Computational Modeling of Space Re-entry Aerothermodynamics and Magnetized Plasmas with COOLFluiD

Speaker: Andrea Lani, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
October 29, 2019

Presentation

Abstract

The COOLFluiD (Computational Object Oriented Libraries for Fluid Dynamics) project, which started in 2002 as a joint effort between the Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) and the Center for mathematical Plasma Astrophysics (CmPA) at the University of Leuven (KUL), has led to the development of a world-class open source platform for HPC and multi-physics modelling. Within this framework, research efforts have been devoted particularly to the modeling of space re-entry aerothermodynamics and magnetized plasmas. The former includes the development of models/algorithms for simulating chemically reacting hypersonic flows and radiation in re-entry flight conditions and experiments in plasma wind tunnels. The latter focuses on models/algorithms for characterizing space weather phenomena such as solar wind/Earth magnetosphere interactions (by means of ideal magnetohydrodynamics) and a fundamental ubiquitous process known as magnetic reconnection (by means of new generation multi-fluid/Maxwell models). This seminar will present computational modeling aspects and a gallery of numerical results for both the applications mentioned above, while also providing a concise overview of CmPA activities, COOLFluiD and the Leuven Computational Modeling Center (LCMC).

Biography

Andrea Lani is currently Research Expert at the Center for mathematical Plasma Astrophysics (CmPA) at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Flanders, Belgium, and Director of the Leuven Computational Modeling Center (LCMC). Previously, he has been Senior Research Engineer in the Aeronautics & Aerospace Department at the Von Karman Institute (VKI) in Belgium and postdoctoral fellow at the NASA Ames/Stanford CTR. He received his M.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from the Polytechnic of Turin (Italy) and his Ph.D. in Engineering Sciences from the University of Brussels (ULB). He has also served as technical team member for the NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO). He is main developer and project leader of COOLFluiD, an open source simulation platform whose development has involved 100+ international contributors so far. His research interests include numerical algorithms, modelling of space re-entry aerothermodynamics, plasma flows and HPC.

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