Solver-agnostic multi-fidelity coupling framework for the partitioned simulation of fluidstructure interactions

Abstract

Fluid-structure interactions (FSI) are multi-physical phenomena where the dynamics of a fluid flow and the dynamics of a moving/deforming structure influence one another simultaneously. The accurate modelling, simulation and analysis of FSI is crucial for many engineering applications. However, high-fidelity FSI simulations are currently too computationally expensive for industrial purposes. The industry is in need of more efficient software to perform accurate FSI analyses at reduced computational cost. The complexity of developing such software is acknowledged and accounted for by preserving software modularity. Using black-box mono-physics solvers in a partitioned framework is one step towards ensuring software modularity. Partitioned procedures require a coupling algorithm to iteratively reduce errors related to the partitioning of the physical domains. Implementing coupling algorithms directly into each solver results in duplicitous work. Instead all algorithms related to coupling procedures should be centralised into a single unit. To this end a solver-agnostic framework is developed for the partitioned simulation of strongly-coupled fluid-structure interactions. This framework is named CASMIR (Coupling Algorithms for Strongly-Coupled Multi-physics Interaction Research).