A spectral method for fourth-order mixed inhomogeneous boundary value problem in three dimensions (Q2629260)

The paper is concerned with the numerical solution of fourth-order problems using Legendre polynomials. The author considers the fourth-order elliptic problems on \(\Omega=\left(-1,1\right)^3\) with constant coefficients and inhomogeneous mixed boundary conditions and parabolic problems with fourth-order elliptic operator. The problem is transformed into the problem with homogeneous boundary conditions using the substitution \(U=W-W_B\), where \(W\) is the solution of the original equation and \(W_B\) is a function satisfying boundary conditions. A formula for \(W_B\) is derived. A weak formulation of the problem is presented and the spectral scheme using Legendre polynomials is proposed for its solution. Error estimates are derived for Legendre polynomial approximation of functions from \(H_0^2 \left(\Omega\right)\) and convergence of the scheme is proved. Three illustrative numerical examples are presented.