```{tags}
category:benchmark
feature:2d
feature:cartesian
feature:community-benchmark
feature:analytical-solution
feature:compositional-fields
```
(sec:benchmarks:solcx)=
# The SolCx Stokes benchmark
The SolCx benchmark is intended to test the accuracy of the solution to a
problem that has a large jump in the viscosity along a line through the
domain. Such situations are common in geophysics: for example, the viscosity
in a cold, subducting slab is much larger than in the surrounding, relatively
hot mantle material.
The SolCx benchmark computes the Stokes flow field of a fluid driven by
spatial density variations, subject to a spatially variable viscosity.
Specifically, the domain is $\Omega=[0,1]^2$, gravity is $\mathbf
g=(0,-1)^T$ and the density is given by
$\rho(\mathbf x)=\sin(\pi x_1)\cos(\pi x_2)$; this can be considered a density
perturbation to a constant background density. The viscosity is
```{math}
\begin{aligned}
\eta(\mathbf x) = \left\{
\begin{matrix}
1 & \text{for}\ x_1 \le 0.5, \\
10^6 & \text{for}\ x_1 > 0.5.
\end{matrix}
\right.\end{aligned}
```
This strongly discontinuous viscosity field yields an
almost stagnant flow in the right half of the domain and consequently a
singularity in the pressure along the interface. Boundary conditions are free
slip on all of $\partial\Omega$. The temperature plays no role in this
benchmark. The prescribed density field and the resulting velocity field are
shown in {numref}`fig:solcx1` and {numref}`fig:solcx2`.
The SolCx benchmark was previously used in Section 4.1.1 of {cite:t}`duretz:etal:2011`
(references to earlier uses of the benchmark are available there) and its
analytic solution is given in {cite:t}`zhong:1996`. ASPECT contains an implementation of this
analytic solution taken from the Underworld package (see {cite:t}`moresi:etal:2007`
and , and correcting for the mismatch in
sign between the implementation and the description in {cite:t}`duretz:etal:2011`).
```{figure-md} fig:solcx1
SolCx Stokes benchmark. The density perturbation field and overlaid to it some velocity vectors. The viscosity is very large in the right hand, leading to a stagnant flow in this region.
```
```{figure-md} fig:solcx2
SolCx Stokes benchmark. The pressure on a relatively coarse mesh, showing the internal layer along the line where the viscosity jumps.
```
To run this benchmark, the following input file will do (see the files in
[benchmarks/solcx/](https://github.com/geodynamics/aspect/tree/main/benchmarks/solcx) to rerun the benchmark):
```{literalinclude} solcx.prm
```
Since this is the first cookbook in the benchmarking section, let us go
through the different parts of this file in more detail:
- The material model and the postprocessor
- The first part consists of parameter setting for overall parameters.
Specifically, we set the dimension in which this benchmark runs to two and
choose an output directory. Since we are not interested in a time
dependent solution, we set the end time equal to the start time, which
results in only a single time step being computed.
The last parameter of this section, `Pressure normalization`, is set in
such a way that the pressure is chosen so that its *domain* average is
zero, rather than the pressure along the surface, see
Section [](sec:methods:pressure-norm).
- The next part of the input file describes the setup of the benchmark.
Specifically, we have to say how the geometry should look like (a box of
size $1\times 1$) and what the velocity boundary conditions shall be
(tangential flow all around - the box geometry defines four boundary
indicators for the left, right, bottom and top boundaries, see also
[](parameters:Geometry_20model)). This is followed by
subsections choosing the material model (where we choose a particular
model implemented in that describes the spatially variable density and
viscosity fields, along with the size of the viscosity jump) and finally
the chosen gravity model (a gravity field that is the constant vector
$(0,-1)^T$, see [](parameters:Gravity_20model)).
- The part that follows this describes the boundary and initial values for
the temperature. While we are not interested in the evolution of the
temperature field in this benchmark, we nevertheless need to set
something. The values given here are the minimal set of inputs.
- The second-to-last part sets discretization parameters. Specifically, it
determines what kind of Stokes element to choose (see
[](parameters:Discretization) and the extensive
discussion in {cite:t}`kronbichler:etal:2012`). We do not
adaptively refine the mesh but only do four global refinement steps at the
very beginning. This is obviously a parameter worth playing with.
- The final section on postprocessors determines what to do with the
solution once computed. Here, we do two things: we ask to compute the
error in the solution using the setup described in {cite:t}`duretz:etal:2011`,
and we request that output files for
later visualization are generated and placed in the output directory. The
functions that compute the error automatically query which kind of
material model had been chosen, i.e., they can know whether we are solving
the SolCx benchmark or one of the other benchmarks discussed in the
following subsections.
Upon running with this input file, you will get output of the following kind
(obviously with different timings, and details of the output may also change
as development of the code continues):
``` ksh
aspect/cookbooks> ../aspect solcx.prm
Number of active cells: 256 (on 5 levels)
Number of degrees of freedom: 3,556 (2,178+289+1,089)
*** Timestep 0: t=0 years
Solving temperature system... 0 iterations.
Rebuilding Stokes preconditioner...
Solving Stokes system... 30+3 iterations.
Postprocessing:
Errors u_L1, p_L1, u_L2, p_L2: 1.125997e-06, 2.994143e-03, 1.670009e-06, 9.778441e-03
Writing graphical output: output/solution/solution-00000
+---------------------------------------------+------------+------------+
| Total wallclock time elapsed since start | 1.51s | |
| | | |
| Section | no. calls | wall time | % of total |
+---------------------------------+-----------+------------+------------+
| Assemble Stokes system | 1 | 0.114s | 7.6% |
| Assemble temperature system | 1 | 0.284s | 19% |
| Build Stokes preconditioner | 1 | 0.0935s | 6.2% |
| Build temperature preconditioner| 1 | 0.0043s | 0.29% |
| Solve Stokes system | 1 | 0.0717s | 4.8% |
| Solve temperature system | 1 | 0.000753s | 0.05% |
| Postprocessing | 1 | 0.627s | 42% |
| Setup dof systems | 1 | 0.19s | 13% |
+---------------------------------+-----------+------------+------------+
```
One can then visualize the solution in a number of different ways (see
Section {ref}`sec:run-aspect:visualizing-results`), yielding pictures like those shown in
{numref}`fig:solcx1` and {numref}`fig:solcx2`. One can also analyze the error
as shown in various different ways, for example as a function of the
mesh refinement level, the element chosen, etc.; we have done so
extensively in {cite:t}`kronbichler:etal:2012`.