Partitioned analysis of coupled mechanical systems

This is a tutorial article that reviews the use of partitioned analysis procedures for the analysis of coupled dynamical systems. Attention is focused on the computational simulation of systems in which a structure is a major component. Important applications in that class are provided by thermomechanics, fluid-structure interaction and control-structure interaction. In the partitioned solution approach, systems are spatially decomposed into partitions. This decomposition is driven bq physical or computational considerations. The solution is separately advanced in time over each partition. Interaction effects are accounted for by transmission and synchronization of coupled state variables. Recent developments in the use of this approach for multilevel decomposition aimed at massively parallel computation are discussed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.