A general approach to transforming finite elements

Abstract

The use of a reference element on which a finite element basis is constructed once and mapped to each cell in a mesh greatly expedites the structure and efficiency of finite element codes. However, many famous finite elements such as Hermite, Morley, Argyris, and Bell, do not possess the kind of equivalence needed to work with a reference element in the standard way. This paper gives a generalizated approach to mapping bases for such finite elements by means of studying relationships between the finite element nodes under push-forward.