TY - JOUR T1 - A Two-Level Finite Element Galerkin Method for the Nonstationary Navier-Stokes Equations I: Spatial Discretization AU - He , Yinnian JO - Journal of Computational Mathematics VL - 1 SP - 21 EP - 32 PY - 2004 DA - 2004/02 SN - 22 DO - http://doi.org/ UR - https://global-sci.org/intro/article_detail/jcm/8848.html KW - Navier-Stokes equations, Mixed finite element, Error estimate, Finite element method. AB -

In this article we consider a two-level finite element Galerkin method using mixed finite elements for the two-dimensional nonstationary incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The method yields a $H^1$-optimal velocity approximation and a $L_2$-optimal pressure approximation. The two-level finite element Galerkin method involves solving one small, nonlinear Navier-Stokes problem on the coarse mesh with mesh size $H$, one linear Stokes problem on the fine mesh with mesh size $h << H$. The algorithm we study produces an approximate solution with the optimal, asymptotic in $h$, accuracy.