A virtual element method for a convective Brinkman-Forchheimer problem coupled with a heat equation

Abstract

We develop a virtual element method to solve a convective Brinkman-Forchheimer problem coupled with a heat equation. This coupled model may allow for thermal diffusion and viscosity as a function of temperature. Under standard discretization assumptions, we prove the well posedness of the proposed numerical scheme. We also derive optimal error estimates under appropriate regularity assumptions for the solution. We conclude with a series of numerical tests performed with different mesh families that complement our theoretical findings.