Finite Volumes over Finite Elements?
 

Hi there, is there a fundamental difference between the Finite Volume Method (FVM) and the Finite Element Method (FEM)? I don't mean the difference of software packages, I am more interested in the effects of the different equation formulations. Can one say that i.e. deformations of a fluid particle in FEM (e.g. in a wake) are generally greater thus resulting in slightly shorter separation distances than in the identical FVM-formulation? Are there specific fluid problems that are better handled by FEM than by FVM? Thank you for your help. Uve