Error estimates for the Cahn–Hilliard equation with dynamic boundary conditions

Abstract

Abstract A proof of convergence is given for a bulk–surface finite element semidiscretisation of the Cahn–Hilliard equation with Cahn–Hilliard-type dynamic boundary conditions in a smooth domain. The semidiscretisation is studied in an abstract weak formulation as a second-order system. Optimal-order uniform-in-time error estimates are shown in the $L^2$- and $H^1$-norms. The error estimates are based on a consistency and stability analysis. The proof of stability is performed in an abstract framework, based on energy estimates exploiting the anti-symmetric structure of the second-order system. Numerical experiments illustrate the theoretical results.