A COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF FINITE-ELEMENT AND FINITE-DIFFERENCE METHODS FOR FREE-SURFACE TRANSPORT

The present work consists of the comparative evaluation of the finite element method (FEM) and the finite difference method (FDM) for the an alysis of free surface transport within a hollow ampule. The phenomeno n of motion reversal of the free surfaces obtained earlier by the FDM is also analyzed by the FEM. It is found that the times at which the m otion reversal occurs are independent of the applied pressure differen ce for any fixed dimension of the hollow ampule. Furthermore, it appea rs that the displacement of the inner and outer free surfaces varies l inearly with the magnitude of the applied pressure difference. Finally , detailed comparative discussion is presented on the differences betw een the results obtained by FDM and FEM