The finite element discretization of the incompressible steady-state Navier-Stokes equations yields a non-linear problem, due to the convective terms in the momentum equations. Several methods may be used to solve this non-linear problem. In this work we study Inexact Newton-type methods, associated with the SUPG/PSPG stabilized finite element formulation. The resulting systems of equations are solved iteratively by a preconditioned Krylov-space method such as GMRES. Numerical experiments are shown to validate our approach. Performance of the nonlinear strategies is accessed by numerical tests. We concluded that Inexact Newton-type methods are more efficient than conventional Newton-type methods.
Inexact Newton-type methods; Newton-Krylov methods; Navier-Stokes; incompressible fluid flow; finite elements
