Insights into the performance of loosely-coupled FSI schemes based on Robin boundary conditions

Abstract: Robin boundary conditions are a natural consequence of employing Nitsche's method for imposing the kinematic velocity constraint at the fluid-solid interface. Loosely-coupled FSI schemes based on Dirichlet-Robin or Robin-Robin coupling have been demonstrated to improve the stability of such schemes with respect to added-mass. This paper aims to offer some numerical insights into the performance characteristics of such loosely-coupled FSI schemes based on Robin boundary conditions. Using numerical examples, we demonstrate that the improved stability due to the added damping term is actually at the expense of important dynamic characteristics of the structural sub-problem.