A Theory of Functional Connections-Based <i>hp</i>-Adaptive Mesh Refinement Algorithm for Solving Hypersensitive Two-Point Boundary-Value Problems

Abstract

This manuscript introduces the first hp-adaptive mesh refinement algorithm for the Theory of Functional Connections (TFC) to solve hypersensitive two-point boundary-value problems (TPBVPs). The TFC is a mathematical framework that analytically satisfies linear constraints using an approximation method called a constrained expression. The constrained expression utilized in this work is composed of two parts. The first part consists of Chebyshev orthogonal polynomials, which conform to the solution of differentiation variables. The second part is a summation of products between switching and projection functionals, which satisfy the boundary constraints. The mesh refinement algorithm relies on the truncation error of the constrained expressions to determine the ideal number of basis functions within a segment’s polynomials. Whether to increase the number of basis functions in a segment or divide it is determined by the decay rate of the truncation error. The results show that the proposed algorithm is capable of solving hypersensitive TPBVPs more accurately than MATLAB R2021b’s bvp4c routine and is much better than the standard TFC method that uses global constrained expressions. The proposed algorithm’s main flaw is its long runtime due to the numerical approximation of the Jacobians.

Keywords

• mesh refinement
• hypersensitive boundary-value problems
• functional interpolation
• optimal control
• theory of functional connections