A PFEM Background Mesh for Simulating Fluid and Frame Structure Interaction

Abstract

Hydrodynamic loading is an important consideration for the design and safety of coastal structures prone to tsunami hazards. Simulating the response of frame structures to tsunami loading requires an efficient and flexible computational approach that combines fluid elements with line (frame) elements in either two-dimensional or three-dimensional models. A background mesh approach incorporates flexible and nonlinear frame structures for the particle finite-element method (PFEM) with a fixed fluid mesh and a local moving fluid mesh surrounding the frame structure. With this approach, models of frame structures are able to interact with fluid flow considering the damaged structural state after an earthquake. The implementation and numerical simulations show the advantages and flexibility of this method. The simulations support future development of physics-based fragility functions for probabilistic postearthquake tsunami hazard assessment methodologies.