Hydrostatic Loading on a Wall

One of the simplest examples of fluid-structure interaction is hydrostatic loading on a beam, an analysis the PFEM in OpenSees should be able to handle. Suppose the right wall of the tank shown below is a 1.25 cm (1/2 inch) thick steel plate, which we can model with beam elements in two dimensions. The left … Continue reading Hydrostatic Loading on a Wall →

Sloshing Around

With a Lagrangian formulation for fluids, the particle finite element method (PFEM) is ideal for simulating fluid-structure interaction (FSI) with all the solid elements and constitutive models available in OpenSees. The initial applications of the PFEM in OpenSees were simulations of tsunami loading on structures, where the fluid flow was gravity driven or based on … Continue reading Sloshing Around →

Just Fillin’ Up the Tank

You're not going to conquer incremental dynamic analysis of 3D reinforced concrete frame models the first day you use OpenSees. Some try, but they all fail. Those who start with simple test cases and level up in complexity will succeed. The same goes for fluid-structure interaction. You will not conquer tsunami loading on structures the … Continue reading Just Fillin’ Up the Tank →

The PFEM in OpenSees

The Particle Finite Element Method (PFEM), developed by researchers at CIMNE in Barcelona, is an effective approach for simulating fluid-structure interaction (FSI). Because it is Lagrangian, as opposed to Eulerian, the PFEM is a natural choice for coupling with the structural finite elements in OpenSees. And the coupling is monolithic, i.e., in one system of … Continue reading The PFEM in OpenSees →