Morley finite element analysis for fourth-order elliptic equations under a semi-regular mesh condition

In this study, we present a precise anisotropic interpolation error estimate for the Morley finite element method (FEM) and apply it to fourth-order elliptical equations. We did not impose a shape-regularity mesh condition for the analysis. Therefore, anisotropic meshes can be used. The main contributions of this study include providing new proof of the consistency term. This enabled us to obtain an anisotropic consistency error estimate. The core idea of the proof involves using the relationship between the Raviart--Thomas and Morley finite element spaces. Our results show optimal convergence rates and imply that the modified Morley FEM may be effective for errors.