A New Mixed Finite Element Method for Elastodynamics with Weak Symmetry

We provide a new mixed finite element analysis for linear elastodynamics with reduced symmetry. The problem is formulated as a second order system in time by imposing only the Cauchy stress tensor and the rotation as primary and secondary variables, respectively. We prove that the resulting variational formulation is well-posed and provide a convergence analysis for a class of \({\mathrm {H}}(\mathop {{\mathrm {div}}}\nolimits )\)-conforming semi-discrete schemes. In addition, we use the Newmark trapezoidal rule to obtain a fully discrete version of the problem and carry out the corresponding convergence analysis. Finally, numerical tests illustrating the performance of the fully discrete scheme are presented.