Mixed finite element method for a beam equation with the p-biharmonic operator

Abstract: In this paper, we consider a nonlinear beam equation with the p-biharmonic operator, where $1 < p < \infty$. Using a change of variable, we transform the problem into a system of differential equations and prove the existence, uniqueness and regularity of the weak solution by applying the Lax-Milgram theorem and classical results of functional analysis. We investigate the discrete formulation for that system and, with the aid of the Brouwer theorem, we show that the problem has a discrete solution. The uniqueness and stability of the discrete solution are obtained through classical methods. After establishing the order of convergence, we apply the mixed finite element method to obtain an algebraic system of equations. Finally, we implement the computational codes in Matlab software and perform the comparison between theory and simulations.