Ongoing research projects
IMMC
Ongoing research projects in iMMC (May 2022)
This a short description of research projects which are presently under progress in iMMC.
Hereunder, you may select one research direction or choose to apply another filter:
List of projects related to: two-phase flows
 | Numerical Modeling and Simulation of Sediment Mobilisation and Transport due to Turbulent Currents Researcher: Anouk Riffard Supervisor(s): Miltiadis Papalexandris The proposed doctoral research evolves around two principal axes. The first one is the development of mathematical models and algorithms for flows of fluid-solid particles mixtures, i.e. granular suspensions. The second one is the use of these algorithms for the study of sediment mobilisation and transport due to turbulent currents. |
 | Development of high-fidelity numerical methods for the simulation of the aerothermal ablation of space debris during atmospheric entry Researcher: David Henneaux Supervisor(s): Philippe Chatelain This project, lead in collabaration with the von Karman Institute (VKI) and Cenaero, aims at developing high-fidelity numerical methods for the simulation of the aerothermal ablation of space debris during an atmospheric entry. The number of space debris orbiting the Earth is becoming increasingly problematic for the integrity of operational satellites and the future access to space. The many space debris mitigation projects currently under study require an accurate prediction of the degradation of these objects when they re-enter the atmosphere in order to comply with the severe re-entry safety requirements. Dedicated engineering softwares are used to assess the survivability of these debris. However, the correlation-based models implemented in these software lack accuracy and they do not allow to gain insight into the complex flow phenomena taking place near the surface of the body, yet essential for the conception of new satellites designed for demise. That is why CFD methods are needed to study this complex situation. But the methods currently available rely on simplifying assumptions that compromise the reliability of the results. The objective of this project is to develop new high-fidelity numerical methods able to deal with the presence of the three phases in the same domain and their complex interactions. They will be grouped into the ARGO code under development at CENAERO, VKI, and UCL, which relies on the discontinuous Galerkin method. To do so, a highly-accurate multiphase method coupled with evaporation and surface tension models and based on a sharp interface approach will be employed for the treatment of the gas-liquid interface, while a state of the art melting method accounting for the diffuse character of the liquid-solid interface will be considered. Both methods will be built to work with multicomponent compressible equations. The code will then be validated with experimental data from the VKI Plasmatron facility. |