A new finite element formulation for computational fluid dynamics. V: Circumventing the Babuška-Brezzi condition: A stable Petrov-Galerkin formulation of the Stokes problem accommodating equal-order interpolations (Q1091210)

[For the former parts see the above entries.] A new Petrov-Galerkin formulation of the Stokes problem is proposed. The new formulation possesses better stability properties than the classical Galerkin/variational method. An error analysis is performed for the case in which both the velocity and pressure are approximated by \(C^ 0\) interpolations. Combinations of \(C^ 0\) interpolations which are unstable according to the Babuška-Brezzi condition (e.g., equal-order interpolations) are shown to be stable and convergent within the present framework. Calculations exhibiting the good behavior of the methodology are presented.