Sharp Pointwise Error Estimates of Finite Element Methods for the Biharmonic Equation

We prove sharp pointwise error estimates for finite element approximations of the clamped biharmonic equation on convex polygonal domains. For $C^1$-conforming elements, we establish $W^{2,p}$-stability for all $2\le p\le \mathrm{\infty }$, together with best-approximation type estimates in $W^{1,\mathrm{\infty }}$ and $L^{\mathrm{\infty }}$. For the nonconforming Morley element, we derive optimal estimates in $W^{2,p}$, $W^{1,\mathrm{\infty }}$, and $L^{\mathrm{\infty }}$; in particular, the $L^{\mathrm{\infty }}$-error is of order $O(h^2)$ without an additional logarithmic factor. The analysis is based on three ingredients: local energy estimates for conforming and nonconforming plate elements, a removal of the local $L^2$-error term in these estimates, and Hölder estimates for derivatives of the Green’s function. These tools are combined with a dyadic decomposition argument for regularized Green’s functions. The results remove logarithmic losses present in earlier pointwise estimates for fourth-order problems and yield sharp rates for classical plate elements such as the Argyris, Bogner–Fox–Schmit (BFS), Hsieh–Clough–Tocher (HCT), and Morley elements.