A Lowest-Order Robust Mixed Finite Element Method with a Third-Order Tensor Variable for Strain Gradient Elasticity

A lowest-order mixed finite element method is developed for the strain gradient elasticity (SGE) model in arbitrary dimensions.

We take the physically meaningful third-order double stress tensor $\boldsymbol{\Phi}:=\iota^2\operatorname{grad}\boldsymbol{\sigma}(\boldsymbol{u})\in\mathbb{S}\otimes\mathbb{R}^d$ as a primary variable and derive a distributional mixed formulation.

The double stress is approximated by an $\mathbb{S}\otimes\mathbb{R}^d$-valued extension of the lowest-order Raviart--Thomas element, while the displacement is approximated by the vector-valued linear Crouzeix--Raviart element.

Thus, the method avoids both high-degree bubble enrichment and a Nitsche-type treatment of the higher-order boundary condition.

We establish parameter-robust discrete stability, an optimal first-order error estimate for fixed parameters, and a complementary parameter-uniform $\mathcal{O}(\iota^{1/2}+h)$ error estimate with constants independent of both the size parameter $\iota$ and the Lamé coefficient $\lambda$.

In the boundary-layer regime $\iota^{1/2}\lesssim h$, the latter retains a first-order convergence rate in $h$.

We also develop a local quadratic post-processing and a hybridized formulation.

Numerical experiments in two and three dimensions support the theoretical results.