Mixed finite volume methods on nonstaggered quadrilateral grids for elliptic problems

Abstract

We construct and analyze a mixed finite volume method on quadrilateral grids for elliptic problems written as a system of two first order PDEs in the state variable (e.g., pressure) and its flux (e.g., Darcy velocity). An important point is that no staggered grids or covolumes are used to stabilize the system. Only a single primary grid system is adopted, and the degrees of freedom are imposed on the interfaces. The approximate flux is sought in the lowest-order Raviart-Thomas space and the pressure field in the rotated-Q1 nonconforming space. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the present finite volume method can be interpreted as a rotated-Q1 nonconforming finite element method for the pressure with a simple local recovery of flux. Numerical results are presented for a variety of problems which confirm the usefulness and effectiveness of the method.