On stable algorithms and accurate solutions for convection-dominated mass transfer in crystal growth modeling

We present mesh resolution studies for large-scale, convection-dominated mass transfer computations in modeling the growth of single crystals of potassium titanyl phosphate (KTP) from solution. These computations are performed using the stabilized, Galerkin;least-squares (GLS) finite element formulation. Results are compared from three different finite element meshes that have varying levels of refinement. Use of the stabilized finite element formulation with a coarse mesh for this system yields converged but inaccurate results, showing the importance of careful error assessment when stabilized methods are used for such problems. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.