Numerical analysis of a problem in micropolar thermoviscoelasticity

In this work, we study, from the numerical point of view, a dynamic thermoviscoelastic problem involving micropolar materials. The model leads to a linear system composed of parabolic partial differential equations for the displacements, the microrotation and the temperature. Its weak form is written as a linear system made of first-order variational equations, in terms of the velocity field, the microrotation speed and the temperature. Fully discrete approximations are introduced by using the finite element method and the implicit Euler scheme. A discrete stability property and a priori error estimates are proved, from which the linear convergence is derived under some additional regularity conditions. Finally, some two-dimensional numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the approximation and the behavior of the solution.