Partitioned simulation of multi‐field problems – efficient and robust coupling of fluids and structures

Abstract

Strongly coupled multifield problems arise in various engineering applications. Fluid-structure interaction problems are one of the most prominent examples, especially in maritime applications. Choosing a partitioned solution approach allows to reuse existing software that was specialized to solve the underlying structural and fluid dynamics subproblems. In this work, the general partitioned solution approach is applied to investigate the hydrodynamics around an elastic marine-propeller. The software library comana is used to steer the solution process. It allows to couple a boundary element solver for the fluid subproblem with a finite element solver for the structural subproblem. It is shown that novel convergence acceleration methods ensure a stable and efficient simulation for different coupling algorithms.