Combination of two FSI methods and their validation based on artificial wind gusts impacting a flexible T-structure
Publication date
2025-04-03
Document type
Research article
Organisational unit
Publisher
Elsevier
Series or journal
Computers & Fluids
ISSN
Periodical volume
294
Article ID
106621
Peer-reviewed
✅
Part of the university bibliography
✅
Language
English
DDC Class
004 Informatik
500 Naturwissenschaften
600 Technik
Keyword
Artificial (horizontal) wind gust
Fluid–structure interaction (FSI)
Coupled numerical FSI simulations
Immersed boundary method
Wind tunnel experiments
Validation
Abstract
The study focuses on the combination of two numerical approaches that are typically not used together in this manner. The first is a well-established partitioned fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulation methodology relying on a finite-volume fluid solver for curvilinear, block-structured, body-fitted grids written in the Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) formulation, and a finite-element solver for the structural analysis. The second approach is an immersed boundary (IB) method employing a continuous and direct forcing strategy. The IB method, often applied to Cartesian grids, is also referred to as an approach to simulate fluid-structure interactions. In this study, both methods are combined to exploit their respective advantages in simulating a complex flow problem. The coupled FSI problem involves the interaction of a thin, flexible structure deforming under the dynamic load of a wind gust (task 1). The gust itself is generated by an artificial wind gust generator, which includes a paddle that partially obstructs the wind tunnel's outlet, thereby defining an FSI problem of its own (task 2). For task 1, the classical partitioned ALE approach is employed, while the IB method is more appropriate for task 2. Using available experimental measurement data for both the fluid flow and the structural deformation, the combined simulation framework is first validated for the case without gust. In a second step, the more challenging FSI problem of discrete gusts impacting the T-structure is thoroughly analyzed and the predicted data are compared with the available measurement data. For both cases without and with gusts, a very good agreement between simulation and experiment is achieved, which justifies the chosen approach.
Description
This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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Published version
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