Fluid/structure interaction in BERDYNE (Level 4)

A fluid-structure interaction capability has been developed for Level 4 of the finite element dynamics code BERDYNE, as part of the BERSAFE structural analysis system. This permits analysis of small amplitude free or forced vibration of systems comprising elastic structural components and inviscid volumes of possibly compressible fluid. Free fluid surfaces under the influence of gravity may be present. The formulation chosen uses the rigid walled fluid modes, calculated in a preliminary stage, as a basis for description of the coupled system, providing symmetric system matrices for which efficient solution procedures are available. The inclusion of the fluid modal variables within the system matrices is carried out through the use of the BERDYNE 'substructuring' feature, which allows the inclusion of very general 'super-elements' among the normal structural elements. The program also has a seismic analysis capability, used for the analysis of fluid-structure systems subjected to a specified support acceleration time history. In this case analysis is carried out in terms of relative structural motions, but absolute fluid pressures. Application of the BERDYNE fluid/structure interaction capability to some simple test cases produced results in good agreement with results obtained by analytic or independent numerical techniques. Full instructions on the use of the facility will be included in the BERDYNE Level 4 documentation. Interim documentation for the pre-release version is available from the author. (author)