Low-degree robust Hellinger-Reissner finite element schemes for planar linear elasticity with symmetric stress tensors

TL;DR

This paper develops low-degree, robust finite element schemes for planar linear elasticity that accurately approximate symmetric stress tensors and displacements on general triangulations, with proven error bounds.

Contribution

It introduces novel low-degree nonconforming and conforming Hellinger-Reissner finite element schemes with robust error estimates for symmetric stress tensors in planar elasticity.

Findings

Finite element schemes with asymptotically 8 times vertex-based basis functions.

Lowest-degree polynomial shape function spaces for stress tensors with 5 dimensions.

Robust error estimates in multiple norms for regular solutions.

Abstract

In this paper, we study the construction of low-degree robust finite element schemes for planar linear elasticity on general triangulations. Firstly, we present a low-degree nonconforming Helling-Reissner finite element scheme. For the stress tensor space, the piecewise polynomial shape function space is $$ {\rm span}\left\{\left(\begin{array}{cc}1&0\\ 0 & 0\end{array}\right),\left(\begin{array}{cc}0&1\\ 1 & 0\end{array}\right),\left(\begin{array}{cc}0&0\\ 0 & 1\end{array}\right),\left(\begin{array}{cc}0&x\\ x & 0\end{array}\right),\left(\begin{array}{cc}0&y\\ y & 0\end{array}\right),\left(\begin{array}{cc}0&x^2-y^2\\ x^2-y^2 & 0\end{array}\right)\right\}, $$ the dimension of the total space is asymptotically 8 times of the number of vertices, and the supports of the basis functions are each a patch of an edge. The piecewise rigid body space is used for the displacement. Robust error estimations in $\mathbb{L}^2$ and broken $\mathbf{H}({\rm div})$ norms are presented. Secondly, we investigate the theoretical construction of schemes with lowest-degree polynomial shape function spaces. Specifically, a Hellinger-Reissner finite element scheme is constructed, with the local shape function space for the stress tensor being 5-dimensional which is of the lowest degree for the local approximation of $\mathbf{H}({\rm div};\mathbb{S})$, and the space for the displacement is piecewise constants. Robust error estimations in $\mathbb{L}^2$ and broken $\mathbf{H}({\rm div})$ norms are presented for regular solutions and data.