Semi-Discrete and Fully Discrete Weak Galerkin Finite Element Methods for a Quasistatic Maxwell Viscoelastic Model

This paper considers weak Galerkin finite element approximations on polygonal/polyhedral meshes for a quasistatic Maxwell viscoelastic model. The spatial discretization uses piecewise polynomials of degree k (k >= 1) for the stress approximation, degree k + 1 for the velocity approximation, and degree k for the numerical trace of velocity on the inter-element boundaries. The temporal discretization in the fully discrete method adopts a backward Euler difference scheme. We show the existence and uniqueness of the semi-discrete and fully discrete solutions, and derive optimal a priori error estimates. Numerical examples are provided to support the theoretical analysis.