On the pressure and stress singularities induced by steady flows of incompressible viscous fluids

Design for structural integrity requires an appreciation of where stress singularities can occur in structural configurations. While there is a rich literature devoted to the identification of such singular behavior in solid mechanics, to date there has been relatively little explicit identification of stress singularities caused by fluid flows. In this study, stress and pressure singularities induced by steady flows of viscous incompressible fluids are asymptotically identified. This is done by taking advantage of an earlier result that the Navier-Stokes equations are locally governed by Stokes flow in angular corners. Findings for power singularities are confirmed by developing and using an analogy with solid mechanics. This analogy also facilitates the identification of flow-induced log singularities. Both types of singularity are further confirmed for two global configurations by applying convergence-divergence checks to numerical results. Even though these flow-induced stress singularities are analogous to singularities in solid mechanics, they nonetheless render a number of structural configurations singular that were not previously appreciated as such from identifications within solid mechanics alone.     

Numerical stabilities of loosely coupled methods for robust modeling of lightweight and flexible structures in incompressible and viscous flows

The growing interest to examine the hydroelastic dynamics and stabilities of lightweight and flexible materials requires robust and accurate fluid–structure interaction(FSI)models. Classically, partitioned fluid and structure solvers are easier to implement compared to monolithic methods;however, partitioned FSI models are vulnerable to numerical("virtual added mass") instabilities for cases when the solid to fluid density ratio is low and if the flow is incompressible.As a partitioned method, the loosely hybrid coupled(LHC)method, which was introduced and validated in Young et al.(Acta Mech. Sin. 28:1030–1041, 2012), has been successfully used to efficiently and stably model lightweight and flexible structures. The LHC method achieves its numerical stability by, in addition to the viscous fluid forces, embedding potential flow approximations of the fluid induced forces to transform the partitioned FSI model into a semi-implicit scheme. The objective of this work is to derive and validate the numerical stability boundary of the LHC. The results show that the stability boundary of the LHC is much wider than traditional loosely coupled methods for a variety of numerical integration schemes. The results also show that inclusion of an estimate of the fluid inertial forces is the most critical to ensure the numerical stability when solving for fluid–structure interaction problems involving cases with a solid to fluid-added mass ratio less than one.     

Small vibrations of a linearly elastic body surrounded by heavy,incompressible, non-Newtonian fluids with free surfaces

We consider the small transient motions of a coupled system constituted by a linearly elastic body and two heavy, incompressible, non-Newtonian fluids.Through a formulation in terms of non-linear evolution equations in Hilbert spaces of possible states with finite mechanical energy, we obtain existence and uniqueness results and study the influence of gravity. To cite this article: C. Licht, Tran Thu Ha, C. R. Mecanique 333 (2005).     

The improvement of numerical modeling in the solution of incompressible viscous flow problems using finite element method based on spherical Hankel shape functions

In this paper, the finite element method with new spherical Hankel shape functions is developed for simulating 2‐dimensional incompressible viscous fluid problems. In order to approximate the hydrodynamic variables, the finite element method based on new shape functions is reformulated. The governing equations are the Navier‐Stokes equations solved by the finite element method with the classic Lagrange and spherical Hankel shape functions. The new shape functions are derived using the first and second kinds of Bessel functions. In addition, these functions have properties such as piecewise continuity. For the enrichment of Hankel radial basis functions, polynomial terms are added to the functional expansion that only employs spherical Hankel radial basis functions in the approximation. In addition, the participation of spherical Bessel function fields has enhanced the robustness and efficiency of the interpolation. To demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of these shape functions, 4 benchmark tests in fluid mechanics are considered. Then, the present model results are compared with the classic finite element results and available analytical and numerical solutions. The results show that the proposed method, even with less number of elements, is more accurate than the classic finite element method.     

Analysis of plane and axisymmetric flows of incompressible fluids with the stream tube method: Numerical simulation by trust-region optimization algorithm

New concepts for the study of incompressible plane or axisymmetric flows are analysed by the stream tube method. Flows without eddies and pure vortex flows are considered in a transformed domain where the mapped streamlines are rectilinear or circular. The transformation between the physical domain and the computational domain is an unknown of the problem. In order to solve the non-linear set of relevant equations, we present a new algorithm based on a trust region technique which is effective for non-convex optimization problems. Experimental results show that the new algorithm is more robust compared to the Newton-Raphson method.     

New estimations of the added mass and damping of two cylinders vibrating in a viscous fluid,from theoretical and numerical approaches

This paper deals with the small oscillations of two circular cylinders immersed in a viscous stagnant fluid. A new theoretical approach based on an Helmholtz expansion and a bipolar coordinate system is presented to estimate the fluid forces acting on the two bodies. We show that these forces are linear combinations of the cylinder accelerations and velocities, through viscous fluid added coefficients. To assess the validity of this theory, we consider the case of two equal size cylinders, one of them being stationary while the other one is forced sinusoidally. The self-added mass and damping coefficients are shown to decrease with both the Stokes number and the separation distance. The cross-added mass and damping coefficients tend to increase with the Stokes number and the separation distance. Compared to the inviscid results, the effect of viscosity is to add a correction term which scales as $S{k}^{-1∕2}$. When the separation distance is sufficiently large, the two cylinders behave as if they were independent and the Stokes predictions for an isolated cylinder are recovered. Compared to previous works, the present theory offers a simple and flexible alternative for an easy determination of the fluid forces and related added coefficients. To our knowledge, this is also the first time that a numerical approach based on a penalization method is presented in the context of fluid–structure interactions for relatively small Stokes numbers, and successfully compared to theoretical predictions.     

Investigation of flows induced by subsonic turbulent jets and their relation with the effect of static pressure reduction in a jet

The interaction between turbulent jets, both swirling and nonswirling, and the ambient medium is studied on the basis of the results of measurements and numerical simulation. It is shown that the turbulent flow and the swirl give rise to induced ejection flow toward the jet. The mechanism of the jet action on the ambient medium is connected with a decrease in the static pressure in the jet, which, in turn, is due to either the flow swirl or the fluctuating flow in the mixing layer, when the static pressure reduces owing to the presence of velocity fluctuations. The former rarefaction mechanism is predominant in swirling jets and the latter predominates in jets without swirling. It is shown that the ambient medium inflow into the jet due to the rarefaction is independent in nature of the mechanism of the lowered pressure generation and that it is the kinetic energy of the jet that is the energy source for the induced flow.     

On indentation of a pair of rigid punches connected by an elastic beam into an elastic half-plane with regard to the friction and adhesion forces in the contact region

The contact problem of indentation of a pair of rigid punches with plane bases connected by an elastic beam into the boundary of an elastic half-plane is considered under the conditions of plane strain state. The external load is generated by lumped forces applied to the punches and a uniformly distributed normal load acting on the beam.It is assumed that the contact between the punch and the elastic half-plane can be described by L. A. Galin’s statement, i.e., it is assumed that the adhesion acts in the interior part of each of the contact regions and the tangential stresses obeying the Coulomb law act on their boundaries.With the symmetry taken into account, the problem is stated only for a single punch, and solving this problem is reduced to a system of four singular integral equations for the tangential and normal stresses in the adhesion region and the contact pressure in the sliding zones. The solution of the constitutive system together with three conditions of equilibrium of the system of punches connected by a beam is constructed by direct numerical integration by the method of mechanical quadratures.As a result of the numerical analysis, the contact stress distribution functions were constructed and the values of the sliding zones and the punch rotation angle were determined for various values of the geometric, elastic, and force characteristics.