A parallel 3D computational method for fluid-structure interactions in parachute systems

We present a parallel finite element computational method for 3D simulation of fluid-structure interactions (FSI) in parachute systems. The how solver is based on a stabilized finite element formulation applicable to problems involving moving boundaries and governed by the Navier-Stokes equations of incompressible flows. The structural dynamics (SD) solver is based on the total Lagrangian description of motion, with cable and membrane elements. The nonlinear equation system is solved iteratively, with a segregated treatment of the fluid and SD equations. The large linear equation systems that need to be solved at every nonlinear iteration are also solved iteratively. The parallel implementation is accomplished using a message-passing programming environment. As a test case, the method is applied to computation of the equilibrium configuration of an anchored ram-air parachute placed in an air stream. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.