Analysis of fluid-structure interaction problems with structural buckling and large domain changes by ALE finite element method

A 3D finite element analysis program is newly developed for fluid-structure interaction problems with structural buckling and large domain changes. An arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) finite element method with automatic mesh-updating is formulated for large domain changes. In order to cope with the numerical instability caused by the buckling of a thin shell structure, a strong coupling strategy is adopted together with some stabilization techniques for fluids and structures. A few numerical examples, including the simulation of the pulsation of a 2D artifical heart and a 3D simplified model with structural buckling and large domain changes, are demonstrated to show the capability of the proposed methods. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.