An adjoint-based scheme for eigenvalue error improvement

A scheme for improving the accuracy and reducing the error in eigenvalue calculations is presented. Using a rst order Taylor series expansion of both the eigenvalue solution and the residual of the governing equation, an approximation to the error in the eigenvalue is derived. This is done using a convolution of the equation residual and adjoint solution, which is calculated in-line with the primal solution. A defect correction on the solution is then performed in which the approximation to the error is used to apply a correction to the eigenvalue. The method is shown to dramatically improve convergence of the eigenvalue. The equation for the eigenvalue is shown to simplify when certain normalizations are applied to the eigenvector. Two such normalizations are considered; the rst of these is a fission-source type of normalisation and the second is an eigenvector normalisation. Results are demonstrated on a number of demanding elliptic problems using continuous Galerkin weighted nite elements. Moreover, the correction scheme may also be applied to hyperbolic problems and arbitrary discretization. This is not limited to spatial corrections and may be used throughout the phase space of the discrete equation. The applied correction not only improves fidelity of the calculation, it allows assessment of the reliability of numerical schemes to be made and could be used to guide mesh adaption algorithms or to automate mesh generation schemes. (author)