Block boundary value methods for linear weakly singular Volterra integro-differential equations

A class of block boundary value methods (BBVMs) is constructed for linear weakly singular Volterra integro-differential equations (VIDEs). The convergence and stability of these methods is analysed. It is shown that optimal convergence rates can be obtained by using special graded meshes. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the sharpness of our theoretical results and the computational effectiveness of the methods. Moreover, a numerical comparison with piecewise polynomial collocation methods for VIDEs is given, which shows that the BBVMs are comparable in numerical precision.