Fluid Simulation and Modeling
The dynamics of fluid flows plays a key role in numerous natural phenomena, and determine the efficiency of many processes in engineering. In general fluids can flow in a smooth and orderly manner, such as blood does in small capillaries or fluctuate erratically as seen in the swirls behind an airplane wing. Hence making quantitative predictions of fluid flows is of crucial relevance in engineering practice. Our group addresses this challenge by doing computer simulations of appropriate fluid transport models.
Research Topics. We focus on the modeling, numerical simulation and theoretical treatment of engineering and natural flows. We are an interdisciplinary team covering topics in mechanical and aerospace engineering, as well as areas of emerging interest in physiology, geophysics and astrophysics:
- Turbulent and transitional flows: theory, application and control
- Convection and magnetohydrodynamics: heat transfer, experiments of liquid metals and astrophysical applications
- Flows in porous media: wetting phenomena
- Multiphase flows: micro-droplet manipulation, particle transport in channels, annular-core flows
- Mixing of miscible fluids: anti-solvent precipitation, mixing enhancement
- Fluid-structure interaction: physiology, engines
- Optimization of fluid transport in applications
Methods. We have extended expertise in using and developing computer codes:
- Finite-Element, Finite-Volume and Finite-Difference methods
- High-order methods (spectral)
- High Performance Computing: MPI, OpenMP and hybrid programming
- Software: we develop our own codes with Fortran 90 and C++ as well as use conventional packages such as OpenFOAM.
