=====Intro to Mesh Generation and Finite Element Methods=====

The finite element method is a technique for solving partial differential equations by first discretizing these equations in their space dimensions.  The discretization is carried out locally over small regions of simple but arbitrary shape ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite_element_method|the finite elements]]).  We introduce various meshing tools available to us in this session from MATLAB to those used in some of our R&D codes.


===Mesh generation tools we use===

  * [[http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~quake/triangle.html | Triangle (2D)]]

  * Fluxgrid (2D axisymmetric for flux-surface conformal meshes) 

  * [[http://geuz.org/gmsh/| gmsh]]

  * [[https://cubit.sandia.gov/public/tutorials.html| CUBIT (Fully 3D)]]

===Finite Element Method Intro===

[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite_element_method | Meshing intro ]] 

Smith and Griffiths [[http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Finite-Element-Method-Smith/dp/0470849703| Programming the Finite Element Method]]

[[http://wiki.octave.org/Fem-fenics | FEM with Octave ]]

[[http://www.mathworks.com/help/pde/ug/basics-of-the-finite-element-method.html | FEM with Matlab (requires PDE Toolbox) ]]





====Resources====

Strang and Fix [[http://www.amazon.com/Analysis-Element-Prentice-Hall-Automatic-Computation/dp/0130329460/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398454412&sr=1-2&keywords=strang+and+fix | An Analysis of the Finite Element Method (Prentice-Hall Series in Automatic Computation) ]]

Stephen Jardin [[http://www.amazon.com/Computational-Methods-Physics-Chapman-Science-ebook/dp/B008XMYEB8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398454492&sr=1-1&keywords=stephen+jardin|Computational Methods in Plasma Physics (Chapman & Hall/CRC Computational Science) ]]

J. Reddy [[ http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Finite-Element-Method-Engineering/dp/0072466855/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1398456599&sr=1-1&keywords=reddy+finite+element |An Introduction to the Finite Element Method]]

[[http://www.amazon.com/Plasma-Physics-An-Introductory-Course/dp/0521484529|J. W. Eastwood Computational Plasma Physics Chapter 7 of Dendy's Plasma Physics: An Introductory Course]]  

Smith and Griffiths [[http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Finite-Element-Method-Smith/dp/0470849703| Programming the Finite Element Method]]