Coupling of discrete particle model with embedded mesh flow solver

Abstract

This chapter describes a unique coupling between a discrete particle model and an embedded mesh flow solver, with the focus on solving blast loadings on reinforced concrete structures. The development of a discrete particle method (DPM) model is more complex and time-consuming than the mesh generation of a typical finite element method (FEM) analysis. The DPM process is a bootstrapping process, where the discrete particle solver is used in the development of the model. Two methods are commonly used for creating particle models: “fill and expand” (F+E), and the "depositional" methods. There have been numerous successes in coupling the finite element-based structural models to the finite-element fluid-flow solver (FEFLO). Two methods for solving the coupled fluid/structure interaction problem are: the body-conforming and the embedded grid methods. In the body-conforming method, the external faces of the structure are used to define the fluid domain. In the embedded method, the structure is placed inside a larger flow region with special treatment of the fluid elements close to the structural surfaces.