Immersed finite element methods for parabolic equations with moving interface

This article presents three Crank-Nicolson-type immersed finite element (IFE) methods for solving parabolic equations whose diffusion coefficient is discontinuous across a time dependent interface. These methods can use a fixed mesh because IFEs can handle interface jump conditions without requiring the mesh to be aligned with the interface. These methods will be compared analytically in the sense of accuracy and computational cost. Numerical examples are provided to demonstrate features of these three IFE methods. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2013