Abstract: We present an explicit compatible finite element method for fluid dynamics problems in three-dimensional Cartesian geometry.Trilinear brick elements with a staggered-grid placement of the spatial variables are used to discretize fluid equations.An edge-centered artificial viscosity whose magnitude is regulated by local velocity gradients is used to capture shocks.Subzonal perturbed pressure is adopted to resist spurious grid motions.Artificial viscosity forces and subzonal pressure forces agree well with general compatibility.Numerical examples show accuracy and robustness of the method.

Key words: three-dimensional Cartesion coordinates, Lagrangian hydrodynamics, explicit compatible finite element method