Fluid–structure interaction analysis by coupled FE–SPH model based on a novel searching algorithm

• A coupled FE–SPH model based on a newly searching algorithm is established for analysis of FSI problems.
• The shortcoming of PIB searching algorithm is analyzed in detail.
• A novel Striped-PIB searching algorithm is proposed to improve the searching efficiency of PIB algorithm.
• Two time-consuming steps of neighbor searching and contact searching are integrated into one step.

Fluid–Structure Interaction (FSI) problem is significant in science and engineering, which leads to challenges for computational mechanics. The coupled model of Finite Element and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (FE–SPH) is a robust technique for simulation of FSI problems. However, two important steps of neighbor searching and contact searching in the coupled FE–SPH model are extremely time-consuming. Point-In-Box (PIB) searching algorithm has been developed by Swegle to improve the efficiency of searching. However, it has a shortcoming that efficiency of searching can be significantly affected by the distribution of points (nodes in FEM and particles in SPH). In this paper, in order to improve the efficiency of searching, a novel Striped-PIB (S-PIB) searching algorithm is proposed to overcome the shortcoming of PIB algorithm that caused by points distribution, and the two time-consuming steps of neighbor searching and contact searching are integrated into one searching step. The accuracy and efficiency of the newly developed searching algorithm is studied on by efficiency test and FSI problems. It has been found that the newly developed model can significantly improve the computational efficiency and it is believed to be a powerful tool for the FSI analysis.