The Department of Energy Office of Science recently awarded the University of New Mexico $375,000 for suspension flow research. UNM will team up with Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and the University of California, Santa Barbara for a total award of $2.4 million over three years. This award is one of 13 selected from approximately 170 proposals.
The DOE program aims to develop complex multiscale mathematics to enable scientists and engineers to simulate problems that span broad time and length scales. “Brute force computational simulation, even on the most powerful present-day computers, cannot handle these ranges, so new mathematics is needed,” said Dr. Raymond Orbach, director, Office of Science. “This initiative is meant to surmount this barrier to our understanding of nature.”
Current simulations of suspension flows typically lack a universal set of parameters that can be applied to a wide range of simulating situations, so parameters must be adjusted for different particle types and flow geometries.
UNM's team will approach simulations of suspension flows using predictive methods and a multidisciplinary approach that can be applied to a wide range of physical sciences, applied technologies, numerical formulations and computational issues. UNM's research could improve efficiency and reduce waste in such areas as the transport of muds and cements, manufacture of semiconductors, energy conservation and treatment of nuclear sludges.
The program also includes an educational component. UNM will give graduate students the opportunity to work in a multidisciplinary team environment, supervised by faculty and national laboratory advisors. In addition, all simulation codes will be made open source and all course materials and research results will be made available to interested industry, universities and research laboratories.
Professor of Mechanical Engineering Marc Ingber is the principal investigator for UNM's award.
Contact: Sari Krosinsky, (505) 277-5813
Posted by scarr at August 8, 2005 12:08 PM