A monotone finite element scheme for convection-diffusion equations

A simple technique is given in this paper for the construction and analysis of a class of finite element discretizations for convection-diffusion problems in any spatial dimension by properly averaging the PDE coefficients on element edges. The resulting finite element stiffness matrix is an $M$-matrix under some mild assumption for the underlying (generally unstructured) finite element grids. As a consequence the proposed edge-averaged finite element scheme is particularly interesting for the discretization of convection dominated problems. This scheme admits a simple variational formulation, it is easy to analyze, and it is also suitable for problems with a relatively smooth flux variable. Some simple numerical examples are given to demonstrate its effectiveness for convection dominated problems.