Added mass computation by the boundary integral method

Computational techniques for the treatment of fluid‐structure interaction effects by discrete boundary integral methods are examinde. Attention is focused on the computation of the added mass matrix by finite element methods for a structure submerged in an infinite, inviscid, incompressible fluid. A general computational procedure is presented that is based upon a variational approach involving the assumption of constant source strength over each surface element. This is followed by an analysis of the discretization error for a spherical body that is then used to develop a hierarchy of computational schemes. These schemes are than evaluated numerically in terms of ‘fluid boundary modes’ for a submerged spherical surface. One scheme has been found to be surprisingly accurate in relation to its computational demands.