Step-by-step solving virtual element schemes based on scalar auxiliary variable with relaxation for Allen–Cahn-type gradient flows

In this paper, we consider integrating the scalar auxiliary variable time discretization with the virtual element method spatial discretization to obtain energy-stable schemes for Allen–Cahn-type gradient flow problems. In order to optimize CPU time during calculations, we propose two step-by-step solving SAV algorithms by introducing a novel auxiliary variable to replace the original one. Then, linear, decoupled, and unconditionally energy-stable numerical schemes are constructed. However, due to truncation errors, the auxiliary variable is not equivalent to the continuous case in the original definition. Therefore, we propose a novel relaxation technique to preserve the original energy dissipation rule. It not only retains all the advantages of the above algorithms but also improves accuracy and consistency. Finally, a series of numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our method.