Finite difference schemes for \(\frac{\partial u}{\partial t}=(\frac{\partial}{\partial x})^\alpha\frac{\delta G}{\delta u}\) that inherit energy conservation or dissipation property (Q1964160)

The author proposes a new procedure for designing by rote finite difference schemes that inherit energy conservation or dissipation property from nonlinear partial differential equations, such as the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation and the Cahn-Hilliard equation. The most important feature of the new procedure is a rigorous discretization of variational derivatives using summation by parts, which implies that the inherited properties are satisfied exactly. The inheritance of the energy conservation and dissipation properties are verified numerically for the KdV and the Cahn-Hilliard equation.