Clemson Computational Math Seminar: Bruno Blais - Feb 4

[Timo Heister]

Hi all,

I would like to announce the following seminar talk in our Clemson
Computational Math seminar that is related to deal.II. If you are
interested, feel free to join using the zoom link below.

Date and time: Friday, Feb 4 at 11:15am Eastern time
Speaker: Bruno Blais (Polytechnique Montréal)
Title: Lethe: Open-source FEM-based CFD and CFD-DEM models for the
simulation, design and optimization of chemical processes

Zoom link: https://clemson.zoom.us/j/96402109287

Abstract:
Chemical process plants generally consist of a combination of multiple
unit operations which all
have a specific purpose: separating components, facilitating a
chemical reaction, mixing,
transferring energy from one fluid to another, moving fluids. The
design of these operations is still
mostly based on design heuristics which lead to significant challenges
when designing new chemical
processes or scaling-up existing ones. These challenges are
exacerbated by the occurrence of
turbulence, the complex rheology of the fluid or the presence of
multiple phases such as a fluid (gas
or liquid) and solid particles. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for
the fluid phase, the Discrete
Element Method (DEM) for granular material, and their combination
(CFD-DEM) enable us to
predict the dynamics of these unit operations. This requires
high-performance robust models for
which the components (linear solver, finite element formulation) are
tailored to the application.

In this talk, we introduce a new open-source CFD, DEM and CFD-DEM
software: Lethe. Lethe is built
upon the well-established deal.II library. It leverages deal.II not
only for its state of the art FEM
capabilities, but it also makes extensive usage of its
high-performance particle tracking module for
its DEM solver. We present four very different examples that highlight
the challenges that the
chemical engineering community face and that can be addressed through
simulations:
- The mixing of shear-thinning fluids.
- The prediction of early turbulent flows.
- The flow of powder.
- The solid-fluid flow in a fluidized bed reactor.

For each of these examples, we discuss the mathematical formulation
that we use within Lethe as
well as the technical challenges faced when developing the models. We
conclude by providing a
high-level perspective of the direction in which we are heading, the
challenges that we are currently
facing and the key lessons that have been learned through this
endeavor to develop a
CFD/DEM/CFD-DEM software.

Best,
Timo

--
Timo Heister
http://www.math.clemson.edu/~heister/

[Timo Heister]

Hi all,

The recording of the talk is now available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qJfml3_HuA

Thanks again, Bruno!

[blais...@gmail.com]

Pleasure was all mine.

Thanks for the invite.

I consider myself quite lucky to be part of such a vibrant, open and constructive community :)!