On the current state of finite element methods -

solids and structures with full coupling to

fluid flows

Klaus-Jiirgen Bathe, Sandra Rugonyi and Suvranu De

M echanical Engineeri,ng D epartment
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA 02139
Abstract
A brief assessment of the current state of finite element analysis and
of some recent achievements is presented. The analysis of solids (specifi-
cally incompressible response), plate and shell structures, and fully coupled
incompressible and compressible Navier-Stokes fluids to structures, is con-
sidered. Finally, some developments to reach an effective meshless solution
technique are given.

1 Introduction
Finite element methods are used abundantly in today's engineering practice.
Various general-purpose commercial computer programs and many special pur-
pose programs written for specific applications are in wide use. Finite element
methods are employed to an increasing extent to study physical phenomena' to
help identify good designs, and to improve designs with respect to performance
and cost [2].
With such abundant use of finite element methods, it is prudent to contin-
uously assess the current state of the methods and to identify where further
important fundamental developments are needed.
The obiective of this paper is to contribute in this assessment. The views
given are limited, but should help in an overall evaluation of the current state,
and help to direct emphasis on importalt developments still to be a,chieved.
The analysis of solids and structures, and the solution of structures fully
coupled to incompressible or compressible Navier-Stokes fluids are considered.
Finally, some recent developments towards an effective meshless technique are
given.

2 Analysis of solids
In general, for the analysis of solids, displacement-based discretizations have
proven to be very effective. However, for the analysis of (almost or fully) incom-
pressible media the displacement-based procedures do not perform well.
The accurate finite element analysis of (almost) incompressible media is re-
 FEM - solids and structures wi,th full coupling to fl,ui,d fiows

quired when, in the analysis of solids, rubber-like materials are considered or

inelastic (plastic and creep) response is analyzed. In the solution of such prob-
lems, more advanced discretization schemes are needed, and these are also di-
rectly applicabie to the analysis of incompressible fluids.
Consider the solution of a linear elastic solids problem in which first the
Poisson ratio, u, is equal to 0.30, and that with a sequence of meshes convergence
has been reached. If we then change the Poisson ratio to 0.499 (an almost
incompressible material), the convergence curve should only change in a manner
consistent with the difference in the exact solutions of the mathematical models
corresponding to the Poisson ratios of 0.30 and 0.499. In other words, assuming
a sufficiently smooth exact solution, the rate of convergence given by

llu-u7,ll1 -chft (2.r)

should essentially be independent of the Poisson ratio [2]. Here we have, u, exact
solution; u7., finite element solution corresponding to the generic element size h;
ft, order of complete polynomial of the finite elements used; and we require that
c be a constant independent of h and the Poisson ratio.
In the displacement-based finite element method, the constant c in eqn 2.1
becomes very large as incompressible conditions are approached. This condition
manifests itself in "locking" behavior. To remedy this situation, "reduced inte-
gration" is still frequently used- However, such a scheme can Iead to unphysical
results, such as spurious nonzero frequencies ("phantom" or "ghost" frequen-
cies) in the finite element discretization, and must be employed with great care.
Reference [2], page 473 details an exampie of such unphysical results.
The appropriate way to proceed is to use a mixed method based on displace-
ment and pressure interpolations which is applicable to the analysis of problems
of any geometry and boundary conditions. The finite element discretization must
satisfy the ellipticity condition (which is easily satisfied in linear analysis) and
the inf-sup condition [2]

(q;, diuv; \
int
qheQh
sup #>p>0 (2.2)
vh€vh ll9nllo llvnllt
where Q;, is the finite element pressure interpolation space, V6 is the displace-
ment interpolation space, and. B is a constant independent of h (and, clearly, the
bulk modulus). If the ellipticity and inf-sup conditions are satisfied, the element
discretization is stable and shows optimal convergence behavior (for the selected
interpolations). In practical analysis of (almost) incompressible conditions, it
is deemed best to only use elements 'that satisfy the above inf-sup condition
and that have been formulated without artificial constants (as they are used in
stabilized discretizations [13]). A number of such elements are available (for a
summary see for example refs. [2; 13]) and elements can be tested relatively eas-
ily using an inf-sup test to see whether or not they satisfy the inf-sup condition
[2; a; L6).
 FEM - solids and structures with JuIl coupling to ft,uid fl'ows

In the research for effective discretization schemes, particular emphasis has

been placed on the development of low-order elements, because of their potential
for efficient solutions. An effective 3-node triangular element with a bubble node
is available [2; 13], and more recently the methods of incompatible modes and
enhanced strains [24] have been used in further element developments. However,
it seems that the only 4-node quadrilateral element for two-dimensional analysis
which satisfies the inf-sup condition is the element proposed by Pantuso and
Bathe [21 22].
considering large strain conditions in the Lagrangian analysis of solids, el-
ements that satisfy the inf-sup condition may still not be effective because of
an early and "catastrophic" loss of ellipticity. This behavior is observed with
enhanced strain elements, and it seems that the displacement/pressure-based el-
ements (with the maximum "allowed" interpolation order for pressure) are more
effective [22].

3 Analysis of plates and shells

The situation in the anaiysis of plates and shells has some similarity to what is
observed in the anaiysis of incompressible response, but is more complex. Pure
displacement-based elements are frequently too stiff (that is, they "lock") and
"reduced integration" was introduced as a remedy.
As for incompressible analysis, the attractive feature of "reduced integration"
is the ease of implementation, but the technique may not give a reliable solution
scheme. The elements usually contain spurious modes) and more effective mixed
finite element methods have been developed. Of these techniques' the procedures
with a firm mathematical foundation and that do not use artificial constants are
clearly most attractive.
For the analysis of plates, the MITC plate elements based on Reissner/Mindlin
plate theory a,re very effective since the stability of the elements has been estab-
Iished, error bounds are available, and many numerical solutions have shown the
excellent characteristics of the elements 12;5;6;73;14;19; 20]. The ellipticity
and inf-sup conditions for the plate elements are [20] -
(1) The ellipticity condition:

f a)0 suchthat Vv6=(rtn,tn)eVoo

a(rt n, \ n) 2 oll" nlh : a (llrt hllzH' + ll€allil' ) (3.1)

where

Von:{un:(rtn,€n) e Vn l((n,€o(V€n-q)):0 V(n ,Cn} (32)

(2) The inf-sup condition:
suchthat
=0>0
 FEM - solids and structures with fuII coupling to fl,uid fl'ows

inf sup
(Rr,(V4r - q),e
>p n) (3.3)
ll(i,ll.' il"rllv
e
^^i", 'n=1qnft;evn displacement interpolations,
where 76 is the space of finite element transverse
€a, and section rotation interpolations, \ni Gn is the shear strain interpolation
space; R7, is a suitable reduction operator; l' is the dual space of I defined in
ref. [20] and o and d are constants. The MITC plate elements satisfy these (and
other) conditions and provide optimal discretization schemes.
Considering the analysis of shells, the situation is considerably more com-
plex because shell structures behave in completely different ways depending
on whether a bending-dominated or membrane-dominated situation is analyzed
[2; 17]. General and quite effective elements are available but a mathematical
analysis is still largely lacking.
In order to assess the capacity of a finite element shell discretization, we write
the governing finite element equations for a linear elastic shell in the form:
Find ur € Vr, such that
t3 A(tt;,v) + t D(un,vn) = F(vn) Yv6 € V1, (3.4)

where ,4(., .) is the bilinear form corresponding to the bending energy divided by
t3; D(-,.) is the bilinear form corresponding to the membrane and shear energies
divided by t; f is the thickness of the shell; F(.) is the linear form corresponding to
the loading; u7, is the finite element solution in Vi. (which includes displacements
and rotations and needs to be properly defined) and v6 is any element in the
space V7, [2; I7l. Then, for a bending-dominated shell, we consider the problem

A(w7,v7") + : Go(va ) Yv1" e V1" (3 5)

)o6n,vr,)
where F : t3Gt. For the limit problem t --+ 0, the finite element scheme
should give the solution uflo with vanishing membrane and shear strain energies
and close to the exact soluiion of the mathematical model, ,t[. For a membrane-
dominated shell, we consider the probiem

* D(u;,,vr.) : G-(v6) Yvl €V1

t2A(u1,v7,) (3.6)
where -F : t G*. For the limit problem f --+ 0, the finite element scheme
should now give the solution ufi with vanishing bending energy and close to the
exact solution ufr of the mathematical model. The difficulty lies in obtaining a
general shell element that is uniformiy optimal for both cases considered, and
that is not based on certain nonphysical and to be adjusted parameters.
Whether a specific element is effective can be analyzed by soiving weil-chosen
test problems. The choice of problems is of particular importance and suitabie
cases have been proposed in ref. [17].
A study of the MITC shell elements [2; 15] with the guidelines given in ref.
[17] is given in ref. [8], and the results of a numerical inf-sup test (for bending-
dominated situations) are given in ref. [9]. These studies show that the MITC
 FEM - solid,s and' structures wi'th full coupli,ng to fiuid fl'ows

shell elements are quite effective for general shell solutions. However, further
research is needed to develop a thorough mathematical analysis of these and
other shell elements, and to develop more effective discretization schemes'

4 Analysis of fluid flows with structural interactions

Considering incompressible and compressible fluid flow analyses, the state of fi-
nite element methods has also advanced significantly during the recent years'
However, the development of solution methods for general flow conditions is a
very difficult task. Specifically, the algorithms should not contain numerical pa-
rameters that are tuned to specific flow conditions. For iow Reynoids and P6clet
number incompressible flows, optimal techniques are available; that is, discretiza-
tion techniques that satisfy the inf-sup condition in eqn 2.2 are optimal. High
Reynolds ur,d P6.l"t number, very complex, incompressible and compressible
flows can also be solved, but improvements in the effectiveness of the solution
schemes are still much needed 12;71.
with powerful capabilities ivailable for the analysis of solids, structures and
fluid flows, a next natural step is to solve for the response of structures fully
coupled to fluid flows. The basic equations to be soived are then for each time
(or load) step, identified by the superscript t [3; 11; 23]

(4 1)
'F:tR
where
tFF ItnFl
'"=l tFs tFI rR= I rRl I (4.2)

l L 'n' .i

Here the vector tF lists the element nodal point forces corresponding to the ele-
tR lists the externally applied nodal point
ment internal stresses and the vector
forces including the inertia forces. In each vector, the forces corresponding to the
fluid domains (superscript F), fluid-structure interfaces (superscript I) and the
solid/structurai domains (superscript S) are listed. The interface equations in-
volve the fluid and solid element meshes and describe the displacement/velocity
compatibility and force transfer conditions for different element types and meshes
in the solid and fluid domains. Incompressible and compressible fluid flow con-
ditions governed by the general Navier-Stokes equations are considered in ref'
formulation for small or
[11]. pJ. tne solid/structural domains a Lagrangian
iarge deformations is effective, and for the fluid domains an efficient arbitrary
Lafrangian-Eulerian formulation is available. Since the governing equations are
n [".r"Lt highly nonlinear, iteration for the solution variables must be performed
and varlous solution strategies can be employed [2; LI;23]. while already very
complex problems can be solved, significant further research is needed to improve
the accuracy and efficiency of the available solution techniques'
 FEM - soli.ds and structures with full coupling to fl,uid fl,ows

5 The method of finite spheres

Although the finite element method and the closely related finite volume method
are proven efective numerical procedures for the solution of many complex
boundary value problems, a major effort in the application of these methods
iies frequently in the construction of an effective mesh. For this reason, much
interest Iies in the development of so-called meshless discretization procedures.
The two key ingredients in the established and widely-used finite element
method are
Interpolation: An expansion of the unknown field variables in terms of shape
functions and unknown parameters, and
Integration: The setting up of the governing algebraic equations by an integra-
tion process over the elements.
Of course, once the governing algebraic equations have been established, they
are solved for the unknown parameters.
Hence, if both the interpolation and the integration can be performed without
a mesh, then what results is a "truly" meshless method. Many so-called "mesh-
less" techniques are in fact still using a mesh for the integration process [12].
However, an approach of much potential is the meshless local Petrov-Galerkin
formulation presented in reference [1]. This formulation is truly meshless and
very general in concept. However, to reach computational effrciency, effective
interpolation functions must be used, and the numerical integration and the
application of the boundary conditions need to be eficient.
We have developed the method of finite spheres [18] based on the meshless
local Petrov-Galerkin approach, in order to obtain a "truly" meshless technique
as effective as we could reach. The method of finite spheres uses discretized
equations of the governing differential equations by integrating the Galerkin
weak form over n-dimensional spheres (n : 1,2 or 3) centered around nodes, see
Fig. 1. The interpolation uses the Shepard partition of unity functions, p?(x),
multiplied by polynomials (or other functions), p-(x), so that using N spheres,
the interpoiation for a variable is

N
uh,p: tt hr^ar* (5.1)
I:r m

where h, p represent, respectively, a measure of the size of the spheres, and the
degree of the polynomial p-, and h1* is the basis function corresponding to the
mth degree of freedom aJp &t node 1,

hr*: p1$) p*(x) (5.2)

We describe in ref. [18] how the essential and natural boundary conditions
are imposed and how the numerical integration over the spheres and their inter-
sections is performed. A further increase in efficiency is much needed, because,
whiie more efficient than the other truly meshless techniques, the method is cer-
 FEM sol'id's and' structures with full couqtling to fl'uid fl'ows

Boundary
Sphere

,/ x2
Xl
a) ol

Frc. 1. The method of finite spheres. a) Discretization using spheres' b) Some

interpolation functions.

tainly still not as effective as the standard finite element method. Holvever, a

signihcant potential is present since no mesh is needed'

6 Demonstrativeanalyses
A iarge number of analyses using the techniques described in this paper have
been ieported in the given references. Due to lack of space, we
describe here
only briefly some analysis cases. More details can be found in the references.
6.1 .Analysis of motor car crush problem
process'
The nonlinear crush analysis of motor cars simulates a slow crushing
State-of-the-art sheil anaiysis procedures need to be employed because of the
large nonlinearities encountered: thin shell components undergo very large de-
forlations, with contact, elastoplasticity and rupture' Figure 2 shows a Ford
finite element model, the calculated response and a comparison with test data
without tuning of the finite
[10]. The static solution response was calculated
ilemerrt model (using about i4 hrs of solution time on a SGI 02000 machine).

6.2 Fluid flow structural interaction analysis of shock absorber

Some analysis results of a shock absorber involving the fully coupled
response
between the encased fluid and the structure are shown in Fig. 3. These
results
relate to an experiment performed in which a weight was dropped onto the shock
absorber and the reaction force was measured as a function of the stroke'
Note
that the structural and fluid meshes are completely different, and that the fluid
mesh compresses by about 75 percent (maximum stroke - 2'4in' for fluid
length
- 3.2 in.) [11].
 FEM - solids and structures wi,th full coupling to ffuid fl,ows

ADINA

z
d
9

=a

F ADINA
-
--- RC]OF CRUSH TEST DATA

.ro2

t"tc. 2. crush analvsis of Ford motor;;;---

6.3 Fluid flow structural interaction analysis of collapse of channel

The collapse behavior of tubes or channels subjected to fluid flow is of much
interest in mechanical and biomechanical engineering. Figure 4 shows a model
solved and the transient response calculated [23]. Note that at the maximum
inward displacement of the structure, the channel opening is reduced consider-
ably. Hence the fluid flow conditions change quite drastically during a cycle of
vibration of the structure.
6,4 Analysis of cantilever plate using the method of finite spheres
The cantilever plate in plane strain conditions sirot'n in Fig. 5 rvas solved using
the method of finite spheres. An important point is that the convergence rate
achieved (as the discretization is refined) is excellent. This good convergence
behavior is probably due to the fact that smooth interpolations over the domain
are used [18].

7 Concluding remarks
The objective of this paper is to contribute to an assessment of the current state
of finite element methods. In many areas, much progress has been achieved dur-
ing the recent years, and any new research and development should be evaluated
against these now available solution procedures.
Considering the development of mixed formulations, such as for the analy-
sis of (aimost) incompressible response and the analysis of plate structures, any
newly proposed discretization technique should be tested, numerically or ana-
lytically, on whether the relevant ellipticity and inf-sup conditions are satisfied
[a]. This constitutes by far a more comprehensive test than the analysis of some
demonstrative problems.
For the analysis of general shell structures, rigorous general mathematical
conditions on discretization schemes have not yet been formulated. Hence, for
the assessment of an element, recourse must be taken to the numerical inf-sup
test and the solution of some problems that have been chosen specifically to test
 FEM sol'ids and structures with full coupling to fl,uid Jlows

ADI NA

ADINA

c
o
z ?"
a
I

c)
b)

Frc. 3. Analysis of shock absorber. a) Structural mesh' b) Fluid mesh'

c) Results.

ihe full range of element convergence behavior. The state in fluid flow analysis
is similar in ttrat also, largely, only well-chosen test problems can be employed
to assess the power of new discretization schemes'
The analysis of structures interacting with fluid flows is now possible for very
complex problems but significant further research and developments are
needed
to increase the solution capabilities, the efficiency of the anaiysis procedures,
and the accuracy of the response predictions'
Vaiuable research efforis have been directed towards the development of
meshless solution techniques. A very promising procedure for solids, structures
((111]y" technique
and fluid flows is the method of finite spheres 6 meshless
- this and similar
-
solution
but more research is needed to increase the efficiency of
 10 FEM - solids and structures with full coupling to fl,ui,d flows

thicloess = 0.001 m

a)

Po= 0.93

b) 0.01

0.0075 Relere@ [231

----AO|NA
0.005
-
E
0.0025
o
E 0
o
o
G
q
I -0.0025
6
{.005 CtEnnelfreight

4.0075

{.01
30
Time [s]

Ftc. 4. Fluid flow structural interaction analysis of corlapse of channel.

a) Model. b) Mid-point displacement of collapsible segment.

techniques. This increase in efficiency will likely be reached by identifying more

effective interpolation functions and numerical integration schemes.

Bibliography
1. s.N. Atluri and r.L. zhu, "A New Meshless Local petrov-Galerkin (MLpG)
Approach in computational Mechanics", computat,ional Mechanics, 22, pp.
117-127 (1998).
2. KJ. Bathe, Fi,ni,te Element Procedures, prentice Hall, 1g96.
 FEM solids and structures wi'th full coupli,ng to fl,uid fl'ows 11

log(E-En)

: log(h)

Frc. 5. Analysis of cantilever plate using the method of finite spheres (L : 2;

h is the diameter of the spheres; .Ey,is the strain energy for the size h dis-
cretization; and E is an accurate reference strain energy)'

3. K.J. Bathe, "simulation of structural and Fluid FIow Response in Engineer-

ing Practice" , Computer Modeli'ng and S'imulati'on in Engineering, L , pp ' 47-77
(1ee6).
4. KJ. Bathe, "The Inf-Sup Condition and its Evaluation for Mixed Finite El-
ement Methods", Computers U Structures, in press.
5. K.J. Bathe and E.N. Dvorkin, "A Four-node Pate Bending Element Based
on Mindlin/Reissner Plate Theory and a Mixed Interpoiatiotr", Int. J. Num,.
Methods in Eng., 21, pp.367-383 (1985).
6. K.J. Bathe, M.L. Bucalem and F. Brezz\, "Displacement and stress conver-
gence of the MITC Plate Bending Elements" , Eng'ineering Computations, 7,
pp. 2e1-302 (1990).
7. K.J. Bathe, D. Hendriana, F. Btezzi and G. Sangalli, "Inf-Sup Testing of
Upwind Methods" , Int. J. for Numeri'cal Methods 'in Engi'neering, in press'
g. K.J. Bathe, A. Iosilevich and D. chapelle, "An Evaluation of the MITC Shell
Elements", Computers €j Structures, 75, PP. 1-30 (2000).
g. K.J. Bathe, A. Iosilevich and D. chapelle, "An Inf-sup Test for shell Finite
Elements", Computers €j Structures, 75, PP. 439-456 (2000)'
10. K.J. Bathe, J. Walczak, O. Guillermin, P'A. Bouzinov and H'-Y' Chen,
,,Advances in crush Analysis", Computers E Structures,72,PP.31-47 (1999).

11. K.J. Bathe, H. zhang and s. Ji, "Finite Element Analysis of Fluid Flows
Fully Coupled with Structural Interactions", Computers E Structures,T2,pp.
1-16 (leee).
L2. T. Belytschko, Y. Krongauz, D. organ, M. Fleming and P. Krysl, "Meshless
Methods: An Overview and Recent Developments", Comp. Meth. in Appl.
Mech. Ung.,139, pp. 3-47 (1996).
L2 FEM - soli,ds and, structures with full coupli,ng to fiui,d fiows

13. F. Brezzt and M. Fortin, Mi,red and Hybrid Fini,te Element Methods,
Springer-Verlag, 1991.
14. F. Brezzi, K.J. Bathe and M. Fortin, "Mixed-Interpolated Elements for
Reissner/Mindlin Plates", Int. J. for Numerical Methods in Eng,ineering,28,
pp. 1787-1801 (1989).
15. M.L. Bucalem and K.J. Bathe, "Higher-Order MITC General Shell Ele-
ments" , Int. J. for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 36, pp. 3729-3754
(1ee3).
16. D. Chapelle and K.J. Bathe, "The Inf-Sup Test", Computers U Structures,
47, pp. 537-545 (1993).
17. D. Chapelle and K.J. Bathe, "Fundamental Considerations for the Finite
Element Analysis of Shell Structures", Computers I Structures, 66, pp. 19-36
(1ee8).
18. S. De and K.J. Bathe, "The Method of Finite Spheres", Computational Me-
chan'ics, in press.
19.A. Iosiievich, K.J. Bathe and F. Brezzi, "Numerical Inf-Sup Analysis of
MITC Plate Bending Elements", Proceed'ings, 1996 American Mathemati,cal
Society Sem'inar on Plates and Shells, Qu6bec, Canada, (1996), CRM Pro-
ceedings and Lecture Notes, Vol. 21 (1999).
20. A. Iosilevich, K.J. Bathe and F. Brezzi, "On Evaluating the Inf-Sup Condi-
tion for Plate Bending Eiements", Int. J. for Numerical Methods i,n Engineer-
ing,4O, pp. 3639-3663 (1997).
21. D. Pantuso and K.J. Bathe, "A Four-Node Quadrilaterai Mixed-Interpolated
Element for Solids and Fluids" , Mathematical Models and Methods i,n Applied
Sci,ences, 5, pp. 1113-1128 (1995).
22. D. Pantuso and K.J. Bathe, "On the Stability of Mixed Finite Elements in
Large Strain Analysis of Incompressible Solids" , Fini/e Elements i,n Analysis
and Design,28, pp.83-104 (1997).
23. S. Rugonyi and K.J. Bathe, "On the Analysis of F\rlly-Coupled Fluid Flows
with Structural Interactions - a Coupling and Condensation Procedure", Inl.
J. for Computational Ciuil and, Structural Enqineeri,ng, in press.
24. J.C. Simo and M.S. Rifai, "A Class of Mixed Assumed Strain Methods and
the Method of Incompatible Modes" , Int. J. for Numerical Methods in Engi-
neeri,ng, 29, pp. 1595-1638 (1990).