Abstract
In this work, we present an application of two versions of the natural element method (NEM) to the Cahn-Hilliard equation. The Cahn-Hilliard equation is a nonlinear fourth order partial differential equation, describing phase separation of binary mixtures. Numerical solutions requires either a two field formulation with C 0 continuous shape functions or a higher order C 1 continuous approximations to solve the fourth order equation directly. Here, the C 1 NEM, based on Farin’s interpolant is used for the direct treatment of the second order derivatives, occurring in the weak form of the partial differential equation. Additionally, the classical C 0 continuous Sibson interpolant is applied to a reformulation of the equation in terms of two coupled second order equations. It is demonstrated that both methods provide similar results, however the C 1 continuous version needs fewer degrees of freedom to capture the contour of the phase boundaries.
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Fischer, P., Rajagopal, A., Kuhl, E., Steinmann, P. (2011). Cahn-Hilliard Generalized Diffusion Modeling Using the Natural Element Method. In: Altenbach, H., Maugin, G., Erofeev, V. (eds) Mechanics of Generalized Continua. Advanced Structured Materials, vol 7. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19219-7_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19219-7_16
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