Existence of weak solutions for a Bingham fluid-rigid body system

Abstract

We consider the motion of a rigid body in a viscoplastic material. This material is modeled by the 3D Bingham equations, and the Newton laws govern the displacement of the rigid body. Our main result is the existence of a weak solution for the corresponding system. The weak formulation is an inequality (due to the plasticity of the fluid), and it involves a free boundary (due to the motion of the rigid body). We approximate it by regularizing the convex terms in the Bingham fluid and by using a penalty method to take into account the presence of the rigid body.