Computations of flow over a flexible plate using the hybrid Cartesian/immersed boundary method

A hybrid Cartesian/immersed boundary code is developed and applied to interactions between a flexible plate and a surrounding fluid. The velocities at the immersed boundary (IB) nodes are reconstructed by interpolations along local normal lines to an interface. A new criterion is suggested to distribute the IB nodes near an interface. The suggested criterion guarantees a closed fluid domain by a set of the IB nodes and it is applicable to a zero‐thickness body. To eliminate the pressure interpolation at the IB nodes, the hybrid staggered/non‐staggered grid method is adapted. The developed code is validated by comparisons with other experimental and computational results of flow around an in‐line oscillating cylinder. Good agreements are achieved for velocity profiles and vorticity and pressure contours. As applications to the fluid–structure interaction, oscillations of flexible plate in a resting fluid and flow over a flexible plate are simulated. The elastic deformations of the flexible plate are modelled based on the equations of motion for plates considering the fluid pressure as the external load on the plate. Two non‐dimensional parameters are identified and their effects on the damping of the plate motion are examined. Grid convergence tests are carried out for both cases. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.