Application of the Finite Volume Method and Unstructured Meshes to Linear Elasticity

A recent emergence of the Finite Volume Method (FVM) in structural analysis promises a viable alternative to the well-established Finite Element solvers. In this paper the linear stress analysis problem is discretised using the practices usually associated with FVM in uid ows. These include the second-order accurate discreti-sation on Control Volumes of arbitrary polyhedral shape; segregated solution procedure, in which the displacement components are solved consecutively and iterative solvers for the systems of linear algebraic equations. Special attention is given to the optimi-sation of the discretisation practice in order to provide optimum convergence for the segregated solution procedure. The solver is set up to work eeciently on parallel distributed memory computer ar-chitectures, allowing a fast turnaround for the mesh sizes expected in an industrial environment. The methodology is validated on two test cases: stress concentration around a circular hole and transient wave propagation in a bar. Finally, the steady and transient stress analysis in a Diesel injector valve seat in 3-D will be presented, together with the set of parallel speedup results.