Section: New Results

2D $C^1$ triangular elements

Participants : Hervé Guillard, Ali Elarif.

In order to avoid some mesh singularities that arise when using quadrangular elements for complex geometries and flux aligned meshes, the use of triangular elements is a possible option that we have studied in the past years [30]. In particular, we have developped the geometric tools necessary for the construction of Powell-Sabin splines and have applied these methods for the approximation of some simple hyperbolic PDE systems (namely the Euler equation of fluid dynamics). The PhD thesis of Ali Elarif that has begun in october 2017 is devoted to the study of the applicability of these methods to more complex PDE models encountered in plasma physics and to an extension towards other triangular $C^1$ elements (Clough-Tocher elements).