Multiphysics simulation of flow-induced vibrations and aeroelasticity on parallel computing platforms

Abstract This article describes the application of multiphysics simulation on parallel computing platforms to model aeroelastic instabilities and flow-induced vibrations. Multiphysics simulation is based on a single computational framework for the modeling of multiple interacting physical phenomena. Within the multiphysics framework, the finite element treatment of fluids is based on the Galerkin-Least-Squares (GLS) method with discontinuity capturing operators. The arbitrary-Lagrangian—Eulerian (ALE) method is utilized to account for deformable fluid domains. The finite element treatment of solids and structures is based on a three-field variational principle. Fully-coupled interaction constraints are enforced using the augmented-Lagrangian method. The multiphysics architecture lends itself naturally to high-performance parallel computing. Several applications are presented. The importance of capturing the nonlinear effects and accounting for mesh-movement is highlighted and the scalability of the software is illustrated.