Hands-on CFD learning in action 🚀

FOSSEE CFD team conducted a Basics of OpenFOAM workshop at Azeotropy 2026, IIT Bombay.

75 Chemical Engineering students explored real CFD simulations using open source tools.

#OpenFOAM #CFD #FOSSEE #OpenSource #FLOSS #IITBombay #ChemicalEngineering #STEM #Fediverse

Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability

If you send a shock wave through a magnetized plasma–something that happens in both supernova explosions and inertial confinement fusion–it can trigger an instability known as the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability. The image above shows a form of this, taken from a simulation. Rather than treating the plasma as a single idealized fluid, the researchers represented it as two fluids: an ion fluid and an electron fluid. This allowed them to better capture what happens when certain components of the plasma react to changes faster than others do.

The image itself shows the electron number density across the fluid, where darker colors represent higher electron number density. The interface between high and low-densities shows a roll-up instability that resembles the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, but there are also regions of mushroom-like plumes that more closely resemble Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities.

The authors note that these structures don’t appear in simulations that represent a plasma as a single fluid; you need the two-fluid representation to see them. (Image and research credit: O. Thompson et al.)

#CFD #computationalFluidDynamics #fluidDynamics #instability #KelvinHelmholtzInstability #magnetohydrodynamics #numericalSimulation #physics #plasma #RayleighTaylorInstability #RichtmyerMeshkovInstability #science #shockwave

Improving Turbulence Models

Calculating turbulent flows like those found in the ocean and atmosphere is extremely expensive computationally. That’s why forecasting models use techniques like Large Eddy Simulation (LES), where large physical scales are calculated according to the governing physical equations while smaller scales are approximated with mathematical models. Researchers are always looking for ways to improve these models–making them more physically accurate, easier to compute, and more computationally stable.

In a new study, researchers used an equation-discovery tool to find new improvements to these models for the smaller turbulent scales. They started by doing a full, computationally expensive calculation of the turbulent flow. The equation-discovery tool then analyzed these results, looking to match them to a library of over 900 possible equations. When it found a form that fit the data, the researchers were then able to show analytically how to derive that equation from the underlying physics. The result is a new equation that models these smaller scales in a way that’s physically accurate and computationally stable, offering possibilities for better LES. (Image credit: CasSa Paintings; research credit: K. Jakhar et al.; via APS)

#CFD #computationalFluidDynamics #fluidDynamics #geophysics #largeEddySimulation #machineLearning #mathematics #numericalSimulation #physics #science #turbulence

The submission deadline for abstracts and training courses has been extended to March 15 to fill the last places in the programme.

#OFW21 #OpenFOAM #CFD #FinalCallth

Transport and settling of suspended particles in a simulated estuary: particle-laden freshwater enters a basin filled with seawater. The white iso-surface indicates 50% of the original particle density. Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities evolve in the shear flow and drive the turbulent mixing. Rayleigh–Taylor instabilities can be observed in the initial settling phase. Based on Direct #Numerical #Simulation.

#sedimentation #estuary #fluiddynamics #turbulence #CFD #computationalfluiddynamics