Technical Papers and Presentations

The convergence order of finite elements is related to the polynomial order of the basis functions used on each element, with higher order polynomials yielding better convergence orders. However, two issues can prevent this convergence order from being achieved: the lack of regularity of the PDE solution and the poor approximation of curved boundaries by polygonal meshes.

We show studies for Lagrange elements of degrees 1 through 5. The observed convergence orders in the norm of the error between FEM and PDE solution demonstrate that they are limited by the regularity of the solution and are degraded significantly on domains with non-polygonal boundaries. All numerical tests are carried out with COMSOL Multiphysics.