Fluid-structure Interaction Framework Research Articles

Numerical investigation of vortex induced vibrations on cylinders

The paper addresses Vortex Induced Vibrations (VIV) caused by tower vortex shedding through LES simulations of a wind tunnel experiment. A high-fidelity (HiFi), Fluid Structure Interaction (FSI) framework for aeroelastic analysis of 3D flexible cylinders is established, based on the open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code OpenFOAM and the coupling library preCICE. In the present study, the FSI framework is employed with the aim to replicate a low Reynolds (Re=26000) forced vibrations wind tunnel experiment of a circular cross-section rigid cylinder. The paper compares predictions of the aerodynamic damping of the oscillating cylinder for different oscillation frequencies within the lock-in range and amplitudes against experimental results. While the model consistently predicts the lock-in range of frequencies and the trends in the variation of the aerodynamic damping with the oscillation amplitude, it falls short of accurately capturing the maximum value of the aerodynamic damping at the onset of lock-in.

A Multisubstructure-Based Method for the Assessment of Displacement and Stress in a Fluid–Structure Interaction Framework

A multisubstructure-based method for assessing the deformation and stress of a fine-meshed model according to a coarse model was proposed. Integrating boundary conditions in a local fine-meshed model, a displacement mapping matrix from the coarse model to the fine-meshed model was constructed. The method was verified by a three-level panel in a fluid–structure interaction (FSI) framework by integrating the steady vortex lattice method (VLM). A comparison between the inner deformation distribution of the coarse model and that of the global fine-meshed model obtained from MSC.Nastran was carried out, and the results showed that the coarse model failed to demonstrate reliable strains and stresses. In contrast, the proposed method in this paper can effectively depict the inner deformation and critical stress distribution. The deformation error was lower than 8%, meeting engineering requirements. Moreover, the results of different working conditions can achieve a similar relative error of displacement for an identical position. The easy storage of the displacement mapping matrix and the convenience of the boundary information transformation among all substructure levels are prominent aspects. As a result, there is a solid foundation for addressing the time-dependent problem in spite of the simultaneity and region.

Hemodynamics and wall shear metrics in a pulmonary autograft: Comparing a fluid-structure interaction and computational fluid dynamics approach

ObjectiveIn young patients, aortic valve disease is often treated by placement of a pulmonary autograft (PA) which adapts to its new environment through growth and remodeling. To better understand the hemodynamic forces acting on the highly distensible PA in the acute phase after surgery, we developed a fluid-structure interaction (FSI) framework and comprehensively compared hemodynamics and wall shear-stress (WSS) metrics with a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. MethodsThe FSI framework couples a prestressed non-linear hyperelastic arterial tissue model with a fluid model using the in-house coupling code CoCoNuT. Geometry, material parameters and boundary conditions are based on in-vivo measurements. Hemodynamics, time-averaged WSS (TAWSS), oscillatory shear index (OSI) and topological shear variation index (TSVI) are evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively for 3 different sheeps. ResultsDespite systolic-to-diastolic volumetric changes of the PA in the order of 20 %, the point-by-point correlation of TAWSS and OSI obtained through CFD and FSI remains high (r > 0.9, p < 0.01) for TAWSS and (r > 0.8, p < 0.01) for OSI). Instantaneous WSS divergence patterns qualitatively preserve similarities, but large deformations of the PA leads to a decrease of the correlation between FSI and CFD resolved TSVI (r < 0.7, p < 0.01). Moderate co-localization between FSI and CFD is observed for low thresholds of TAWSS and high thresholds of OSI and TSVI. ConclusionFSI might be warranted if we were to use the TSVI as a mechano-biological driver for growth and remodeling of PA due to varying intra-vascular flow structures and near wall hemodynamics because of the large expansion of the PA.

Whole-heart modelling with valves in a fluid–structure interaction framework

Whole-heart modelling with valves in a fluid–structure interaction framework

A coupled high-accuracy phase-field fluid–structure interaction framework for Stokes fluid-filled fracture surrounded by an elastic medium

In this work, we couple a high-accuracy phase-field fracture reconstruction approach iteratively to fluid–structure interaction. The key motivation is to utilise phase-field modelling to compute the fracture path. A mesh reconstruction allows a switch from interface-capturing to interface-tracking in which the coupling conditions can be realised in a highly accurate fashion. Consequently, inside the fracture, a Stokes flow can be modelled that is coupled to the surrounding elastic medium. A fully coupled approach is obtained by iterating between the phase-field and the fluid–structure interaction model. The resulting algorithm is demonstrated for several numerical examples of quasi-static brittle fractures. We consider both stationary and quasi-stationary problems. In the latter, the dynamics arise through an incrementally increasing given pressure.

Fast fluid–structure interaction simulation method based on deep learning flow field modeling

The rapid acquisition of high-fidelity flow field information is of great significance for engineering applications such as multi-field coupling. Current research in flow field modeling predominantly focuses on low Reynolds numbers and periodic flows, exhibiting weak generalization capabilities and notable issues with temporal inferring error accumulation. Therefore, we establish a reduced order model (ROM) based on Convolutional Auto-Encoder (CAE) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network and propose an unsteady flow field modeling method for the airfoil with a high Reynolds number and strong nonlinear characteristics. The attention mechanism and weak physical constraints are integrated into the model architecture to improve the modeling accuracy. A broadband excitation training strategy is proposed to overcome the error accumulation problem of long-term inferring. With only a small amount of latent codes, the relative error of the flow field reconstructed by CAE can be less than 5‰. By training LSTM with broadband excitation signals, stable dynamic evolution can be achieved in the time dimension. CAE-LSTM can accurately predict the forced response and complex limit cycle behavior of the airfoil in a wide range of amplitude and frequency under subsonic/transonic conditions. The relative errors of predicted variables and integral force are less than 1%. The fluid–structure interaction framework is built by coupling the ROM and motion equations of the structure. CAE-LSTM predicts the time series response of pitch displacement and moment coefficient at different reduced frequencies, which is in good agreement with computational fluid dynamics, and the simulation time savings exceed one order of magnitude.

Whole-heart modelling with valves in a fluid–structure interaction framework

Computational modelling of whole-heart function is a useful tool to study heart mechanics and haemodynamics. Many existing heart models focus on electromechanical aspect without considering physiological valves and use simplified fluid models instead. In this study we develop a four-chamber heart model featuring realistic chamber geometry, detailed valve modelling, hyperelasticity with fibre architecture and fluid–structure interaction analysis. Our model is used to investigate heart behaviours with different modelling assumptions including restricted/free valve annular dynamics, and with/without heart-pericardium interactions. Our simulation results capture the interactions between valve leaflet and surrounding flow, typical left ventricular flow vortices, typical venous and transvalvular flow waveform, and physiological heart deformations such as atrioventricular plane movement. The improvement of ventricular filling and atrial emptying at early diastole is evident with free annulus. In addition, we find that the added pericardial forces on the heart have a predominant effect on atrial wall deformation especially during atrial contraction, and further help with the atrial filling process. Most importantly, the current study provides a framework for comprehensive multi-physics whole-heart modelling considering all heart valves and fluid–structure interactions.

Computational fluid–structure interaction framework for passive feathering and cambering in flapping insect wings

AbstractIn flapping insect wings, veins support flexible wing membranes such that the wings form feathering and cambering motions passively from large elastic deformations. These motions are essentially important in unsteady aerodynamics of insect flapping flight. Hence, the underlying mechanism of this phenomenon is an important issue in studies on insect flight. Systematic parametric studies on strong coupling between a model wing describing these elastic deformations and the surrounding fluid, which is a direct formulation of this phenomenon, will be effective for solving this issue. The purpose of this study is to develop a robust numerical framework for these systematic parametric studies. The proposed framework consists of two novel numerical methods: (1) A fully parallelized solution method using both algebraic splitting and semi‐implicit scheme for monolithic fluid–structure interaction (FSI) equation systems, which is numerically stable for a wide range of properties such as solid‐to‐fluid mass ratios and large body motions, and large elastic deformations. (2) A structural mechanics model for insect flapping wings using pixel modeling (pixel model wing), which is combined with explicit node‐positioning to reduce computational costs significantly in controlling fluid meshes. The validity of the proposed framework is demonstrated for some benchmark problems and a dynamically scaled model incorporating actual insect data. Finally, from a parametric study for the pixel model wing flapped in fluid with a wide range of solid‐to‐fluid mass ratios, we find a FSI mechanism of feathering and cambering motions in flapping insect wings.

A general FSI framework for an effective stress analysis on composite wind turbine blades

The fluid-structure interaction (FSI) technique has been extensively used and developed in the past decades. Commonly, the reduced-order models are used in FSI analyses to assure the numerical robustness and efficiency. However, due to the increasing demand for higher numerical resolutions in modern wind turbine composite blade applications, intrinsic limitations of reduced-order models, such as their inability to account for complex aerodynamic flow interactions, multi-motion couplings, and sophisticated composite properties, have become the weaknesses in existing reduced-order FSI approaches. In this study, we propose a general FSI framework, which combines the advantages of high-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and robust Multi-Body Dynamics (MBD) methods, and detailed Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for analysing the detailed stress distributions on the composite structures. The results of predicted dynamics and the Von Mises stress on the composite blade structures under given operation condition are compared and reasonably agreed with the literature results, with a significant computational cost reduction by nearly 25% is achieved. The proposed FSI framework can be a general approach to investigate the multi-physical interactions where the composite structure specifications are involved, coupling with complex dynamic motions in three-dimensional space.

Effect of wingtip bending morphing on gust-induced aerodynamics based on fluid-structure interaction method

This paper investigates the effect of wingtip bending morphing on gust-induced aerodynamics based on the fluid–structure interaction (FSI) method at Re = 40 000. First, an explicit spatiotemporal numerical model for a wingtip bending morphing on a wing with a semi-aspect ratio of 4 is deduced, considering geometrical nonlinearity under large morphing amplitude. A modal-based FSI framework is developed to consider the elastic deformation, active wingtip morphing, and gust. The shear-stress transport-γ model is introduced. The above FSI method is validated by gust response experimental results. The mitigation effects of active bending morphing on gust-induced aerodynamics at different phase offset, gust ratios (GR), and flare angles are investigated. Under GR = 0.2 and flare angle = 0, wingtip bending morphing achieves the best mitigation effect when the phase offset is π/2. As GR increases to 0.4, the optimum phase offset shifts to π/3 and the alleviation rate decreases. The mitigation rate increases with the flare angle. Under GR = 0.4 and flare angle = 30°, the optimum phase offset is π/6, in which case the lift response is reduced by 37%, and wing root bending moment response is reduced by 73% relative to the baseline case. The flow field and vortex evolution result infers that the wingtip bending morphing decreases the spanwise width of the leading-edge vortex and reduces the area of low-pressure zones on the suction side, thereby mitigating gust-induced aerodynamics. The results indicate that active wingtip bending morphing has great potential for gust load alleviation for future aircraft.

An immersed peridynamics model of fluid-structure interaction accounting for material damage and failure

This paper develops and benchmarks an immersed peridynamics method to simulate the deformation, damage, and failure of hyperelastic materials within a fluid-structure interaction framework. The immersed peridynamics method describes an incompressible structure immersed in a viscous incompressible fluid. It expresses the momentum equation and incompressibility constraint in Eulerian form, and it describes the structural motion and resultant forces in Lagrangian form. Coupling between Eulerian and Lagrangian variables is achieved by integral transforms with Dirac delta function kernels, as in standard immersed boundary methods. The major difference between our approach and conventional immersed boundary methods is that we use peridynamics, instead of classical continuum mechanics, to determine the structural forces. We focus on non-ordinary state-based peridynamic material descriptions that allow us to use a constitutive correspondence framework that can leverage well-characterized nonlinear constitutive models of soft materials. The convergence and accuracy of our approach are compared to both conventional and immersed finite element methods using widely used benchmark problems of nonlinear incompressible elasticity. We demonstrate that the immersed peridynamics method yields comparable accuracy with similar numbers of structural degrees of freedom for several choices of the size of the peridynamic horizon. We also demonstrate that the method can generate grid-converged simulations of fluid-driven material damage growth, crack formation and propagation, and rupture under large deformations.

Mechanism of blood flow energy loss in real healthy aorta using computational fluid-structure interaction framework

Blood flow energy loss may correlate with the occurrence of vascular diseases. However, the mechanism of blood flow energy loss is still not fully explored. The objective of the present study is to reveal the mechanism of energy loss of blood flow in the healthy aorta. Two patients without aortic diseases are retrospectively screened from a clinical hospital. The computed tomography image is used to inversely reconstruct a three-dimensional geometric model of the healthy aorta. Non-invasive clinical measurements are applied to determine patient-specific boundary conditions. The fluid-structure interaction method is adopted to acquire high-resolution hemodynamics. A novel method is proposed to calculate the blood flow energy loss caused by aortic wall deformation. The distribution of blood flow validates the accuracy of the above computational framework, which could capture more than 90% of blood flow energy loss. Viscous friction of blood flow is the primary cause of energy loss, followed by aortic wall deformation, and finally turbulent dissipation. Energy loss due to viscous friction and wall deformation mainly occurs on the aortic vessel wall. The sum of these two energy losses approximates the total energy loss and may be associated with the initiation of aortic lesions. Besides, we find that the buffering efficiency of the real healthy aorta is about 80%. The mechanism of aortic blood flow energy loss is uncovered and these findings would inform the new hemodynamic markers and clinical assessment tool for the vascular wall.

A high-order fluid–structure interaction framework with application to shock-wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction over an elastic panel

Within this work, a loosely-coupled high-order fluid–structure interaction (FSI) framework is developed in order to investigate the influence of an elastic panel response on shock-wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction (SWTBLI). Since high-order methods are expected to determine the future of high-fidelity numerical simulations, they are employed in the construction of both fluid and structure solvers. Specifically, a split-form arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian discontinuous Galerkin spectral element method is employed in the fluid solver and a Legendre spectral finite element method in the structure solver. Shock capturing by an improved adaptive filter method, which confines the filtering effect to the vicinity of shocks, is found to be well-behaved in accuracy, efficiency and flexibility.After being validated by two benchmark FSI problems, the developed FSI framework is applied to simulate SWTBLI over an elastic panel. A comparison with a previous simulation of SWTBLI over a rigid panel reveals that: (1) A larger amplitude of the pressure variation, observed on the elastic panel surface, implies a larger threat to the structural integrity; (2) The shock-induced separation flow over the elastic panel changes both in size and shape, leading to a different skin-friction coefficient distribution; (3) A new low-frequency flow unsteadiness of the same magnitude as the elastic panel vibration is detected, which may affect the flow dynamics inside the turbulent boundary layer.

Strongly coupled fluid–structure interaction analysis of aquatic flapping wings based on flexible multibody dynamics and the modified unsteady vortex lattice method

Because of their superior efficiency and low detectability compared to conventional submarine-shaped vehicles, bionic underwater vehicles such as Mantabot are playing increasingly important roles in ocean exploration. However, current research on manta-inspired robots is limited to structural design and pure hydrodynamics analysis of pectoral fin performance, with other aspects such as hydroelasticity and optimal design of flapping wings rarely addressed. This work presents a novel method for analyzing aquatic flapping wings by coupling flexible multibody dynamics with a modified unsteady vortex lattice method. The flexible multibody system is solved by using the absolute nodal coordinate formulation, and the conventional unsteady vortex lattice method is modified to accommodate dynamic stall. Compactly supported radial basis functions are used to transfer the hydroelastic forces and structural displacements across the interface meshes while satisfying global energy conservation, and a predictor–corrector method is used to stabilize the iteration procedure. Three different experiments are used to validate the flexible multibody dynamics solver, the modified unsteady vortex lattice solver, and the proposed fluid–structure interaction framework, respectively. Finally, the hydroelastic framework is demonstrated for a fin-like wing, and how flexibility and movement affect the flapping wing dynamics is examined. Numerical examples show that reducing the structural stiffness of the aquatic flapping wing within a certain range improves the propulsive efficiency but also reduces the thrust coefficient, and how the stiffness distribution affects the thrust and propulsive efficiency remains consistent over a range of the Strouhal number.

A nodal immersed finite element-finite difference method

The immersed finite element-finite difference (IFED) method is a computational approach to modeling interactions between a fluid and an immersed structure. The IFED method uses a finite element (FE) method to approximate the stresses, forces, and structural deformations on a structural mesh and a finite difference (FD) method to approximate the momentum and enforce the incompressibility of the entire fluid-structure system on a Cartesian grid. The fundamental approach used by this method follows the immersed boundary framework for modeling fluid-structure interaction (FSI), in which a force spreading operator prolongs structural forces to a Cartesian grid, and a velocity interpolation operator restricts a velocity field defined on that grid back onto the structural mesh. With an FE structural mechanics framework, force spreading first requires that the force itself be projected onto the finite element space. Similarly, velocity interpolation requires projecting velocity data onto the FE basis functions. Consequently, evaluating either coupling operator requires solving a matrix equation at every time step. Mass lumping, in which the projection matrices are replaced by diagonal approximations, has the potential to accelerate this method considerably. This paper provides both numerical and computational analyses of the effects of this replacement for evaluating the force projection and for the IFED coupling operators. Constructing the coupling operators also requires determining the locations on the structure mesh where the forces and velocities are sampled. Here we show that sampling the forces and velocities at the nodes of the structural mesh is equivalent to using lumped mass matrices in the IFED coupling operators. A key theoretical result of our analysis is that if both of these approaches are used together, the IFED method permits the use of lumped mass matrices derived from nodal quadrature rules for any standard interpolatory element. This is different from standard FE methods, which require specialized treatments to accommodate mass lumping with higher-order shape functions. Our theoretical results are confirmed by numerical benchmarks, including standard solid mechanics tests and examination of a dynamic model of a bioprosthetic heart valve.

An interface and geometry preserving phase-field method for fully Eulerian fluid-structure interaction

We present an interface and geometry preserving (IGP) method for modeling fully Eulerian fluid-structure interaction via phase-field formulation. While the time-dependent mobility model preserves the hyperbolic tangent interface profile, the proposed method maintains the geometry of the solid-fluid interface by minimizing the volume-conserved mean curvature flow. To reduce the curvature flow, we construct a gradient-minimizing velocity field (GMV) for the convection of the order parameter. The constructed velocity field retains the solid velocity in the solid domain while extending the velocity in the normal direction throughout the diffuse interface region. With this treatment, the GMV reduces the normal velocity difference of the isosurfaces of the order parameter, alleviating the undesired thickening or thinning of the diffuse interface region due to the convection. As a result, the time-dependent mobility coefficient is substantially reduced and there is a lesser volume-conserved mean curvature flow. Furthermore, the GMV ensures that the diffuse interface region moves with the solid bulk despite the fluid flow, such that the fluid-solid interface conforms to the geometry of the solid. Using the unified momentum and mass conservation equations via the phase-dependent interpolation, we integrate the IGP method into a fully Eulerian fluid-structure interaction solver based on the incompressible viscous fluid and the neo-Hookean solid models. The kinematics of the solid in an Eulerian frame of reference is resolved by evolving the left Cauchy-Green tensor. We first demonstrate the ability of the phase-field-based IGP method for the convection of circular and square interfaces in a prescribed velocity field. The variational fluid-structure interaction framework with the IGP method is then examined on the deformation of a solid block under cavity flow. We next explore the geometry-preserving effect of the proposed framework when the fluid flow passes over a fixed deformable block in a channel. Finally, the vibration of a flexible plate attached behind a stationary cylinder is considered to demonstrate the ability of the framework in solving unsteady fluid-structure interaction problems.

Simulating air blast on concrete structures using the volumetric penalty coupling of isogeometric analysis and peridynamics

A stabilized Isogeometric formulation of compressible flows is coupled to a large-deformation inelastic solid with an M7 Microplane constitutive model of concrete failure discretized in the framework of correspondence-based Peridynamics with bond-associated stabilization. The fluid–structure interaction (FSI) coupling makes use of a simple volumetric penalty technique that enables effective handling of the solid fracture and fragmentation. The capabilities of the FSI framework presented are demonstrated, in 3D, for point-charge detonation on concrete slabs. Slabs of varying thicknesses are simulated to capture the typical behavior of concrete under blast loading scenarios.

Numerical analysis of the impact of an inclined plate with water at high horizontal velocity

High-speed planing craft, aircraft when ditching into the water, and ground vehicles entering water can experience violent interaction with the water surface that leads to structural failure. The largest loads typically occur over a very short time, but the magnitude of the pressure and force can be extreme and important for design considerations of safe vehicles. In this paper the water entry problem is studied numerically with one-way and two-way-coupled fluid–structure interaction algorithms. One-way simulations assume a rigid structure while solving for the fluid domain solution, whereas the two-way-coupled approach captures the added mass effects by accounting for the plate deformation in the fluid solution. The primary objectives of this study are to present and validate the numerical methodology, and provide insight into the fundamental physical processes that are important for three-dimensional high-speed aircraft ditching and marine-vessel slamming problems. The fluid solution is obtained using the finite-volume discretization of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations and the volume-of-fluid method to capture the air–water interface. The structural response is obtained using a modal decomposition representation of the dynamic finite-element system. The fluid–structure-interaction framework is validated by comparison with previously published experimental measurements of an aluminum plate that enters the water with a large horizontal-to-vertical velocity ratio. Several test conditions are discussed that ensure that the numerical solver can capture highly localized pressure maxima, the hydrodynamic force, the behavior of the jet-root propagation, and hydroelastic coupling. Simulation results show the capability to accurately capture these complex phenomena which are important to modeling water-entry problems for the design and certification of air-, land-, and water-craft.

Extended computational capabilities for high-fidelity fluid–structure simulations

Current research efforts in aeroelasticity aim at including higher fidelity aerodynamic results into the multi-disciplinary simulation environments. In the present effort, an updated Python-based Fluid–Structure Interaction framework has been included in SU2 code to allow for efficient and fully open-source simulations of detailed aeroelastic phenomena. The method provides a powerful and easily approachable environment. The developed software has been assessed against three test cases of increasing complexity, coming from the aeronautic community. These applications showed how the framework can capture strongly nonlinear aerodynamic effects, such as shock waves, and their interaction with the structural dynamics of the model.

Vortex-induced vibration of a full-diamond textured cylinder at subcritical Reynolds numbers

Textured pipe has been proposed to improve the propagation buckling capacity of subsea pipelines recently. Due to its special geometry, textured pipe may have the potential to mitigate the vortex induced vibration (VIV) by altering the wake vortex street formation. In the present study, the effectiveness of using a full-diamond textured pipe for VIV suppression is numerically investigated in a coupled fluid-structure interaction (FSI) framework. Three-dimensional (3D) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses are performed by using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence model equipped with shear stress transport (SST)K−ω model at the subcritical Reynolds numbers (Re) with Re∈[2000,12000]. The results are compared in detail with an equivalent conventional smooth cylinder subjected to the same flow conditions. Numerical results show that the textured cylinder can significantly mitigate the undesired VIV and the associated hydrodynamic forces. It eliminates the upper excitation regime in the conventional smooth cylinder and the width of the synchronization regime is also remarkably reduced.