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Development of modular and scalable hybrid numerical algorithms for flow simulation, combining continuum approaches with particle methods
Principal Investigator: Lorena A. Barba
Amount: £85640
Starts: July 2007
Ends: June 2010
Description
This project aims to develop modular and scalable hybrid numerical algorithms for flow simulation by combining continuum approaches (such as finite-volume) with particle methods (such as lattice Boltzmann, Monte Carlo, vortex method).
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods are predominantly based on the continuum formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations. Standard methods include finite-volume and finite-element discretizations in addition to several approaches for turbulence modelling. However, CFD methods need to be both faster and more accurate if more simulation and less physical testing are to be used in the design process. Being a mature discipline, CFD will need fundamental changes to deliver such an increase in simulation capability.
This PhD project is aimed at investigating one such fundamental change, which is to incorporate non-continuum representations of the fluid quantities with the standard continuum approach. The non-continuum, or particle simulation, approach has been developed mostly separate from traditional CFD, save few exceptions. Several special features of these alternatives seem very attractive as possible means for increasing the simulation capability of CFD. In particular, reduced numerical diffusion often means that high-accuracy can be obtained with a smaller computational footprint compared to traditional methods as the latter may require extremely fine meshes for the resolution of flow features such as large flow gradients. [...]