Moving Mesh Strategy Based on a Gradient Flow Equation for Two-Dimensional Problems

In this paper we introduce a moving mesh method for solving PDEs in two dimensions. It can be viewed as a higher-dimensional generalization of the moving mesh PDE (MMPDE) strategy developed in our previous work for one-dimensional problems [W. Huang, Y. Ren, and R. D. Russell, SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 31 (1994), pp. 709–730]. The MMPDE is derived from a gradient flow equation which arises using a mesh adaptation functional in turn motivated from the theory of harmonic maps. Geometrical interpretations are given for the gradient equation and functional, and basic properties of this MMPDE are discussed. Numerical examples are presented where the method is used both for mesh generation and for solving time-dependent PDEs. The results demonstrate the potential of the mesh movement strategy to concentrate the mesh points so as to adapt to special problem features and to also preserve a suitable level of mesh orthogonality.