Modeling fluid–structure interaction with the edge-based smoothed finite element method

Abstract

We address in this work the numerical modeling of fluid–structure interaction (FSI) with the edge-based smoothed finite element method (ESFEM). We prove that the smoothed Galerkin weak-form integral of the Navier–Stokes equations is very flexible in the ESFEM. A simple integration scheme is accordingly proposed to facilitate the weak-form approximation. The ESFEM is subsequently used for the elastodynamics equation and interface conditions as a matter of course. The FSI system is completely formulated in the edge-based notion and then is iteratively solved in a partitioned way. Numerical results obtained with the ESFEM are convincing in various FSI examples, indicating that the method can be a general solution approach to not only FSI but also many other real-world phenomena.