Robust Stability and Preconditioning of Darcy–Forchheimer Equations

Abstract. We derive parameter-robust quasi-optimal error estimates for mixed finite element methods for the nonlinear Darcy–Forchheimer equations with mixed boundary conditions. Using the framework of operator preconditioning, we also design efficient block preconditioners for the linearized system that exhibit robustness with respect to the coefficients that modulate permeability and inertia of the system. The properties of the formulation (parameter and mesh-size independence of the convergence rates) are illustrated by means of several numerical examples.