Static analysis of contained fluids with potential‐based and displacement‐based fluid finite elements

We compare potential‐based (ø‐U‐P0) and displacement‐based finite element methods for static analysis of contained fluids. A general transient formulation may be specialized to static analysis in both cases. In the potential‐based method velocity potentials (ø) and a single pressure (P0) variable are the unknowns in the fluid region. Displacements are the unknowns in the fluid for displacement‐based methods. Higher‐order displace‐ment‐based elements may produce singular matrices for some static analyses, restricting us to four‐node elements for reliability. While both methods can yield excellent results when compared with experimental data, potential‐based methods appear to have computational advantages over displacement‐based methods.