Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 October 2013
In this article, we present a numerical scheme based on a finite element method in orderto solve a time-dependent convection-diffusion equation problem and satisfy someconservation properties. In particular, our scheme is able to conserve the total energyfor a heat equation or the total mass of a solute in a fluid for a concentration equation,even if the approximation of the velocity field is not completely divergence-free. Weestablish a priori errror estimates for this scheme and we give some numerical exampleswhich show the efficiency of the method.