Validation of Fluid-Structure Interaction Capabilities in US3D.

The method used for coupling US3D to a structural solver for the purpose of simulating fluid-structure interactions (FSI) is detailed. An overview of the solver components is provided, with an explanation of the necessary modification to US3D. Component level validation is undertaken against analytic solutions for both the structure to fluid and the fluid to structure parts of the FSI capabilities. The coupled solver is used on two instructive model problems to demonstrate FSI phenomena, and a full scale tension cone is also simulated to show the usefulness of a coupled solver in design evaluation.