Finite element analysis of elastic solid/Stokes flow interaction problem

We performed a numerical investigation to find out the optimal choice of the spatial discretization in the distributed-Lagrangian-multiplier/fictitious-domain (DLM/FD) method for the solid/fluid interaction problem. The elastic solid bar attached on the bottom in a pressure-driven channel flow of a Newtonian fluid was selected as a model problem. Our formulation is based on the scheme of Yu (2005) for the interaction between flexible bodies and fluid. A fixed regular rectangular discretization was applied for the description of solid and fluid domain by using the fictitious domain concept. The hydrodynamic interaction between solid and fluid was treated implicitly by the distributed Lagrangian multiplier method. Considering a simplified problem of the Stokes flow and the linearized elasticity, two numerical factors were investigated to clarify their effects and to find the optimum condition: the distribution of Lagrangian multipliers and the solid/fluid interfacial condition. The robustness of this method was verified through the mesh convergence and a pseudo-time step test. We found that the fluid stress in a fictitious solid domain can be neglected and that the Lagrangian multipliers are better to be applied on the entire solid domain. These results will be used to extend our study to systems of elastic particle in the Stokes flow, and of particles in the viscoelastic fluid.