An FCT finite element scheme for ideal MHD equations in 1D and 2D

This paper presents an implicit finite element (FE) scheme for solving the equations of ideal magnetohydrodynamics in 1D and 2D. The continuous Galerkin approximation is constrained using a flux-corrected transport (FCT) algorithm. The underlying low-order scheme is constructed using a Rusanov-type artificial viscosity operator based on scalar dissipation proportional to the fast wave speed. The accuracy of the low-order solution can be improved using a shock detector which makes it possible to prelimit the added viscosity in a monotonicity-preserving iterative manner. At the FCT correction step, the changes of conserved quantities are limited in a way which guarantees positivity preservation for the density and thermal pressure. Divergence-free magnetic fields are extracted using projections of the FCT predictor into staggered finite element spaces forming exact sequences. In the 2D case, the magnetic field is projected into the space of Raviart-Thomas finite elements. Numerical studies for standard test problems are performed to verify the ability of the proposed algorithms to enforce relevant constraints in applications to ideal MHD flows. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.