The Finite Element Method and Its Reliability

The finite element method is a numerical method widely used inengineering. Experience shows that unreliable computation can lead to veryserious consequences. Hence reliability questions stand more and more at theforefront of engineering and theoretical interests. The present book presentsthe mathematical theory of the finite element method and focuses on the questionof how reliable computed results really are. It addresses among other topics thelocal behaviour, errors caused by pollution, superconvergence, and optimalmeshes. Many computational examples illustrate the importance of the theoreticalconclusions for practical computations. Graduate students, lecturers, andresearchers in mathematics, engineering, and scientific computation will benefitfrom the clear structure of the book, and will find this a very usefulreference.