Design and Application of a Gradient-Weighted Moving Finite Element Code II: in Two Dimensions

In part I the authors reported on the design of a robust and versatile gradientweighted moving finite element (GWMFE) code in one dimension and on its application to a variety of PDEs and PDE systems. This companion paper does the same for the two-dimensional (2D) case. These moving node methods are especially suited to problems which develop sharp moving fronts, especially problems where one needs to resolve the fine-scale structure of the fronts. The many potential pitfalls in the design of GWMFE codes and the special features of the implicit onedimensional (1D) and 2D codes which contribute to their robustness and efficiency are discussed at length in part I; this paper concentrates on issues unique to the 2D case. Brief explanations are given of the variational interpretation of GWMFE, the geometrical-mechanical interpretation, simplified regularization terms, and the treatment of systems. A catalog of inner products which occur in GWMFE is given, with particular attention paid to those involving second-order operators. After presenting an example of the 2D phenomenon of grid collapse and discussing the need for long-time regularization, the paper reports on the application of the 2D code to several nontrivial problems— nonlinear arsenic diffusion in the manufacture of semiconductors, the drift-diffusion equations for semiconductor device simulation, the Buckley–Leverett black oil equations for reservoir simulation, and the motion of surfaces by mean curvature.