Notes on Finite Element Discretization for a Model Convection-Diffusion Problem

Abstract: We present recent finite element numerical results on a model convection-diffusion problem in the singular perturbed case when the convection term dominates the problem. We compare the standard Galerkin discretization using the linear element with a saddle point least square discretization that uses quadratic test functions, trying to control and explain the non-physical oscillations of the discrete solutions. We also relate the up-winding Petrov-Galerkin method and the stream-line diffusion discretization method, by emphasizing the resulting linear systems and by comparing appropriate error norms. Some results can be extended to the multidimensional case in order to come up with efficient approximations for more general singular perturbed problems, including convection dominated models.