Unfitted Multi-Level hp Refinement for Localized and Moving Solution Features

Fuente: arXiv
Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Schmäke, Jan Niklas, Ruess, Martin
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2026
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
_version_ 1866908999061864448
author Schmäke, Jan Niklas
Ruess, Martin
author_facet Schmäke, Jan Niklas
Ruess, Martin
contents Localized features such as singularities, sharp gradients, discontinuities, and moving sources require adaptive finite element discretizations. Conventional refinement strategies introduce significant computational overhead through mesh-topology modifications, constraint handling for non-matching interfaces, and repeated remeshing with state transfer. This work presents an unfitted multi-level hp-refinement strategy that enriches a fixed base discretization by independently positioned overlay meshes. The global approximation space is constructed by superposition of the active spaces across all refinement levels, while homogeneous constraints on artificial overlay boundaries ensure global $C^0$ continuity. Coupling between non-matching meshes is assembled over admissible integration regions defined by intersections of element partitions, enabling reuse of standard element-level finite element routines within a lightweight superposition framework. In contrast to fitted multi-level approaches, overlay boundaries are not required to align with underlying mesh interfaces. This reduces inter-level coupling and allows refinement zones to be inserted, translated, and removed without modifying the base discretization. Numerical studies for discontinuous and singular benchmark problems, as well as a moving source, demonstrate the performance of the method. The unfitted approach retains exponential convergence for non-smooth problems and achieves improved error-to-cost ratios compared to fitted multi-level hp-refinement. For representative cases, comparable accuracy is obtained with substantially fewer degrees of freedom, while localized high-order refinement accurately tracks moving features.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_25797
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Unfitted Multi-Level hp Refinement for Localized and Moving Solution Features
Schmäke, Jan Niklas
Ruess, Martin
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Localized features such as singularities, sharp gradients, discontinuities, and moving sources require adaptive finite element discretizations. Conventional refinement strategies introduce significant computational overhead through mesh-topology modifications, constraint handling for non-matching interfaces, and repeated remeshing with state transfer. This work presents an unfitted multi-level hp-refinement strategy that enriches a fixed base discretization by independently positioned overlay meshes. The global approximation space is constructed by superposition of the active spaces across all refinement levels, while homogeneous constraints on artificial overlay boundaries ensure global $C^0$ continuity. Coupling between non-matching meshes is assembled over admissible integration regions defined by intersections of element partitions, enabling reuse of standard element-level finite element routines within a lightweight superposition framework. In contrast to fitted multi-level approaches, overlay boundaries are not required to align with underlying mesh interfaces. This reduces inter-level coupling and allows refinement zones to be inserted, translated, and removed without modifying the base discretization. Numerical studies for discontinuous and singular benchmark problems, as well as a moving source, demonstrate the performance of the method. The unfitted approach retains exponential convergence for non-smooth problems and achieves improved error-to-cost ratios compared to fitted multi-level hp-refinement. For representative cases, comparable accuracy is obtained with substantially fewer degrees of freedom, while localized high-order refinement accurately tracks moving features.
title Unfitted Multi-Level hp Refinement for Localized and Moving Solution Features
topic Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.25797