Explicit Mesh Deformation Using Inverse Distance Weighting Interpolation

Mesh deformation algorithms usually require solving a system of equations which can be computationally intensive for complex three-dimensional applications. Here an explicit mesh deformation method is proposed based on Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) interpolation of the boundary node displacements to the interior of the flow domain. The point-by-point mesh deformation algorithm results in a straightforward implementation and parallelization. Fluid-structure interaction applications to a two-dimensional airfoil and the three-dimensional AGARD 445.6 wing benchmark show a reduction of the computational costs up to a factor 100 with respect to Radial Basis Function (RBF) mesh deformation for a comparable simulation accuracy.