Fully Coupled Thermal FSI Analysis

In many engineering structural analyses, high temperature conditions inducing thermal stresses are encountered. Frequently, these structural conditions are also fully coupled to fluid flows. ADINA can be efficiently used for such fully coupled thermal fluid flow structural analyses.

The fluid is modeled with the general CFD capabilities in ADINA and the structure is modeled including all nonlinearities, like large deformations, inelastic effects, and contact, available in ADINA. The fully coupled thermal FSI solution is obtained with the general ADINA FSI capabilities and gives the temperatures, deformations and stresses in the structure, and the temperatures, pressures, stresses and flow velocities in the fluid.

Our objective in this News is to illustrate these capabilities, by solving the pipe problem depicted in the above schematic, showing the geometry and boundary conditions.

Hot fluid flows through the flexible pipe, which is therefore heated by the fluid and loaded by the fluid tractions. The temperatures, deformations and stresses in the pipe, together with the fluid flow and fluid temperature need be solved for. The fluid is modeled using FCBI-C elements and the structure is modeled using MITC9 shell elements.

The meshes used for the fluid and structure are shown below, together with the various calculated results. This solution demonstrates some of the powerful features available in ADINA for these types of problems.

For more information on ADINA FSI, please refer to our page on CFD and Fluid-Structure Interaction.

        

Figure 1  Fluid Mesh and Velocity Plot

       

Figure 2  Fluid Pressure and Temperature Plots

         

Figure 3  Solid Mesh with Magnified Deformation and Plot of the Thermal Strain

         

Figure 4  Effective Stress Plot and Temperature Plot

         

Figure 5  Plastic Flag Plot and Accumulated Effective Plastic Strain Plot