as a measure to what extent a method propagates spurious oscillations from boundary layers into the internal region where the exact solution is regular. The stability test is applied to the unstable standard Galerkin scheme, the stable (but not monotonicity preserving) streamline upwind Petrov-Galerkin and residual-free bubbles methods and the monotone upwind method. Extensive numerical results are given that allow to determine the source of possible instabilities.