Asymptotic analysis of a thin rigid stratified elastic plate – viscous fluid interaction problem

Abstract

A three-dimensional model for the interaction of a thin stratified rigid plate and a viscous fluid layer is considered. This problem depends on a small parameter which is the ratio of the thickness of the plate and that of the fluid layer. The right-hand side functions are 1-periodic with respect to the tangential variables of the plate. The plate’s Young’s modulus is of order , i.e. it is great, while its density is of order 1. At the solid–fluid interface, the velocity and the normal stress are continuous. The variational analysis of this model (including the existence, uniqueness of the solution and its regularity) is provided. An asymptotic expansion of the solution is constructed and justified. The error estimate is proved for the partial sums of the asymptotic expansion. The limit problem contains a non-standard boundary condition for the Stokes equations. The existence, uniqueness, and regularity of its solution are proved. The asymptotic analysis is applied to the partial asymptotic dimension reduction of the solid phase and the derivation of the asymptotically exact junction conditions between two-dimensional and three-dimensional models of the plate.