Relation between finite element methods and nodal methods in transport theory

This paper examines the relationship between nodal methods and finite-element methods for solving the discrete-ordinates form of the transport equation in x-y geometry. Specifically, we will examine the relation of three finite-element schemes to the linear-linear (LL) and linear-nodal (LN) nodal schemes. The three finite-element schemes are the linear-continuous-diamond-difference (DD) scheme, the linear-discontinuous (LD) scheme, and the quadratic-discontinuous (QD) scheme. A brief derivation of the (LL) and (LN) nodal schemes is given in the third section of this paper. The approximations that cause the LL scheme to reduce to the DD, LD, and QD schemes are then indicated. An extremely simple method of deriving the finite-element schemes is then introduced