Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 February 2017
A nonconforming rectangular finite element method is proposed to solve a fluid structure interaction problem characterized by the Darcy-Stokes-Brinkman Equation with discontinuous coefficients across the interface of different structures. A uniformly stable mixed finite element together with Nitsche-type matching conditions that automatically adapt to the coupling of different sub-problem combinations are utilized in the discrete algorithm. Compared with other finite element methods in the literature, the new method has some distinguished advantages and features. The Boland-Nicolaides trick is used in proving the inf-sup condition for the multidomain discrete problem. Optimal error estimates are derived for the coupled problem by analyzing the approximation errors and the consistency errors. Numerical examples are also provided to confirm the theoretical results.