Solidcoupled

Solidcoupled is a term used in computational mechanics to describe modeling approaches that intentionally couple solid mechanics with one or more additional physical fields. It encompasses mathematical formulations, numerical methods, and software implementations that solve the interacting equations governing deformation of solids alongside other phenomena, such as fluid flow, heat transfer, chemical diffusion, or electromagnetic fields.

Definition and scope: Solidcoupled problems involve solving the governing equations of elasticity or plasticity for solids together with equations for other domains, using coupling terms that transfer information such as traction, heat flux, mass exchange, or electromagnetic forces. The coupling can be formulated monolithically, where all fields are solved in a single system, or partitionedly (staggered), where the solid and auxiliary fields are solved separately with iterative information exchange.

Key concepts: Governing equations typically include elasticity or viscoelasticity for solids, fluid dynamics for surrounding media, heat conduction, diffusion, and Maxwell’s equations for electromagnetics. Coupling terms arise from boundary conditions, constitutive relations, and transfer laws. Numerical approaches commonly rely on finite element or finite volume methods, with time integration that is implicit in many stable formulations.

Applications: Solidcoupled modeling is used in fluid–structure interaction, thermoelastic and poroelastic problems, electro-mechanical devices, biomechanics (e.g., tissue mechanics with fluid flow), geophysics, and additive manufacturing processes where thermal and mechanical fields influence each other.

Numerical practice: Common issues include stability (e.g., added-mass effects in fluid–solid coupling), choice of monolithic versus partitioned solvers, and mesh and time-step compatibility. Software tools often provide multiphysics capabilities to implement various coupling schemes.