A numerical method for two-dimensional nonlinear modified time-fractional fourth-order diffusion equation

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the finite element method for two-dimensional nonlinear modified time-fractional fourth-order diffusion equation. In order to avoid using higher order elements, we introduce an intermediate variable [Formula: see text] and translate the fourth-order derivative of the original problem into a second-order coupled system. We discretize the fractional time derivative terms by using the [Formula: see text]-approximation and discretize the first-order time derivative term by using the second-order backward differentiation formula. In the fully discrete scheme, we implement the finite element method for the spatial approximation. Unconditional stability of the fully discrete scheme is proven and its optimal convergence order is obtained. Numerical experiments are carried out to demonstrate our theoretical analysis.