Two way fluid structure interaction hydroelastic simulation of vibrating membranes with applications in marine engineering using ANSYS fluent FSI
Modern ocean engineering is developing quickly and floating cities, new energy harvesting methods and novel marine systemsare unfolding in the 21stcentury. The intelligent design of many such systems is exploiting "compliant" structures which deform under fluid dynamic loading, yet retain their function and integrity. These include folating solar membrane panels, breakwaters, OTEC systems and marine robotic inspection devices e.g. Mantadroid and MIT's Soft robotic fish. The nature of the ocean is unpredicatble and such systems must be designed for a range of loading conditions. Conventional rigid designs are now being superseded by compliant, flexible systems largely due to the development of novel materials. These structures interact with the hydrodynamic environment and perform "hydroelastically" This involves two way fluid structure interaction (FSI) between the fluid and the deforming structure and requires advanced analysis methods. The process is generally nonlinear and commercial computational fluid dynamics/finite element codes are presently the most robust method for conducting such simulations. Indeed other loads may also arise including ice, tidal, earthquake, debirs impact etc. All these loadings can be accomodated reasainably with FSI analysis. In the present work, motivated by examining in greater detail the mechanics of deformable membranes (for submerged ocean energy systems) a detailed analysisof the FSI behaviour of a vertical membrane structure is conducted. The analysis is performed ona thin plate acting as a membrane, experiencing under damped oscillatory motion within a still marine environment (wave effects are ignored) Linear elastic material behaviour is considered and extensive visualization of pressure, velocity and Von Mises (equivalent) stress contours are provided. Mesh independence is conducted and validation of the tip deflection with COMSOL multiphysics software is included. Extensive interpretation of the results is included and future modification pathways for more complex analysis are outlinedincluding wave effects with different order theories.