TraceFEM for the membrane problem using distance functions on $P_{1}$ and $P_{2}$ tetrahedra

Abstract

We consider Trace finite element methods for the linear membrane problem on second order tetrahedral elements. To accomplish this, zero-level set reconstruction methods for second order tetrahedra are considered. For the higher order membrane model a corresponding stabilization is proposed and numerically evaluated. We compare combinations of background- and surface element order and provide numerical convergence results. The impact of the stabilization on the resulting solution is numerically analyzed. We also compare the choice of level set function with respect to the geometrical distance and normal errors.