Coupling GSM/ALE with ES-FEM-T3 for fluid–deformable structure interactions

In light of the effectiveness of the edge-based smoothed finite element method (ES-FEM-T3) and arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian gradient smoothing method (GSM/ALE) in, respectively, solving the pure solid and fluid flow problems using three-node triangular elements, they are coupled together in the present study to solve the more challenging fluid–deformable structure interaction (FSI) problems based on the weak coupling algorithm. Specifically, the fluid flow is tracked over the moving mesh with the well developed GSM/ALE and the transient response of the solid part is solved by the newly developed explicit ES-FEM-T3. The solutions from these two parts are “linked” together by the carefully formulated FSI coupling conditions on the FSI interface. Detailed procedures are summarized to illustrate the implementations of the GSM/ALE with ES-FEM-T3 in an FSI analysis. Three benchmarks are employed to validate the proposed coupled smoothed method in solving both transient and steady-state FSI problems. The mesh sensitivity analysis is further carried out showing that the results of an FSI system appear more sensitive to the change in the solid mesh as compared to the fluid mesh, thus suggesting a more refined mesh for the solid part. Another significant finding is that the present method can still produce reliable results even on the extremely distorted mesh near the FSI interface. The successful coupling GSM/ALE with ES-FEM-T3 for solving FSI problems serves as a good start for further implementing the family of smoothed methods in solving more complex cross-area problems.