I am willing to do fluid-structure interaction studies for a 3-D rectangular tank under seismic excitation. For the FE discretization of the tank and fluid domain, can a 2-D element be used in the 3-D space for analysis? If yes, will it reduce accuracy of the results?
Overall, 2D FE is simpler and faster, while 3D FE provides more accurate results at the expense of increased complexity and computational time.
Modeling a system in 2D FE rather than 3D FE depends on the nature of the system (or objects) and the research question. In fact, if too much information is lost by 2D FE modeling and the results are too different from reality, the accuracy of the model is reduced and you should not use 2D FE modeling. But if you use 2D FE modeling and lose little information, you can use it.
I think if you look at the literature on the topic under study, you will see whether 2D FE is appropriate or not.
Actually I want to analyse a liquid filled 3-D rectangular tank under seismic excitation. Direct coupling will be used for the study of interaction between the fluid and the structure. In this aspect, if I model using 2-D elements but in 3-D space, how much the result can vary?
- Badges
- Science topic