Analytical and computational approaches for some fluid-structure interaction analyses

In this paper, we present an analytical model to study the interaction;between a slender structure and the surrounding incompressible viscous flows. The governing equations for the suspended structure are derived under small deformation assumptions and with the consideration of fluid pressures and frictional forces. We obtain the discretized equations using the standard linearization procedure and spatial finite difference schemes. It is shown that for both laminar and turbulent flow conditions, the results derived from analytical approaches match the solutions of the ADINA fluid-structure analysis. Of course when geometries of fluid domains are complex, it is necessary to use a general purpose computational software. We also point out that for specific problems, such as the dynamic stability analysis of the structure surrounded by pulsatile flows, there is still a need for analytical approaches. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.