Fluid-structure interaction by coupling BEM and nonlinear FEM

Various numerical procedures, which each have respective merits and drawbacks, are available for the investigation of fluid-structure interaction problems. This paper concentrates on the coupling of the finite element method, used to model the structure, and the boundary element method representing the fluid. Both methods are formulated in the time domain and a special algorithm is developed to realize the coupling. In particular, nonlinear effects, such as material nonlinearities, large displacements or unilateral boundary conditions, may be taken into account in the structural model, while an infinite expansion of the fluid region is included in the boundary element formulation. Numerical examples exhibit the applicability of the new approach. It is observed that nonlinearities may have a considerable effect on the behavior of the fluid-structure system. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.