Fixed-grid fluid-structure interaction in two dimensions based on a partitioned Lattice Boltzmann and p-FEM approach

Over the last decade the Lattice Boltzmann method, which was derived from the kinetic gas theory, has matured as an efficient approach for solving Navier-Stokes equations. The p-FEM approach has proved to be highly efficient for a variety of problems in the field of structural mechanics. Our goal is to investigate the validity and efficiency of coupling the two approaches to simulate transient bidirectional Fluid-Structure interaction problems with geometrically non-linear structural deflections. A benchmark configuration of self-induced large oscillations for a flag attached to a cylinder can be accurately and efficiently reproduced within this setting. We describe in detail the force evaluation techniques, displacement transfers and the algorithm used to couple these completely different solvers as well as the results, and compare them with a benchmark reference solution computed by a monolithic finite element approach. Copyright (0 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.