Coupling codes including deformation exchange suitable for non conforming and unstructured large meshes

• Published in: Nuclear engineering and design Vol. 253; no. 60-70; pp. 60 - 70
• Main Authors: Duplex, B., Grandotto, M., Perdu, F., Daniel, M., Gesquière, G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.12.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Boundaries; Computer Science; Controled nuclear fusion plants; Deformation; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Fission nuclear power plants; Fuels; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; Joining; Liquids; Mathematical models; Nuclear engineering; Nuclear fuels; Nuclear research reactors; Other; Simplification; Computation code; Reactor material; Thermohydraulics; Nuclear reactor
• ISSN: 0029-5493; 1872-759X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nucengdes.2012.08.011

► A function of deformation transfer on meshes is proposed. ► Large meshes sharing a common geometry or common borders are treated. ► We show the deformation transfer impact on simulation results. The paper proposes a method to couple computation codes and focuses on the transfer of mesh deformations between these codes. The deformations can concern a single object or different objects in contact along common boundaries. The method is designed to allow a wide range of mesh types and to manage large volumes of data. To reach these objectives, a mesh simplification step is first achieved and is followed by the deformation characterisation through a continuous function defined by a network of compact support radial basis functions (RBFs). A test case featuring adjacent geometries in a material testing reactor (MTR) is presented to assess the method. Two solids close together are subject to a deformation by a thermal dilatation, and are cooled by a liquid flowing between them. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method and show how the deformation transfer modifies the thermalhydraulic solution.