Computational structural dynamics general solution procedure using finite volumes

Abstract

A method for the solution of the three-dimensional structural dynamics equations with large strains using a finite volume technique is presented. The proposed solution procedure is second order accurate in space and employs a second-order accurate dual time-stepping scheme. The momentum conservation equations are written in terms of the Piola-Kirchhoff stresses. The stress tensor is related to the Lagrangian strain tensor through the St. Venant-Kirchhoff constitutive relationship. The structural solver presented is verified through two test cases. The first test case is a three-dimensional cantilever beam subject to a gravitational load that is verified using theory and two-dimensional simulations reported in literature. The second test case is a three-dimensional highly deformable cantilever plate subject to a gravitational load. The results of this case are verified through a comparison with the modal response calculated by commercially available software. The focus of the current effort is the development and verification of the structural dynamics portion of a future fully coupled monolithic fluid-thermal-structure interaction code package.