A finite element method for degenerate two-phase flow in porous media. Part II: Convergence

Abstract

Abstract Convergence of a finite element method with mass-lumping and flux upwinding is formulated for solving the immiscible two-phase flow problem in porous media. The method approximates directly the wetting phase pressure and saturation, which are the primary unknowns. Well-posedness is obtained in [J. Numer. Math., 29(2), 2021]. Theoretical convergence is proved via a compactness argument. The numerical phase saturation converges strongly to a weak solution in L 2 in space and in time whereas the numerical phase pressures converge strongly to weak solutions in L 2 in space almost everywhere in time. The proof is not straightforward because of the degeneracy of the phase mobilities and the unboundedness of the derivative of the capillary pressure.