Variational methods for steady-state Darcy/Fick flow in swollen and poroelastic solids

Abstract

Existence of steady states in elastic media at small strains with diffusion of a solvent or fluid due to Fick's or Darcy's laws is proved by combining usage of variational methods inspired from static situations with Schauder's fixed-point arguments. In the plain variant, the problem consists in the force equilibrium coupled with the continuity equation, and the underlying operator is non-potential and non-pseudomonotone so that conventional methods are not applicable. In advanced variants, electrically-charged multi-component flows through an electrically charged elastic solid are treated, employing critical points of the saddle-point type. Eventually, anisothermal variants involving heat-transfer equation are treated, too.