Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

The Continuous Galerkin Finite Element Method Is Not Naturally Consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Version 1 : Received: 7 January 2020 / Approved: 9 January 2020 / Online: 9 January 2020 (07:18:53 CET)

How to cite: Limache, A.; Aimar, H. The Continuous Galerkin Finite Element Method Is Not Naturally Consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Preprints 2020, 2020010075. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202001.0075.v1 Limache, A.; Aimar, H. The Continuous Galerkin Finite Element Method Is Not Naturally Consistent with the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Preprints 2020, 2020010075. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202001.0075.v1

Abstract

It is well known that the Continuous Galerkin Finite Element (CGFE) method is globally consistent with respect to the first law of thermodynamics. This means that, for any mesh, all obtained discrete solutions will conserve total energy. One might expect, that the method is, also, globally consistent with respect to the second law of thermodynamics. In this paper, we formally study if such conjecture is true. The heat conduction equation is used as the physical model for this analysis. In the present study it is proved that the conjecture is false: at least, for standard piecewise linear (1D and 2D) elements, the CGFE method is not always globally consistent with respect to the second law of thermodynamics. In other words, some obtained discrete solutions can violate the global postulate of the second law, which asserts that total entropy can never decrease.

Keywords

finite element method; second law of thermodynamics; heat equation; entropy

Subject

Computer Science and Mathematics, Applied Mathematics

Comments (0)

We encourage comments and feedback from a broad range of readers. See criteria for comments and our Diversity statement.

Leave a public comment
Send a private comment to the author(s)
* All users must log in before leaving a comment
Views 0
Downloads 0
Comments 0
Metrics 0


×
Alerts
Notify me about updates to this article or when a peer-reviewed version is published.
We use cookies on our website to ensure you get the best experience.
Read more about our cookies here.