Unfitted Multi-Level hp Refinement for Localized and Moving Solution Features

TL;DR

This paper introduces an unfitted multi-level hp-refinement method for finite element analysis that efficiently handles localized and moving features without modifying the base mesh.

Contribution

It presents a novel overlay mesh approach that avoids mesh alignment and remeshing, reducing computational overhead and improving accuracy for complex localized phenomena.

Findings

Retains exponential convergence for non-smooth problems.

Achieves better error-to-cost ratios than fitted multi-level hp-refinement.

Accurately tracks moving features with fewer degrees of freedom.

Abstract

Localized features such as singularities, sharp gradients, discontinuities, and moving sources require adaptive finite element discretizations. Conventional refinement strategies introduce significant computational overhead through mesh-topology modifications, constraint handling for non-matching interfaces, and repeated remeshing with state transfer. This work presents an unfitted multi-level hp-refinement strategy that enriches a fixed base discretization by independently positioned overlay meshes. The global approximation space is constructed by superposition of the active spaces across all refinement levels, while homogeneous constraints on artificial overlay boundaries ensure global $C^0$ continuity. Coupling between non-matching meshes is assembled over admissible integration regions defined by intersections of element partitions, enabling reuse of standard element-level finite element routines within a lightweight superposition framework. In contrast to fitted multi-level approaches, overlay boundaries are not required to align with underlying mesh interfaces. This reduces inter-level coupling and allows refinement zones to be inserted, translated, and removed without modifying the base discretization. Numerical studies for discontinuous and singular benchmark problems, as well as a moving source, demonstrate the performance of the method. The unfitted approach retains exponential convergence for non-smooth problems and achieves improved error-to-cost ratios compared to fitted multi-level hp-refinement. For representative cases, comparable accuracy is obtained with substantially fewer degrees of freedom, while localized high-order refinement accurately tracks moving features.