First-order least-squares method for the obstacle problem (Q2288369)

Many problems are of obstacle type, or more generally, described by variational inequalities [\textit{D. Kinderlehrer} and \textit{G. Stampacchia}, An introduction to variational inequalities and their applications. Reprint of the 1980 original. Philadelphia, PA: Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) (2000; Zbl 0988.49003); \textit{J.-F. Rodrigues}, Obstacle problems in mathematical physics. Amsterdam etc.: North-Holland (1987; Zbl 0606.73017)]. Least-squares finite element methods (LSFEM) are a widespread class of numerical schemes and their basic idea is to approximate the solution by minimizing the residual in some given norm. A detailed list of some important properties of the LSFEM is given in the introduction of the overview article [\textit{P. Bochev} and \textit{M. Gunzburger}, in: Proceedings of the international congress of mathematicians (ICM), Madrid, Spain, August 22--30, 2006. Volume III: Invited lectures. Zürich: European Mathematical Society (EMS). 1137--1162 (2006; Zbl 1100.65098)] and also in the book [\textit{P. B. Bochev} and \textit{M. D. Gunzburger}, Least-squares finite element methods. New York, NY: Springer (2009; Zbl 1168.65067)]. Let $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^{n}$, $n=2, 3$, denote a polygonal Lipschitz domain with boundary $\Gamma =\partial \Omega $. For given $f\in L^{2}(\Omega )$ and $g\in H^{1}(\Omega )$ with $g_{\mid\Gamma}\leq 0$, the author considers the classical obstacle problem: find a solution $u$ to \[ \tag{\(\mathcal{P}_{1}\)} \begin{cases} -\Delta u\geq f &\text{in }\Omega , \\ u\geq g &\text{in }\Omega , \\ (u-g)(-\Delta u-f)=0&\text{in }\Omega , \\ u=0 &\text{on }\Gamma. \end{cases} \] It is well-known that this problem admits a unique solution $u\in H_{0}^{1}(\Omega )$. The problem $(\mathcal{P}_{1})$ is equivalent to \[ \tag{\(\mathcal{P}_{2}\)} \begin{cases} \qquad\text{Find }u\in H_{0}^{1}(\Omega),\ \ u\geq g\text{ such that} \\ \int_{\Omega}\nabla u\cdot\nabla (v-u)\,dx\geq \int_{\Omega}f(v-u)\,dx,\text{ for all }v\in H_{0}^{1}(\Omega),\ \ v\geq g. \end{cases} \] In this work, the author derives variational inequalities that are based on similar but non-symmetric bilinear forms. A priori error estimates including the case of non-conforming convex sets are given in Theorems $8$, $9$, $10$ and optimal convergence rates are shown for the lowest-order case in Theorems $13$, $14$, $15$. He provides a posteriori bounds that can be used as error indicators in an adaptive algorithm in Theorem $16$. Numerical studies are presented. So he presents numerical studies that proof the performance of the proposed methods in different situations: \begin{itemize} \item a problem on the unit square with smooth obstacle and known smooth solution; \item a problem where the solution is known and exhibits a singularity; \item a problem on an $L$-shaped domain with a pyramid-like obstacle and unknown solution. \end{itemize} Theoretical and numerical analysis are carried out in order to obtain convergence of these methods and the stability and error estimate.