Doctoral thesis (Dissertations and theses)
Efficient and flexible implementation of an interfacing Python-based tool for numerical simulations of fluid-structure interaction problems
Thomas, David
2021
 

Files


Full Text
Phd_thesis_David_THOMAS_manuscript_final.pdf
Author postprint (33.51 MB)
Download
Annexes
PhD_defense_final.pdf
Publisher postprint (7.99 MB)
Download

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to



Details



Abstract :
[en] Applications involving a solid structure actively interacting with a surrounding fluid, referred to as fluid-structure interaction (FSI), are constantly gaining interest in fundamental or industrial research and development. Such a multi-physics system is characterized by a complex dynamics which requires technically advanced methods to be studied. An accurate understanding of FSI systems becomes a key factor in the current trend of producing lighter and more flexible industrial designs. Nowadays, numerical simulations are extensively used to produce high-fidelity FSI models for various engineering applications. The typical approach considered in this thesis performs the coupling between two independent solvers, each of them being specifically designed to solve the governing equations for one particular physics. In this context, this thesis presents the development of an original coupling environment called CUPyDO. It is designed for the coupling of independent single-physics solvers within a unified architecture based on a Python wrapping methodology. The development of CUPyDO has been conducted with the aim of producing a tool that leverages computing efficiency and accuracy, coupling flexibility and user-friendliness while circumventing some limitations and improving some other aspects of the existing solutions. The tool gathers state-of-the-art coupling methods which are deeply reviewed in this work. This includes major capabilities such as under-relaxed coupling algorithms, non-matching interface meshes and multi-core parallelization. The modern Python wrapping technology used in CUPyDO provides easy access to all the features through a high-level API which can be further customized and extended with minimal effort. Furthermore, the same wrapping technology provides a flexible black-box coupling with various existing standalone solvers without any architectural or algorithmic adaptation to be performed in the coupling environment. The implementation and the capabilities of CUPyDO are demonstrated and verified by simulating several FSI test cases for transonic aeroelastic flutter, vortex-induced vibrations and conjugate heat transfer. The test cases are also used to assess the coupling tool in terms of robustness, efficiency and accuracy. The results are successfully validated against experimental and numerical reference data found in the literature, and some usability guidelines are drawn. Furthermore, the coupling flexibility is highlighted by using various structural solvers through the different test cases. The coupling tool is used for the aeroelastic study of a very flexible flat plate wing with various geometrical configurations. In a first step, the linear flutter velocity and frequency are sought and compared with experimental data with good agreement. In a second step, the post-flutter aeroelastic response is simulated for some configurations of the plate and it is found that the system is characterized by a supercritical Hopf bifurcation. For one particular plate configuration, two distinct post-flutter limit cycle oscillations are observed depending on the initial structural perturbation and on the occurrence of aerodynamic nonlinearities. This further highlights the importance of using high-fidelity coupled models for representing nonlinear aeroelastic solution that reduced-order linear models are not able to predict.
Disciplines :
Aerospace & aeronautics engineering
Author, co-author :
Thomas, David ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > A&M
Language :
English
Title :
Efficient and flexible implementation of an interfacing Python-based tool for numerical simulations of fluid-structure interaction problems
Defense date :
2021
Institution :
ULiège - Université de Liège
Degree :
Docteur en sciences de l'ingénieur
Promotor :
Terrapon, Vincent  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'aérospatiale et mécanique
Dimitriadis, Grigorios ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Aérospatiale et Mécanique (A&M)
President :
Geuzaine, Christophe  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Montefiore Institute of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Jury member :
Palacios, Rafael
Degroote, Joris
Boman, Romain  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Aérospatiale et Mécanique (A&M)
Andrianne, Thomas  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Aérospatiale et Mécanique (A&M)
Available on ORBi :
since 19 November 2020

Statistics


Number of views
284 (37 by ULiège)
Number of downloads
635 (27 by ULiège)

Bibliography


Similar publications



Contact ORBi