Professor Alexeenko’s research is centered on computational and experimental studies of rarefied gas flow phenomena occurring both in high-altitude flight, such as smallsat propulsion, spacecraft contamination, plume interactions, and high-altitude aerothermodynamics, and in emerging technologies such as micro-electro-mechanical systems for space communications and micropropulsion, as well as in vacuum manufacturing processes. Broadening the applications of rarefied gas dynamics is one of her long-term research goals.

Professor Alexeenko's group at Purdue has developed fast computational algorithms and solvers for the deterministic, as opposed to the stochastic DSMC, solution of rarefied flow problems. Such new techniques are especially useful in studying low-speed and/or unsteady flows and have allowed the group to address several challenging problems, such as aerodynamic damping in MEMS and shock wave propagation at the microscale. Additionally, the research has led to novel microdevice concepts that exploit the unique microscale rarefied flow physics for gas sensing and smallsat propulsion.

To learn more about Professor Alexeenko's research, visit her research group page here.