Computational Physics

This computational research pillar focuses on the development and application of high-fidelity numerical frameworks to resolve complex fluid phenomena. By integrating Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with High-Performance Computing (HPC), we execute large-scale, parallelized simulations that bridge the gap between fundamental physics and industrial-scale challenges. A core specialty is the Immersed Boundary Method (IBM), which allows for the efficient simulation of moving or deforming geometries without the overhead of traditional body-fitted meshing, making it ideal for fluid-structure interaction and biological flows. Complementing these methods, our work in Turbulence Modeling spans RANS, LES, and DNS strategies, aiming to accurately capture the energy cascade and multi-scale structures inherent in high-Reynolds number flows to improve predictive capabilities in heat transfer and aerodynamic design.

1. CFD and High-Performance Computing

We push the computational boundaries of thermal-fluid science by leveraging High-Performance Computing (HPC) to solve massively parallelised problems. Our group specialises in developing and optimising in-house solvers capable of performing direct numerical simulations (DNS) and high-resolution unsteady simulations. By utilising MPI-based parallelisation and efficient pressure-velocity coupling algorithms, we are able to resolve the full spectrum of spatial and temporal scales in turbulent wakes. This HPC infrastructure allows the TFDO Lab to model large-scale industrial systems and micro-scale biological flows with equal precision, ensuring that our numerical frameworks are both scalable and computationally robust for next-generation engineering challenges.

2. Immersed Boundary Method

The development of advanced immersed boundary methods (IBM) is a cornerstone of our numerical research. Unlike traditional body-fitted grids that require complex remeshing for moving boundaries, our level-set-based volume penalisation approach represents solid interfaces on fixed Cartesian grids. This allows for the seamless simulation of flow around arbitrarily complex and moving geometries, such as oscillating cylinders or flapping foils. Our recent implementations focus on sharp-interface techniques and adaptive grid refinement to ensure that the boundary layer physics and surface stress distributions are captured with high fidelity, significantly reducing the pre-processing time for multi-physics simulations.

3. Turbulence Modeling

Our group investigates the structural morphology of turbulent wakes, specifically focusing on the role of coherent vortical structures like hairpin and rib vortices. We study how shear intensity and body aspect ratios modulate the 3D wake characteristics of structures mounted on plane surfaces. By resolving the intricate interactions between the boundary layer and the separated wake, we provide a clearer picture of how turbulence enhances mixing and structural loading. Our research contributes to more accurate turbulence modeling strategies, particularly in predicting the aerodynamic performance of buildings, vehicles, and wind turbines operating within the Earth's atmospheric boundary layer.

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