AMATH 574
Winter Quarter, 2009

Conservation Laws and Finite Volume Methods


(Prerequisites: AMATH 586 or equivalent)

Instructor: Professor Randall J. LeVeque
Guggenheim 415C
(206) 685-3037
rjl at washington dot edu
Lectures: Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:30 - 4:50 pm
Room: Guggenheim 204
Office hours: MWF 2:30 - 3:30 or drop by / make appointment
Course assistants: David Ketcheson and Kyle Mandli


Course Description

Theory of linear and nonlinear hyperbolic conservation laws modeling wave propagation in gases, fluids, and solids. Shock and rarefaction waves. Finite volume methods for numerical approximation of solutions; Godunov's method and high-resolution TVD methods. Stability, convergence, and entropy conditions. Prerequisites: AMath 586 or comparable background in numerical methods for differential equations. Please contact the instructor if you want more information.

More course description

Text:

Finite Volume Methods for Hyperbolic Problems, by R. J. LeVeque, Cambridge University Press, 2003

Check the errata page and make note of the many errors!

Software:

The CLAWPACK software will be used to illustrate the behavior of hyperbolic equations and to facilitate working with finite volume methods.

Grading:

Grades will be based on homework sets and a final project.

Other links:

Trac wiki and svn repository for the class Class participants can login to the wiki for homework, lecture slides, and other class resources.

Slides from first lecture

Project description