On the locking-free three-field virtual element methods for Biot's consolidation model in poroelasticity

Abstract

We propose and analyze two locking-free three-field virtual element methods for Biot's consolidation model in poroelasticity. One is a high-order scheme, and the other is a low-order scheme. For time discretization, we use the backward Euler scheme. The proposed methods are well-posed, and optimal error estimates of all the unknowns are obtained for fully discrete solutions. The generic constants in the estimates are uniformly bounded as the Lamé coefficient λ tends to infinity, and as the constrained specific storage coefficient is arbitrarily small. Therefore the methods are free of both Poisson locking and pressure oscillations. Numerical results illustrate the good performance of the methods and confirm our theoretical predictions.