Degenerate two-phase incompressible flow III. Sharp error estimates

Summary. This is the third paper of a series in which we analyze mathematical properties and develop numerical methods for a degenerate elliptic-parabolic partial differential system which describes the flow of two incompressible, immiscible fluids in porous media. In this paper we consider a finite element approximation for this system. The elliptic equation for the pressure and velocity is approximated by a mixed finite element method, while the degenerate parabolic equation for the saturation is approximated by a Galerkin finite element method. A fully discrete approximation is analyzed. Sharp error estimates in energy norms are obtained for this approximation. The error analysis does not use any regularization of the saturation equation; the error estimates are derived directly from the degenerate equation. Also, the analysis does not impose any restriction on the nature of degeneracy. Finally, it respects the minimal regularity on the solution of the differential system. Received March 9, 1998 / Revised version received July 17, 2000 / Published online May 30, 2001