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Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer Lab

Current Students and Projects

Tom Shih’s research group focuses on research in computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer (CFD) – both in developing and improving it as a tool and in using it to study physical problems to understand flow mechanisms and to impact design in aerodynamics and propulsion. Project examples are listed in the "Research" menu. See also, Capability in CFD Codes.

MS Students

  1. "Study of High-Speed Jet Flow into Different Freestream Gas Temperatures,” Zhouyi Wang, May 2017.
  2. “Conjugate Heat Transfer with Film and Internal Cooling,” James Peck, May 2018.
  3. “URANS of Flow and Heat Transfer over a Staggered Array of Concavities,” Leelamadhuri Kothanaga, May 2017.

Ph.D. Students

  1. “Flow and Heat Transfer in High-Aspect Ratio U-Ducts under Rotating and Non-rotating Conditions,” Shih-Yung (Kenny) Hu, Aug. 2017 (expected).
  2. “Multiphase Flow in a Clutch Assembly,” Irsha Pardeshi, Aug. 2017.
  3. “Controlling Leakage Flows into Wheelspace between Rotors and Stators,” Jason Liu, Aug. 2017.
  4. “Large-Eddy Simulations of Film-Cooling Flow and Heat Transfer,” Zach Stratton, Aug. 2017.
  5. “Modelling and Simulations of Statistically Stationary and Nonstationary Turbulent Flows by Using Hybrid Methods,” Wanjia Zhang, May 2018.
  6. “High-Fidelity LES for Convective Heat Transfer,” Yongkai Chen, May 2018.
  7. “Time-Accurate CFD Analysis of the Multiphase Flow in a Liquid-Ring Vacuum Pump,” Ashutosh Pandel, May. 2019.
  8. “Conjugate Large-Eddy-Simulation of Flow about a Rotating Blade Tip,” Adwiteey Raj Shishodia, May 2019.

Research Staff

Dr. Chien-Shing Lee

Capability in CFD Codes

Government and Commercial Codes Used by Shih & His Students:

Government: OVERFLOW+PEGASUS, CFL3D+MAGGIE & RONNIE, USM3D, Wind Commercial: Gambit, GridGen, ICEM, CFX, Fluent, PowerFlow, Tecplot, FieldView

In-House Codes Developed by Shih with His Students:

UM-IC2D (Tom Shih with his M.S. & Ph.D. thesis advisor, Dr. George S. Springer, now at Stanford): This code uses the implicit-factored method of Beam and Warming to analyze the unsteady, compressible Navier-Stokes equations in r-z coordinates. This code is configured to analyze axisymmetric flowfields inside piston-cylinder configurations that model internal combustion engines.

Lewis-2D (with graduate students: Song-Lin Yang, Erlendur Steinthorsson, & Zhi (Joe) Li): This code uses an implicit finite-difference method based on approximate-factorization and flux-vector splitting to analyze the "unsteady, compressible" Navier-Stokes equations in two-dimensional generalized coordinates with domains that deform with time. This code is written in modular form and can be used to study a wide range of problems with different boundary conditions and geometries.

Lewis-3D (with graduate students: Erlendur Steinthorsson & Zhi (Joe) Li): This code is similar to Lewis-2D except that it can analyze unsteady, three-dimensional flows.

LeRC3D/CmuFD3D (with graduate students: Greg W. Howe, Erlendur Steinthorsson, Zhi (Joe) Li, Adnan Karadag, & Asghar Afshari; Professor Farhad Jaberi at Michigan State University was involved in the LES part): This code uses a finite-volume method which can be a point or a line iterative process (including Runge-Kutta with implicit residual smoothing) with multigrid and a variety of differencing schemes for the convection terms (including several different flux-vector and flux-difference splitting schemes) to analyze steady or unsteady, three-dimensional compressible flows that can be single- or multi-component gas mixture, reacting or nonreacting, laminar or turbulent, single or multi-phase, and compressible or incompressible. For the LES and DNS, 3rd-order low-storage RK is used for time differencing, and 4th-order compact differencing is used for spatial derivatives. LES models coded include the Smagorinsky model, the modified kinetic energy viscosity (MKEV) model, the dynamic Smagorinsky model, and the algebraic renormalization group (RNG) SGS closure.

RAAKE (with Dr. W.J. Chyu of NASA Ames): This code uses an implicit finite-volume method based on a quasi-Newton algorithm which includes the LU algorithm as a special case with flux-vector splitting to analyze four different two-equations models of turbulence: the low-Reynolds number k-e model of Chen and Patel, the low-Reynolds number k-e model of Jones and Launders, a k-e model based on renormalization group theory, and the k-w model of Wilcox. The user of this code can choose to use any one of these models. This code can be attached to any code, which analyzes the conservation equations of mass, momentum, and total energy such as ARC3D, F3D, and OVERFLOW, three well-known codes developed at NASA Ames Research Center.

PPPFIN (with graduate student Arindam Dasgupta): This code uses OVERFLOW and PEGASUS to perform direct numerical simulations of particle-particle/particle-fluid interactions, where the flow past each particle is resolved (i.e., particles are not treated as point masses). The method utilizes an iterative solution procedure on moving overlapping grids, one attached to each moving particle. Stencil construction and data transfer between the grids were accelerated through a knowledge-based algorithm.

GRID2D/3D (with graduate students: Robert T. Bailey & Erlendur Steinthorsson): This code generates grid systems in complex-shaped, two- and three-dimensional spatial domains. The code uses bi-directional Hermite interpolation to construct surfaces with C1 continuity across patches. Surface and volume grids are generated by algebraic techniques based transfinite interpolation with controls for stretching and orthogonality.

AUTOMAT (with W.J. Chyu of NASA Ames, Brian P. Willis of NASA Lewis, and graduate students, Mark J. Rimlinger, Mark A. Stephens, Yu-Liang Lin, and Andrew Flores): This code automatically generates grid systems based on overlapping Chimera grids as well as all other input files needed to perform CFD simulations of a bleed system for mixed compression supersonic inlets by using the OVERFLOW/PEGSUS or the CFL3D/RONNIE/MAGGIE codes.

TRACKER (with graduate student: Arindam Dasgupta): This code computes the position, velocity, and thermal energy of discrete particles in three-dimensional particle-laden flows that is modelled by a Lagrangian-Eulerian formulation. This code also identifies the cell in which each particle is located as well as interpolates the data needed by the particles from the continuum phase. This code is configured to be used with LeRC3D, and can track efficiently particles as small as 10-9 m because of a noniterative implicit algorithm employed. The particles can be solids or evaporating liquid droplets.

ALCOA.electrodeposition (proprietary): This code calculates the fluid mechanics of colloidal dispersions in water in which the electric double layer about each colloidal particle is accounted for and time-varying electromagnetic field is imposed.

AV-GRADIENT (still under development with Shlomo Ta-asan of Carnegie Mellon, Nizar Trigui of Ford Motor Co., and graduate student: Taek Choi): This code solves the adjoint variable equations along with a set of boundary conditions for the full compressible Navier-Stokes equations on an unstructured grid to be used in CFD-based shape optimization.

EBE (Error-Bound Estimation with graduate student Xubin Gu): This code provides an error-bound estimate on computed CFD solutions. The code is based on two hypotheses. First, relative error = F(formulation, numerical method, and grid-quality measures). Second, the function F is general for a class of flows. Considerable research has been conducted to search, develop, and evaluate solution-based grid-quality measures for structured and unstructured mesh that account for the vector and tensor nature of fluid mechanics. Also, databases have been developed to construct the function F.

DETE-1 (Discrete-Error Transport Equation with graduate student Christine Yuehui Qin): This code solves the discrete-error-transport equation for three model equations: advection-diffusion, linear wave equation, and Burger’s equation. Residual is modeled by the leading term of the modified equation and a number of physics-based grid-quality measures.

DETE-2 (Discrete-Error Transport Equation with graduate student Brandon Williams): This code solves the discrete-error-transport equation to estimate grid-induced errors in steady and time-accurate solutions of the compressible Euler and Navier-Stokes equations (can be attached to any CFD code). Residual is modeled by a multigrid-sequencing method, the leading term in the truncation error of an approximate modified equation, and a high-order interpolant constructed from a lower order solution.

TECA (Thermoelectric Couple Analysis with graduate student Rob Harris): This code solves the energy and electric-potential equations in thermoelectric (TE) couples to predict the three-dimensional distributions of temperature, heat flow, electric potential, and current flow. This code accounts for temperature-dependent material properties, electrical and heat transfer contact resistances, and heat transfer from the TE legs via convection or through insulation material with nonzero thermal conductivity.

Q3D-Wing (Quasi Three-Dimensional Analysis of Clean and Iced Wings with colleague Rich Hindman and graduate students Nick Crist and Brandon Williams): This code uses a reduced-order method to estimate lift and drag as function of angle of attack for wings with accrued ice. This reduced-order method and code were validated by full 3-D simulations. This reduced-order method couples 2-D CFD or EFD results for lift and drag as a function of angle of attack with a modern version of the lifting-line theory to predict the aerodynamic performance of clean and iced 3-D wings with sweep, taper, and twist.