CFD Online Logo CFD Online URL
www.cfd-online.com
[Sponsors]
Home > Forums > General Forums > Main CFD Forum

finite element vs. finite difference

Register Blogs Members List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
Old   February 18, 1999, 03:22
Default finite element vs. finite difference
  #1
Zoltan Turzo
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Sorry for the dummy question, but i am a beginner in CFD. Could anybody shortly explain the main differences between finite elemente and finit differencing methods, i mean advantages and drawbacks of them in CFD problem solutions?

Thank you in advance

Zoltan Turzo Assistant Professor University of Miskolc
  Reply With Quote

Old   February 19, 1999, 14:26
Default Re: finite element vs. finite difference
  #2
John C. Chien
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
(1). The finite-difference method uses Taylor's series expansion to approximate the derivatives terms in the governing equations. Results are then obtained by solving a set of resulting algebraic equations. (2). The finite-element method assumes that the solution within an element of volume will take certain functional form in the first place. It then uses minimization processes, variational principles, weighted residual methods to obtain the solutions in the assumed functional form. (3). The finite-difference method is consistent with the original definition of derivatives, and is widely used in all fields of physics. (4). The finite-element method has been very successful in the solid mechanics, structure analysis. The ability to handle complex structure and geometry is widely recognized. (5). The main difficulty with finite-element method has been the lack of sound physical foundation. The memory requirement for solving large matrix equations was also very high. (6). The finite-volume method tries to solve the integral form of the governing equation over a small finite volume. Approximations are applied to the integration in order to derive the algebraic equations. These are solved in the way similar to the finite-difference method. Using this approach and unstructured mesh similar to the finite-element method, problems with complex geometry can be handled easily. (7). Solutions to the highly non-linear, coupled, partial-differential equations are very hard to obtain. Therefore, any method is a good method, if good solution can be obtained. ( The war between the finite-difference and the finite-element methods was long over in 70's ). You are free to invent new methods to solve CFD problems.
  Reply With Quote

Old   February 20, 1999, 07:42
Default Re: finite element vs. finite difference
  #3
Zoltan Turzo
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Thank you for your answer. It was very usefull for me.
  Reply With Quote

Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Finite element vs. finite difference Francisco Saldarriaga Main CFD Forum 23 December 17, 2014 08:21
Control Volume , Finite Volume, Finite Control Volume, Finite Element Method technocrat.prakash Main CFD Forum 1 April 24, 2010 19:24
Fininte difference and Finite element Technique Mahendra Singh Mehra FLUENT 3 December 22, 2005 23:49
Finite Difference, Element & Volume methods JonS Main CFD Forum 10 July 18, 2004 05:35
Equations for finite difference, element & volume W.L.C. Main CFD Forum 9 April 3, 2001 12:08


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:28.