Abaqus Co-Simulation

The co-simulation technique can be used to solve complex fluid-structure interaction (FSI) problems by coupling Abaqus and Simcenter STAR-CCM+. Mechanical and/or thermal fields can be exchanged across the fluid-structure interface.

Abaqus solves the structural domain and Simcenter STAR-CCM+ solves the fluid domain. The two domains communicate through the SIMULIA Co-Simulation Engine (CSE).

Most of the features in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ can be used in a co-simulation, including compressible and incompressible flow, laminar and turbulent flow, heat transfer, and free-surface, multi-species, and multiphase driven flows. The implicit unsteady solver is enabled for use with Abaqus co-simulation. In mechanical co-simulation analyses, the morpher updates the Simcenter STAR-CCM+ mesh in response to the displacements imported from Abaqus.

Most of the features in Abaqus are also available for use in a co-simulation, including nonlinear materials, nonlinear geometric effects, and contact. The following Abaqus procedures support co-simulation: static stress/displacement, dynamic (implicit and explicit), heat transfer (steady-state and transient), coupled temperature-displacement, coupled thermal-electrical, and piezoelectric analysis. The interface domain can be modeled with most continuum, shell, and membrane elements.

Applications that this FSI capability does not target include:

• Frequency domain FSI problems, including vibro-acoustic and aero-acoustic. Such problems are treated more effectively using frequency domain methods and are not suited for the partitioned solution approach. The Abaqus acoustic capability is applicable for such problems. The Harmonic Balance method (a frequency domain analysis) in Simcenter STAR-CCM+ is not supported with co-simulation.
• Structures that are modeled with truss, beam, and any special-purpose elements that are wetted by the fluid.

  Such discretization has an inconsistent geometric idealization with the fluid domain. If such structural elements exist in the model, they must be linked to other structural elements that unambiguously define the actual wetted surface. Imported and exported data is then mapped to/from this wetted surface to the corresponding surface in Simcenter STAR-CCM+.

• Problems involving injection molding, casting, material solidification, and superplastic forming.

  If the fluid-structure interface changes during the simulation, these applications are not suited for the FSI approach. The Abaqus Interface for Moldflow can be applicable (see the Abaqus Interface for Moldflow User’s Guide, for more information).

• Problems involving rupture, penetration, and fragmentation.

  In these applications, the structural deformation can cause a single fluid domain to separate into multiple domains.

• Problems involving flow in porous media where the intention is to account for coupled effects on the fine-scale internal structure of the media (specifically, where both the fluid and solid domain overlap).

  There is no prohibition on the use of the lumped parameter porous resistance model available for regions in Simcenter STAR-CCM+, but this model only has an impact on the fluid domain that Simcenter STAR-CCM+ computes. Similarly, you can use the coupled pore fluid diffusion/stress procedure in Abaqus/Standard to model the porous media for the solid domain.

This chapter describes how to use the co-simulation technique with Simcenter STAR-CCM+ and Abaqus to solve FSI problems. For general information on using Abaqus, refer to the Abaqus Analysis User’s Guide.