A MODAL ANALYSIS METHOD TO STUDY FLUID–STRUCTURE COUPLING IN HOLLOW PARTS OF A STRUCTURE

Abstract

Complex structures often include hollow parts. These hollow parts constitute the skeleton of the structure and are largely responsible for its global behavior, hence the importance of analyzing them precisely. The method we propose in this paper is a modal method based on the modal analysis of elements of hollow parts. This method does not require nodal degrees of freedom on the boundaries between the elements: "modal" elements are created, and these elements can be assembled through modal mass and stiffness matrices in the same way as the finite element method. Thus, it is possible to choose the precision of the analysis by choosing the quantity of modes used in the modal analysis of the elements. We will study not only structural systems but also coupled fluid–structure systems, and our results will be compared with experimental tests.