A cut finite element method for a model of pressure in fractured media (Q2217870)

The authors propose a cut finite element method for solving a model of diffusion in fractured media consisting of a bulk domain with embedded cracks. In the bulk domain, the diffusion equation is satisfied while on the crack a surface diffusion equation is posed, the coupling of different variables is made by a Robin-type interface condition. The authors use the cut finite element method with a background bulk mesh that does not necessarily fit the crack. The proposed method is shown to be robust in the following way. First, the formulation is stable for a full range of parameter choices. Second, the scheme is not sensitive to the location of the interface in the background mesh. An optimal order a priori error estimate is derived and confirmed by numerical examples.