Parachute fluid-structure interactions: 3-D computation

We present a parallel computational strategy for carrying out 3-D simulatio ns of parachute fluid-structure interaction (FSI), and apply this strategy to a round parachute. The strategy uses a stabilized space-time finite elem ent formulation for the fluid dynamics (FD), and a finite element formulati on derived from the principle of virtual work for the structural dynamics ( SD). The fluid-structure coupling is implemented over compatible surface me shes in the SD and FD meshes. Large deformations of the structure are handl ed in the FD mesh by using an automatic mesh moving scheme with remeshing a s needed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.