Flow-induced flapping of thin flexible plates

The behavior of highly flexible structures under Flow-Induced Vibrations (FIV) conditions, in certain flow regimes, is characterized by a strong coupling between the structural dynamics and fluid phenomena such as vortex shedding. This work presents selected results of ongoing research aimed at developing a fully open-source numerical framework to simulate the dynamic behavior of such structures immersed in complex fluid flows. The framework is based on a partitioned coupling approach of a fluid solver and a structural one, an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian mesh motion strategy, and Quasi-Newton Interface stabilization technique (IQN) that accounts for large displacements of the coupling interface. To illustrate the potential of such framework, we present strongly coupled Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) simulations of a thin flexible elastic plate subjected to FIV.