An Efficient Finite Element Method and Error Analysis Based on Dimension Reduction Scheme for the Fourth-Order Elliptic Eigenvalue Problems in a Circular Domain

In this paper, we propose an effective finite element method for the fourth order elliptic eigenvalue problems in a circular domain. First, by using polar coordinates transformation and the orthogonal property of Fourier basis functions, the original problem is turned into a series of equivalent one-dimensional eigenvalue problems. Second, according to the properties of Laplace operator in polar coordinate, we deduce the polar conditions and introduce suitable weighted Sobolev space. Based on the polar conditions and weighted Sobolev space, we establish the weak form and the corresponding discrete form. Third, we prove the error estimates of approximation eigenvalues and eigenvectors by means of the spectral theory of compact operators for each one-dimensional eigenvalue system. Finally, we provide some numerical experiments to show the validity of the algorithm and the correctness of the theoretical results.