Supercloseness of the divergence-free finite element solutions on rectangular grids (Q376061)

By the standard theory, the stable \( Q_{k+1,k}-Q_{k,k+1}/ Q_{k}^{dc'}\) divergence-free element converges with the optimal order of approximation for the Stokes equations, but only with order \(k\) for the velocity in the \(H^1\)-norm and the pressure in the \(L^2\)-norm. This is due to one polynomial degree less in \(y\) direction for the first component of velocity, which is a \( Q_{k+1,k}\) polynomial of \(x\) and \(y\). Using a supercloseness of the divergence free element, it is shown that the order of convergence is truly \(k+1\), for both velocity and pressure. For special solutions (if the interpolation is also divergence-free), a two-order supercloseness is shown to exist. Numerical tests are presented.