An unstructured finite volume time domain method for structural dynamics

An unstructured finite volume time domain method (UFVTDM) is proposed to simulate stress wave propagation, in which the original variables of displacement and stress are solved based on the dynamic equilibrium equations. An Euler explicit and unstructured finite volume method is used for time dependent and spacial terms respectively. The displacements are stored on the cell vertex and a vertex based finite volume method is formed with that integral surface and the stresses are as assumed to be uniform in the cell. The present UFVTDM has several features. (1) The governing equations are discretized with the finite volume method which naturally follows conservation laws. (2) It can handle complex engineering problem. (3) This method is also able to analyze the natural characteristics and the numerical experiment shows that it is very efficient. Several cases are used to show the capability of the algorithm. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.