Two-way actuator-line coupling of a geometrically exact finite-volume beam with incompressible and free-surface flow
Abstract
Slender flexible structures such as mooring lines, aquaculture netting, and aquatic vegetation are too thin to be resolved economically by a body-fitted mesh, yet they exchange momentum with the flow in both directions. This paper presents a finite volume actuator-line formulation for the fluid--structure interaction of such structures, in which a geometrically exact Simo--Reissner beam, discretised by cell-centred finite volumes, is coupled two-way to an incompressible finite volume flow solver through conservative, parallel-consistent transfer operators. The fluid velocity is sampled upstream of each beam control volume, a quasi-steady Morison-type drag closure evaluates the line force, and the equal and opposite reaction is projected into the fluid momentum equation through a normalised Gaussian kernel that conserves force. The two subsystems share a discretisation, time loop, and domain decomposition, so no external structural code is required, and the OpenFOAM implementation is released publicly. The accuracy of the drag-only closure and the conditions over which it holds are quantified against two channel benchmarks and a wave-flume experiment, with all drag coefficients fixed in advance. In a steady confined channel flow the tip deflection of a wall-mounted cantilever falls within the range of published continuum solutions. For a flexible leaflet in sinusoidal channel flow the peak tip excursion departs from the reference at the longer forcing period. The leaflet then moves further relative to the surrounding fluid, so added-mass and history forces, which the closure omits, become important. In the wave flume the simulated stem reproduces the measured mode shape, intra-wave asymmetry, and base force, and recovers 71--83% of the oscillation range. A quasi-static reconstruction test places the remaining shortfall in omitted fluid inertia rather than in the structural model.
Related
- Mixed finite element discretization of intrinsic geometrically exact beams for multiplier-free multibody dynamics
- Mixed finite element discretization of intrinsic geometrically exact beams for multiplier-free multibody dynamics
- On finite elements for geometrically-exact planar beams with hyperelastic material models
- A Comparative Study of Finite-Volume-based Coupled and Segregated Reduced-Order Models for Incompressible Flows in Parametrized Domains
- Motif: A Modular Finite-Volume Framework for Transient Incompressible Flow
BibTeX
@misc{taran2026twoway,
title = {{Two-way actuator-line coupling of a geometrically exact finite-volume beam with incompressible and free-surface flow}},
author = {Amirhossein Taran and Seevani Bali and Željko Tuković and Vikram Pakrashi and Philip Cardiff},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2609.39443},
eprint = {2609.39443},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.39443},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Two-way actuator-line coupling of a geometrically exact finite-volume beam with incompressible and free-surface flow
AU - Amirhossein Taran
AU - Seevani Bali
AU - Željko Tuković
AU - Vikram Pakrashi
AU - Philip Cardiff
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2609.39443
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.39443
AB - Slender flexible structures such as mooring lines, aquaculture netting, and aquatic vegetation are too thin to be resolved economically by a body-fitted mesh, yet they exchange momentum with the flow in both directions. This paper presents a finite volume actuator-line formulation for the fluid--structure interaction of such structures, in which a geometrically exact Simo--Reissner beam, discretised by cell-centred finite volumes, is coupled two-way to an incompressible finite volume flow solver through conservative, parallel-consistent transfer operators. The fluid velocity is sampled upstream of each beam control volume, a quasi-steady Morison-type drag closure evaluates the line force, and the equal and opposite reaction is projected into the fluid momentum equation through a normalised Gaussian kernel that conserves force. The two subsystems share a discretisation, time loop, and domain decomposition, so no external structural code is required, and the OpenFOAM implementation is released publicly. The accuracy of the drag-only closure and the conditions over which it holds are quantified against two channel benchmarks and a wave-flume experiment, with all drag coefficients fixed in advance. In a steady confined channel flow the tip deflection of a wall-mounted cantilever falls within the range of published continuum solutions. For a flexible leaflet in sinusoidal channel flow the peak tip excursion departs from the reference at the longer forcing period. The leaflet then moves further relative to the surrounding fluid, so added-mass and history forces, which the closure omits, become important. In the wave flume the simulated stem reproduces the measured mode shape, intra-wave asymmetry, and base force, and recovers 71--83% of the oscillation range. A quasi-static reconstruction test places the remaining shortfall in omitted fluid inertia rather than in the structural model.
ER -