A numerical method for simulating nonlinear fluid-rigid structure interaction problems

A numerical method for simulating nonlinear fluid-rigid structure interaction problems is developed. The structure is assumed to undergo large rigid body motions and the fluid flow is governed by nonlinear, viscous or non-viscous, field equations with nonlinear boundary conditions applied to the free surface and fluid-solid interaction interfaces. An Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) mesh system is used to construct the numerical model. A multi-block numerical scheme of study is adopted allowing for the relative motion between moving overset grids, which are independent of one another. This provides a convenient method to overcome the difficulties in matching fluid meshes with large solid motions. Nonlinear numerical equations describing nonlinear fluid-solid interaction dynamics are derived through a numerical discretization scheme of study. A coupling iteration process is used to solve these numerical equations. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate applications of the model developed.