A 2D finite-element scheme for fluid–solid–acoustic interactions and its application to human phonation

We present a recently developed approach for the modeling of fluid–solid–acoustic interaction problems. For the efficient numerical solution of the coupled three-field problem we apply the finite-element method. The mechanical and the acoustic fields are approximated by a standard Galerkin scheme. A residual-based stabilization method is chosen for the fluid field. The interaction of the Eulerian fluid field with the Lagrangian mechanical field is based on the Arbitrary-Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) method and is iteratively coupled in a strong sense. The solid–acoustic interaction is based on continuum mechanics, and the fluid–acoustic coupling on Lighthill’s analogy. The new steps of our scheme are verified through validation examples. Finally, a fluid–solid–acoustic simulation of the human phonation process is presented based on a realistic model.