Abstract
We propose a new algorithm for the computation of Willmore flow. This is the L 2-gradient flow for the Willmore functional, which is the classical bending energy of a surface. Willmore flow is described by a highly nonlinear system of PDEs of fourth order for the parametrization of the surface. The spatially discrete numerical scheme is stable and consistent. The discretization relies on an adequate calculation of the first variation of the Willmore functional together with a derivation of the second variation of the area functional which is well adapted to discretization techniques with finite elements. The algorithm uses finite elements on surfaces. We give numerical examples and tests for piecewise linear finite elements. A convergence proof for the full algorithm remains an open question.
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