Computational
Transport Processes
Group
Members - (see our academic
line )
Alumni:
Hai Duong
(Post-Doc, 2006)
Holly Krutka
(PhD, 2007)
Eric Moore
(PhD, 2004) Vishnu
Marla (PhD, 2005)
Kien Nguyen (MS, 2007)
Nicholas Spencer (MS, 2006) Roman Voronov (MS, 2006)
Nishitha
Thummala (MS, 2004) Bojan
Mitrovic (MS, 2002)
Hio-Wai Lao
(BS, 2000; MS, 2002) Venkat
Ramasubramanian (MS, 2002)
Jay Moore
(BS, 2000) David
Atkinson (BS, 2001)
Dale Simpson
(BS, 2002) Susan
Boyer (BS, 2002)
Patrick
Figaro (BS, 2002) Asad
Khan (BS, 2003)
LaToya Babbs (BS, 2003)
Anh Nguen (BS, 2003)
Jeremy Jones
(BS, 2003) Alex
Ibanez (BS, 2004)
Jon Demster
(BS, 2005) Ashlee
Ford (BS, 2005)
Thomas
Chancellor, Jr. (BS, 2005) Adam
Bortka (BS, 2005)
Sara Habib
(BS, 2005) Chris Clark (BS, 2006)
James Carmer
(BS, 2007)
Nihit Gupta
(Summer Intern, 2006) Enrico
Magrofuoco (Summer Intern, 2006)
AVAILABLE
PROJECTS FOR UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Project :
Flow in vascular vessels
This work is
focused on the flow structure for blood flow in human veins and arteries. A
commercial software will be used to simulate the flow in 3D pipes that
bifurcate both in a symmetric and a non-symmetric fashion. The regions of
secondary, low velocity flow will be studied, to determine whether conditions
for clot formation exist.
Project :
Heat Transfer in Carbon Nanotube Composites
The presence of
carbon nanotubes in composites can change the thermal properties of such
materials. The goal is to develop
computational methods that can determine these thermal properties as a function
of the nanotube dispersion pattern and the geometric characteristics of the
nanotubes. This project is in collaboration with Prof. Kieran Mullen from the
Department of Physics.
Project :
Simulation of the flow field that results from two rectangular jets using RANS
and LES models
A commercial
software package (FLUENT) is used to simulate the flow that results when two
air jets come together at different angles. The software has the capability to
model the turbulent flow field using a k-epsilon approach, a Reynolds Stress
Model or a Large Eddy Simulation. We are conducting accurate 2D simulations and
validating the results with experimental results obtained in Prof. Shambaugh's
laboratory.
The goal is to develop predictive, dimensionless correlations for the flow
field. Such correlations can be of value for the design of dies for melt
blowing (an industrial process for polymer fiber production that uses air jets
to attenuate the fibers). In addition, the effects of the presence of a moving
fiber in the flow field are investigated.
Project :
Drag reduction with the use of macromolecules
The development
of the methodology for friction drag reduction for ships and submarines is a
subject of ongoing interest to the Navy.
One of the current research thrusts is the use of polymers/surfactants
and microbubbles in the near-wall region to promote a reduction in the wall
shear stress, and hence in the friction drag.
An alternate solution that does not involve the continuous addition of
surfactant/polymers or microbubbles is proposed in this project.
The goal of this
project is to use surface-mounted polymer chains and/or nanotubes to modify the
near-wall flow field and hence the wall shear stress. We want to provide a physical understanding
of the mechanics of drag reduction by this novel method and to demonstrate the
practical viability of it. Direct numerical simulations (DNS) of flow in a
channel with modified walls will be undertaken.
This project involves extensive collaboration with the groups of Dr. Kumar Parthasarathy
in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (who will conduct the experiments in a
real life flow field), Dr. Lloyd Lee in Chemical
Engineering (who will work on the understanding of the process at the molecular
level), and Dr. Jerry Newman (who will actually grow macromolecules on surfaces
to be tested).
Project :
Flow around carbon nanotubes
This project will
study the flow field around carbon nanotubes. The hydrophobic nature of the
nanotubes is found to affect the flow of water around them. The first step will
be to investigate flow around one nanotube attached to the wall of a channel,
and then to investigate the flow field around a collection of nanotubes.
Faculty collaborators: Dr. Henry Neeman (Director
of OSCER, Visiting Assistant Professor in Computer Science)
Dr. Evan Lemley (Professor, University of Central
Oklahoma, Engineering Physics)
Project :
Model Based Simulator for flow through porous media - Development of HiMuST
We are developing an integrated simulator for flow through heterogeneous porous materials using a hierarchy of simulations. The software is composed of three components that can also work as stand-alone simulators. The integrated tool is called HiMuST, which stands for Hierarchical Multiscale Simulator Technology.
Current
approaches involve the use of simulations having a single physical scale (see
the projects below). However, recent advances in High Performance Computing
have made it possible to increase significantly the problem size. We are
combining the individual simulation components into an integrated multiscale
system that will be able to include all physical scales and will self-adjust in
accordance with the input data. Emphasis is placed on the portability,
scalability, efficiency and extensibility of the final product. The simulator
will be an improved prediction tool for hydrocarbon reservoir management and
will be ready for use on integrated grid architectures, as they become
available.
Phuong Le (Graduate student in Chemical
Engineering)
Project :
Lagrangian methods for turbulent transport
Turbulent flow is
the rule rather than the exception in flows around naval vessels or weapons, in
the ocean and the atmosphere, and in tanks, pipes or reactors. Transfer of
momentum and heat between ocean currents and the atmosphere, dispersion of
pollutants in the atmosphere, heat exchange and mixing, are all examples where
turbulent diffusion plays a key role. A Lagrangian approach, which is the
natural way to study turbulent transport, will be used. While such an approach
presents difficulty in the laboratory, a Lagrangian study can be accomplished
numerically. The innovation or the proposed work is to (a) use hydrodynamics
generated by a Direct Numerical Simulation to generate Lagrangian data for
turbulent dispersion, (b) study chemical reaction in turbulence in the Lagrangian
framework, and (c) couple reaction and heat/mass transfer in turbulence for an
integrated transport-flow Lagrangian Direct Simulation
The project goal
is to improve our physical understanding of the fundamental mechanisms, develop
a theory and model turbulent dispersion.
Project :
Lagrangian study of heat transfer from the wall in turbulent flow environments
The enhanced
transfer of heat or mass in turbulent flows is one of the most important
characteristics of turbulence. The conventional way to deal with transport in
simulations is to solve the heat or mass balance along with the momentum
equation. The Lagrangian approach to transport is different, in the sense that
the temperature or concentration profiles are viewed as the result of the
behavior of a series of continuous point sources located at the solid boundary.
This project uses a Lagrangian data-base for different types of fluids (with
Pr=0.1, 0.7, 1, 3, 10, 100, 200, 500, 2400, 7000, 15000 and 50000) to
reconstruct the mean statistics of the temperature profile. The hydrodynamics
were generated with a Direct Numerical Simulation of turbulent flow in the
channel and the Lagrangian data consist of the trajectories of thousands of
thermo-particles that move inside the velocity field.
The goal is to
study the effects of molecular Pr on transfer coefficients and to predict the
transport behavior from a single probability function, that describes the
single point source behavior.
Roman
Voronov (Graduate student in Chemical Engineering)
Project :
Microscale Flow and Transport
The Lattice
Boltzmann Method, LBM, is used to simulate the flow of single and two phase
fluids through porous media at the pore scale. Flow through porous media is a
multi-scale phenomenon that requires a multi-scale approach to study it. The
LBM is ideal for the microscopic scale study. It based on fundamental equations
and can handle complex boundary conditions. Single phase flows through different
geometries are studied first. Then two-phase flows will be studied for fluid
velocities for both Darcy and non-Darcy flow conditions.
Furthermore, the
transport of heat or mass in microchannels will be studied. Specifically, the
effects of the presence of carbon nanotubes on the transport process will be
examined, using Lagrangian methods similar to those developed by our group for
turbulent flows.
The goal is to
provide a better physical understanding of multiphase flow in microscales and
to develop macroscopic models that can be used in macroscopic simulations.
Chiranth
Srinivasan (Graduate
student in Chemical Engineering)
Project :
Turbulent transport modeling
This project will
utilize the LST method to investigate the development of new models for the
turbulent Prandtl number in wall turbulence. It will also include the study of
the effects of the velocity field on chemical reactions that take place in the
flow field. Second order reactions will be the focus, and different types of
fluids and reactions will be considered.
Project :
Blood flow in the renal artery
It appears that
hypertension in some individuals is caused by a pressure drop in the renal
artery. This project will investigate whether such pressure drops are due to
hydrodynamic reasons or not, and whether corrective action can be taken to
adjust the pressure drop through the renal artery. Commercial software is used
to simulate the flow in 3D models of the flow field. The project is a collaboration with Prof. O’Rear.
DVP's
home
| Updated
on September 12, 2007