The paper publishes reliable and efficient computational schemes to analyze multiphysics fluid-structure systems. The computational methods have been implemented in the computer program ADINA and can directly be used by engineers and scientists in order to simulate, on a PC, the response of structures interacting with general fluid flows.

“The computational methods given in the paper are used to simulate, on the computer, the behavior of engineering systems and nature.”

There are many applications in the fields of mechanical, civil, and aeronautical engineering, such as the analysis of airplanes in bad weather, the analysis of bridges and buildings subjected to high winds, the analysis of automotive parts subjected to high-temperature gases (see the figures of a fluid-structure analysis of an exhaust manifold). But there are also many applications in emerging fields like bioengineering (see figure of a fluid-structure analysis of the blood flow in an artery).

The paper largely describes a synthesis of knowledge that we and others had earlier published. The contribution in this paper is to achieve, with the use of this synthesis, efficient and useful computational schemes.

The computational methods given in the paper are used to simulate, on the computer, the behavior of engineering systems and nature. In essence, the program ADINA is used to try to predict the future on the computer, like what might happen to a bridge if subjected to an earthquake. In fact, ADINA has been used extensively to study the behavior of the famous San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Based on the simulations, the engineers reached the conclusion that the bridge needs to be strengthened considerably and partly replaced.

The field of analysis of fluid-structure interactions is clearly of great importance since—by computer simulation—in engineering, more economical and safer designs can be established, while in the sciences, we can study and try to predict nature. We have performed research over almost two decades to develop the computational schemes, and as in any research, we had to iterate on our ideas until we reached methods that are reliable and efficient for use in engineering and the sciences.

The field of fluid-structure interactions is huge since all around us we encounter fluids (air, water, gases, blood, etc.) that interact with structures. Hence there are numerous applications to simulate, on the computer, engineering and scientific phenomena, with the objective to predict whether an economical design is safe and how nature might act. There is more research and development needed to obtain increasingly more predictive simulation tools.

The field of simulation on the computer has contributed significantly to our society’s current way of life. The computer programs available are also applied to study and obtain insight into the major problems we face on our planet, such as medical-, pollution-, and energy-related problems. Our research therefore has social implications but political implications may appear only as a result thereof.