Finite Element Modeling of Coupled Flexible Multibody Dynamics and Liquid Sloshing

Abstract

A time-accurate finite element model for simulating the fully-coupled dynamic response of flexible multibody systems and liquid sloshing in tanks is presented. The semi-discrete combined solid and fluid equations of motions are integrated using a time-accurate parallel explicit solver. The FE model consists of: hexahedral, beam, and truss solid elements; rigid bodies; joints; actuators; hexahedral incompressible fluid elements; and quadrilateral fluid-solid interface elements. The fluid mesh is modeled using a very light and compliant solid mesh which allows the fluid mesh to move/deform along with the tank using the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation. The fluid's free-surface is modeled using an acceptor-donor volume-of-fluid based algorithm. The motion of the solid and fluid is referred to a global inertial Cartesian reference frame. A total Lagrangian deformation description is used for the solid elements. The penalty technique is used to model the joints. Numerical simulations are presented for a half-filled tank supported by linear springs mounted on a test fixture.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2006
Accession Number
ADA616853

Entities

People

  • Tamer M. Wasfy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Cartesian Coordinates
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computer Programs
  • Dynamic Response
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Flow
  • Fluid Flow
  • Friction
  • Ground Vehicles
  • Materials
  • Navier Stokes Equations
  • Simulations
  • Spacecraft
  • Test Fixtures
  • Vehicles

Fields of Study

  • Engineering

Readers

  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Robotics and Automation.