Automatic selection algorithm of interpolation points on aeroelastic coupling interface

The method of selecting partial grid points on the coupling interface to build the interpolation matrix of coupling data is typically used in aeroelastic modeling in order to decrease the interpolation matrix’s scale and increase its efficiency. Now, the selection of the interpolation points from the coupling interface is achieved manually and has issues of high time cost, wrong selection or missing selection when the number of grid points is large. In order to solve the problem caused by manual selection, a two-step automatic selection algorithm of the interpolation points on the coupled interface, which is based on the extraction and reduction of boundary grid points, is presented. Firstly, the adjacent information of grid elements is reconstructed through the node index data of each element in the structural finite element model. The grid points are classified into boundary and interior points with the use of the adjacent information and the boundary grid points are extracted directly. Secondly, the boundary grid points are reduced to create the coupling interface’s interpolation point set using the greedy algorithm and radial basis function (RBF) interpolation, which is frequently used in grid deformation. The grid point with the largest interpolation error is then gradually added to the point set. Finally, the automatic selection algorithm is tested to investigate the influence of parameters through the flying wing case and applied to the static aeroelasticity simulation of AGARD445.6 and DLR-F6 models. The test and simulation data demonstrate that the present algorithm can construct the interpolation point set of the coupling interface automatically and obtain approximate simulation results as manual selection.