Minimal surface computation using a finite element method on an embedded surface

We suggest a finite element method for finding minimal surfaces based on computing a discrete Laplace-Beltrami operator operating on the coordinates of the surface. The surface is a discrete representation of the zero level set of a distance function using linear tetrahedral finite elements, and the finite element discretization is carried out on the piecewise planar isosurface using the shape functions from the background three-dimensional mesh used to represent the distance function. A recently suggested stabilized scheme for finite element approximation of the mean curvature vector is a crucial component of the method. Copyright (C) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.