Analysis of the block Gauss-Seidel solution procedure for a strongly coupled model problem with reference to fluid-structure interaction

The block Gauss–Seidel procedure is widely used for the resolution of the strong coupling in the computer simulation of fluid–structure interaction. Based on a simple model problem, this work presents a detailed analysis of the convergence behaviour of the method. In particular, the model problem is used to highlight some aspects that arise in the context of the application of the block Gauss–Seidel method to FSI problems. Thus, the effects of the time integration schemes chosen, of relaxation techniques, of physical constraints and non‐linearities on the convergence of the iterations are investigated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.