An adaptive finite element method for linear elliptic problems

Abstract

We propose an adaptive finite element method for linear elliptic problems based on an optimal maximum norm error estimate. The algorithm produces a sequence of successively refined meshes with a final mesh on which a given error tolerance is satisfied. In each step the refinement to be made is determined by locally estimating the size of certain derivatives of the exact solution through computed finite element solutions. We analyze and justify the algorithm in a model case.