Least Squares for the Perturbed Stokes Equations and the Reissner-Mindlin Plate

In this paper, we develop two least-squares approaches for the solution of the Stokes equations perturbed by a Laplacian term. (Such perturbed Stokes equations arise from finite element approximations of the Reissner–Mindlin plate.) Both are two-stage algorithms that solve first for the curls of the rotation of the fibers and the solenoidal part of the shear strain, then for the rotation itself (if desired). One approach uses L2 norms and the other approach uses H−1 norms to define the least-squares functionals. It is shown that the H−1 norm approach, under general assumptions, and the L2 norm approach, under certain H2 regularity assumptions, admit optimal performance for standard finite element discretization and either standard multigrid solution methods or preconditioners. These methods do not degrade when the perturbed parameter (the plate thickness) approaches zero. We also develop a three-stage least-squares method for the Reissner–Mindlin plate, which first solves for the curls of the rotation and the shear strain, next for the rotation itself, and then for the transverse displacement.