A finite element method for fluid–structure interaction with surface waves using a finite calculus formulation Original Research Article

A stabilized semi-implicit fractional step finite element method (FEM) for solving coupled fluid–structure interaction problems involving free surface waves is presented. The stabilized governing equations for the viscous incompressible fluid and the free surface are derived at a differential level via a finite calculus (FIC) procedure. A mesh updating technique based on solving a fictitious elastic problem on the moving mesh is described. Examples of the efficiency of the stabilized semi-implicit algorithm for the analysis of fluid–structure interaction problems in totally or partially submerged bodies is presented.