A posteriori error estimators for stationary convection-diffusion problems: a computational comparison

We consider the scalar convection-diffusion problem in 2-D, present standar d and stabilized finite element methods and give a survey of different a po steriori error estimators. These estimators are either based on the evaluat ion of local residuals or on the solution of discrete local Neumann problem s. Besides that, a heuristic indicator based on local averaging techniques for the solution gradient is presented and compared with the estimators. We give an overview of another aspect of adaptive mesh-refinement, namely the decision which elements have to be marked for refinement. Several marking strategies are described and compared. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All r ights reserved.