Superconvergence and gradient recovery for a finite volume element method for solving convection-diffusion equations (Q2875710)

The authors study the superconvergence of the finite volume element (FVE) method for solving convection-diffusion equations using bilinear trial functions. A superclose weak estimate for the bilinear form of the FVE method is established. Based on this estimate, the \(H^1\)-superconvergence result is obtained: \(\|\Pi_hu-u-H\| = {\mathcal O}(h^2)\). A gradient recovery formula is presented and it is proved that the recovery gradient possesses the \({\mathcal O}(h^2)\)-order superconvergence. Moreover, an asymptotically exact a posteriori error estimate is also given for the gradient error of the FVE solution.