Finite element approximation of a sixth order nonlinear degenerate parabolic equation (Q1424366)

Degenerate nonlinear parabolic problems of the type \(u_t=\nabla(b(u)\nabla\Delta^2u)\) with \(b(u)=| u| ^\gamma\) where \(\gamma\in(0,+\infty)\) are considered. Its finite element treatment is based upon the equivalent mixed formulation \[ u_t=\nabla(b(u)\nabla w),\quad w=-\Delta v,\quad v=-\Delta u\,. \] Spatial discretizations by continuous linear finite elements over simplices that partition the polyhedral domain are studied. For the time integration an semi-implicit Euler scheme with frozen coefficients is applied. Moreover, a physically required nonnegativity is included via variational inequalities. In detail, analytical properties are investigated and convergence of the proposed method including an iterative scheme for the discrete problem is shown.