Daniele A. Di Pietro

Daniele A. Di Pietro, Jérôme Droniou, Alexandre Ern

We design and analyze an approximation method for advection-diffusion-reaction equations where the (generalized) degrees of freedom are polynomials of order $k\ge0$ at mesh faces. The method hinges on local discrete reconstruction operators for the diffusive and advective derivatives and a weak enforcement of boundary conditions. Fairly general meshes with polytopal and nonmatching cells are supported. Arbitrary polynomial orders can be considered, including the case $k=0$ which is closely related to Mimetic Finite Difference/Mixed-Hybrid Finite Volume methods. The error analysis covers the full range of Péclet numbers, including the delicate case of local degeneracy where diffusion vanishes on a strict subset of the domain. Computational costs remain moderate since the use of face unknowns leads to a compact stencil with reduced communications. Numerical results are presented.

Daniele A. Di Pietro, Jérôme Droniou

In this work, we develop and analyze a Hybrid High-Order (HHO) method for steady non-linear Leray-Lions problems. The proposed method has several assets, including the support for arbitrary approximation orders and general polytopal meshes. This is achieved by combining two key ingredients devised at the local level: a gradient reconstruction and a high-order stabilization term that generalizes the one originally introduced in the linear case. The convergence analysis is carried out using a compactness technique. Extending this technique to HHO methods has prompted us to develop a set of discrete functional analysis tools whose interest goes beyond the specific problem and method addressed in this work: (direct and) reverse Lebesgue and Sobolev embeddings for local polynomial spaces, $L^{p}$-stability and $W^{s,p}$-approximation properties for $L^{2}$-projectors on such spaces, and Sobolev embeddings for hybrid polynomial spaces. Numerical tests are presented to validate the theoretical results for the original method and variants thereof.

Daniele A. Di Pietro, Jérôme Droniou, Gianmarco Manzini

In this work we develop arbitrary-order Discontinuous Skeletal Gradient Discretisations (DSGD) on general polytopal meshes. Discontinuous Skeletal refers to the fact that the globally coupled unknowns are broken polynomial on the mesh skeleton. The key ingredient is a high-order gradient reconstruction composed of two terms: (i) a consistent contribution obtained mimicking an integration by parts formula inside each element and (ii) a stabilising term for which sufficient design conditions are provided. An example of stabilisation that satisfies the design conditions is proposed based on a local lifting of high-order residuals on a Raviart-Thomas-Nédélec subspace. We prove that the novel DSGDs satisfy coercivity, consistency, limit-conformity, and compactness requirements that ensure convergence for a variety of elliptic and parabolic problems. Links with Hybrid High-Order, non-conforming Mimetic Finite Difference and non-conforming Virtual Element methods are also studied. Numerical examples complete the exposition.

Daniele Boffi, Michele Botti, Daniele A. Di Pietro

In this work, we introduce a novel algorithm for the Biot problem based on a Hybrid High-Order discretization of the mechanics and a Symmetric Weighted Interior Penalty discretization of the flow. The method has several assets, including, in particular, the support of general polyhedral meshes and arbitrary space approximation order. Our analysis delivers stability and error estimates that hold also when the specific storage coefficient vanishes, and shows that the constants have only a mild dependence on the heterogeneity of the permeability coefficient. Numerical tests demonstrating the performance of the method are provided.

Lorenzo Botti, Daniele A. Di Pietro, Jérôme Droniou

In this work, we develop and analyse a novel Hybrid High-Order discretisation of the Brinkman problem. The method hinges on hybrid discrete velocity unknowns at faces and elements and on discontinuous pressures. Based on the discrete unknowns, we reconstruct inside each element a Stokes velocity one degree higher than face unknowns, and a Darcy velocity in the Raviart-Thomas-Nédélec space. These reconstructed velocities are respectively used to formulate the discrete versions of the Stokes and Darcy terms in the momentum equation, along with suitably designed penalty contributions. The proposed construction is tailored to yield optimal error estimates that are robust throughout the entire spectrum of local (Stokes- or Darcy-dominated) regimes, as identified by a dimensionless number which can be interpreted as a friction coefficient. The singular limit corresponding to the Darcy equation is also fully supported by the method. Numerical examples corroborate the theoretical results. This paper also contains two contributions whose interest goes beyond the specific method and application treated in this work: an investigation of the dependence of the constant in the second Korn inequality on star-shaped domains and its application to the study of the approximation properties of the strain projector in general Sobolev seminorms.

Daniele A. Di Pietro, Jérôme Droniou

In this work, we present an abstract error analysis framework for the approximation of linear partial differential equation (PDE) problems in weak formulation. We consider approximation methods in fully discrete formulation, where the discrete and continuous spaces are possibly not embedded in a common space. A proper notion of consistency is designed, and, under a classical inf-sup condition, it is shown to bound the approximation error. This error estimate result is in the spirit of Strang's first and second lemmas, but applicable in situations not covered by these lemmas (because of a fully discrete approximation space). An improved estimate is also established in a weaker norm, using the Aubin--Nitsche trick. We then apply these abstract estimates to an anisotropic heterogeneous diffusion model and two classical families of schemes for this model: Virtual Element and Finite Volume methods. For each of these methods, we show that the abstract results yield new error estimates with a precise and mild dependency on the local anisotropy ratio. A key intermediate step to derive such estimates for Virtual Element Methods is proving optimal approximation properties of the oblique elliptic projector in weighted Sobolev seminorms. This is a result whose interest goes beyond the specific model and methods considered here. We also obtain, to our knowledge, the first clear notion of consistency for Finite Volume methods, which leads to a generic error estimate involving the fluxes and valid for a wide range of Finite Volume schemes. An important application is the first error estimate for Multi-Point Flux Approximation L and G methods. In the appendix, not included in the published version of this work, we show that classical estimates for discontinuous Galerkin methods can be obtained with simplified arguments using the abstract framework.

Florent Chave, Daniele A. Di Pietro, Fabien Marche et al.

In this work, we develop a fully implicit Hybrid High-Order algorithm for the Cahn-Hilliard problem in mixed form. The space discretization hinges on local reconstruction operators from hybrid polynomial unknowns at elements and faces. The proposed method has several assets: (i) It supports fairly general meshes possibly containing polygonal elements and nonmatching interfaces, (ii) it allows arbitrary approximation orders, (iii) it has a moderate computational cost thanks to the possibility of locally eliminating element-based unknowns by static condensation. We perform a detailed stability and convergence study, proving optimal convergence rates in energy-like norms. Numerical validation is also provided using some of the most common tests in the literature.

Francesco Bonaldi, Daniele A. Di Pietro, Giuseppe Geymonat et al.

We present a novel Hybrid High-Order (HHO) discretization of fourth-order elliptic problems arising from the mechanical modeling of the bending behavior of Kirchhoff-Love plates, including the biharmonic equation as a particular case. The proposed HHO method supports arbitrary approximation orders on general polygonal meshes, and reproduces the key mechanical equilibrium relations locally inside each element. When polynomials of degree $k \ge 1$ are used as unknowns, we prove convergence in $h^{k+1}$ (with $h$ denoting, as usual, the meshsize) in an energy-like norm. A key ingredient in the proof are novel approximation results for the energy projector on local polynomial spaces. Under biharmonic regularity assumptions, a sharp estimate in $h^{k+3}$ is also derived for the $L^2$-norm of the error on the deflection. The theoretical results are supported by numerical experiments, which additionally show the robustness of the method with respect to the choice of the stabilization.

Daniele A. Di Pietro, Roberta Tittarelli

This chapter provides an introduction to Hybrid High-Order (HHO) methods. These are new generation numerical methods for PDEs with several advantageous features: the support of arbitrary approximation orders on general polyhedral meshes, the reproduction at the discrete level of relevant continuous properties, and a reduced computational cost thanks to static condensation and compact stencil. After establishing the discrete setting, we introduce the basics of HHO methods using as a model problem the Poisson equation. We describe in detail the construction, and prove a priori convergence results for various norms of the error as well as a posteriori estimates for the energy norm. We then consider two applications: the discretization of the nonlinear $p$-Laplace equation and of scalar diffusion-advection-reaction problems. The former application is used to introduce compactness analysis techniques to study the convergence to minimal regularity solution. The latter is used to introduce the discretization of first-order operators and the weak enforcement of boundary conditions. Numerical examples accompany the exposition.

Michele Botti, Daniele A. Di Pietro, Alessandra Guglielmana

In this work we construct a low-order nonconforming approximation method for linear elasticity problems supporting general meshes and valid in two and three space dimensions. The method is obtained by hacking the Hybrid High-Order method, that requires the use of polynomials of degree $k\ge1$ for stability. Specifically, we show that coercivity can be recovered for $k=0$ by introducing a novel term that penalises the jumps of the displacement reconstruction across mesh faces. This term plays a key role in the fulfillment of a discrete Korn inequality on broken polynomial spaces, for which a novel proof valid for general polyhedral meshes is provided. Locking-free error estimates are derived for both the energy- and the $L^2$-norms of the error, that are shown to convergence, for smooth solutions, as $h$ and $h^2$, respectively (here, $h$ denotes the meshsize). A thorough numerical validation on a complete panel of two- and three-dimensional test cases is provided.

Daniel Castañón Quiroz, Daniele A. Di Pietro, Jérôme Droniou et al.

In this work we propose and analyze a new Hybrid High-Order method for the Brinkman problem for fluids with power-law viscosity. The proposed method supports general meshes and arbitrary approximation orders and is robust in all regimes, from pure (power-law) Stokes to pure Darcy. Robustness is reflected by error estimates that distinguish the contributions from Stokes- and Darcy-dominated elements as identified by an appropriate dimensionless number, and that additionally account for pre-asymptotic orders of convergence. Theoretical results are illustrated by a complete panel of numerical experiments.

Joubine Aghili, Daniele A. Di Pietro

In this work, we study advection-robust Hybrid High-Order discretizations of the Oseen equations. For a given integer $k\ge 0$, the discrete velocity unknowns are vector-valued polynomials of total degree $\le k$ on mesh elements and faces, while the pressure unknowns are discontinuous polynomials of total degree $\le k$ on the mesh. From the discrete unknowns, three relevant quantities are reconstructed inside each element: a velocity of total degree $\le(k+1)$, a discrete advective derivative, and a discrete divergence. These reconstructions are used to formulate the discretizations of the viscous, advective, and velocity-pressure coupling terms, respectively. Well-posedness is ensured through appropriate high-order stabilization terms. We prove energy error estimates that are advection-robust for the velocity, and show that each mesh element $T$ of diameter $h_T$ contributes to the discretization error with an $\mathcal{O}(h_T^{k+1})$-term in the diffusion-dominated regime, an $\mathcal{O}(h_T^{k+\frac12})$-term in the advection-dominated regime, and scales with intermediate powers of $h_T$ in between. Numerical results complete the exposition.

Daniele A. Di Pietro, Stella Krell

In this work we introduce and analyze a novel Hybrid High-Order method for the steady incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The proposed method is inf-sup stable on general polyhedral meshes, supports arbitrary approximation orders, and is (relatively) inexpensive thanks to the possibility of statically condensing a subset of the unknowns at each nonlinear iteration. We show under general assumptions the existence of a discrete solution, which is also unique provided a data smallness condition is verified. Using a compactness argument, we prove convergence of the sequence of discrete solutions to minimal regularity exact solutions for general data. For more regular solutions, we prove optimal convergence rates for the energy-norm of the velocity and the $L^2$-norm of the pressure under a standard data smallness assumption. More precisely, when polynomials of degree $k\ge 0$ at mesh elements and faces are used, both quantities are proved to converge as $h^{k+1}$ (with $h$ denoting the meshsize).

Daniele A. Di Pietro, Alexandre Ern

We show how to recover equilibrated face tractions for the hybrid high-order method for linear elasticity recently introduced in [D. A. Di Pietro and A. Ern, A hybrid high-order locking-free method for linear elasticity on general meshes, Comput. Meth. Appl. Mech. Engrg., 2015, 283:1-21], and prove that these tractions are optimally convergent.