Fluid-structure coupling analysis and simulation of a slender composite beam

Abstract

The analysis of the interaction between a fluid flow and any object represents a classical challenge for modern numerical techniques. A one-dimensional model is presented for the analysis of thin-walled composite beams under the action of a fluid flow. Beam walls are made of orthotropic layers bonded together to form a laminate that might be anisotropic. The Navier-Bernoulli and Vlasov models are used to describe bending and torsion at a beam level. The constitutive equations are modeled at the lamina level using the Love-Kirchhoff model. A 5 × 5 cross-sectional stiffness matrix that relates one-dimensional generalized beam forces and moments to one-dimensional generalized displacements is obtained. It is used for the definition of a beam element which is suitable for the simulation of both open-section and closed-section beams of an arbitrary section shape with arbitrary layup. The typical laminations for a box-beam, Circumferentially Uniform Stiffness (CUS) and Circumferentially Asymmetric Stiffness (CAS), are analyzed. The aeroelastic analysis of a slender beam is performed coupling a Navier Stokes solver with the structural model. The results are analyzed and the effects of the layup are shown.