Abstract

This paper deals with the numerical solution of a system of second-order in time partial differential equations modeling the vibrations of a coupling between an elastic solid and an inviscid compressible fluid.Both media are described in terms of their respective displacement fields. The problem is solved in the time domain by combining a Newmark's scheme for time discretization with a finite element method for space discretization. The latter combines standard Lagrangian elements in the solid with lowest-order Raviart-Thomas elements in the fluid.Stability is proved and numerical results showing the good behavior of the method are reported. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.