The First Open-Source Software for Non-Continuum Flows in Engineering
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Sch of Engineering
Abstract
This project is both multi-scale and multi-disciplinary, and spans research areas across physics, mechanical engineering, computer science and chemical engineering. Our aim is to produce, for the first time, a general, robust and efficient open-source code for the simulation of non-continuum flows for engineering applications. Such flows are vital to the performance of a number of potentially transformative future technologies (e.g., highly-efficient sea-water desalination using membranes of carbon nanotubes, and nano-structured hydrophobic surfaces for marine drag reduction) but they cannot be simulated using conventional continuum-fluid simulations. Our work exploits the core methodological advances emerging from the EPSRC Programme Grant "Non-equilibrium Fluid Dynamics for Micro/Nano Engineering Systems" (EP/I011927/1), which have demonstrated exciting potential in the multi-scale modelling of non-continuum flows using hybrid continuum-particle methods. The software developed in this project builds on the already widely-adopted open-source code OpenFOAM for computational fluid dynamics. In capitalising on a) the success of the UK's OpenFOAM software and b) the EPSRC's Programme Grant investment in a strategic research area, this project aims to bring sustainability to both.
Planned Impact
Over the next 30 years, the engineering of non-continuum flow systems will play a critical role in responding to global challenges in health, climate and energy. For example, in designing desalination plants with nano-filtration systems to make seawater drinkable for water-stressed populations, and embedding micro and nano devices on aero/hydrodynamic surfaces to improve the efficiency (and thus reduce CO2 emissions) of passenger jet aircraft, container ships and supertankers. This project will provide the software to enable engineers to simulate and design these future transformative technologies.
This new OpenCPFS software will be a tool to design a diverse range of transformative technologies that have potential for major societal and economic impact. For example, in the design of:
- nanofiltration membranes for water purification;
- micro-scale flow control systems for drag reduction;
- portable gas chromatography systems for the detection of air-borne pollutants;
- micro-reactors for generating small quantities of dangerous or expensive chemicals;
- microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices for health monitoring and diagnosis;
- micro-processor cooling systems;
- thin-film cooling of turbomachinery;
- single DNA analysis;
- photolysis of water (using, e.g. titanium nanotubes);
- clinical pathology;
- nano fuel-cell technology;
- and process engineering (in particular, conveying of granular flows).
We plan a series of user engagement workshops to accelerate the adoption of OpenCPFS and its application to these, and other, technology areas. Our industrial partners (AkzoNobel, Jaguar Land Rover, TotalSim and ESI-OpenCFD) are immediate beneficiaries of this project, and they will assist in identifying new technology application areas for the software. The Software Sustainability Institute will promote and disseminate the project outcomes through their own networks. Therefore both academic and industrial users of the open-source software will benefit from being enrolled in a new community of multidisciplinary engineers engaged in the simulation of revolutionary flow technologies.
This new OpenCPFS software will be a tool to design a diverse range of transformative technologies that have potential for major societal and economic impact. For example, in the design of:
- nanofiltration membranes for water purification;
- micro-scale flow control systems for drag reduction;
- portable gas chromatography systems for the detection of air-borne pollutants;
- micro-reactors for generating small quantities of dangerous or expensive chemicals;
- microfluidic lab-on-a-chip devices for health monitoring and diagnosis;
- micro-processor cooling systems;
- thin-film cooling of turbomachinery;
- single DNA analysis;
- photolysis of water (using, e.g. titanium nanotubes);
- clinical pathology;
- nano fuel-cell technology;
- and process engineering (in particular, conveying of granular flows).
We plan a series of user engagement workshops to accelerate the adoption of OpenCPFS and its application to these, and other, technology areas. Our industrial partners (AkzoNobel, Jaguar Land Rover, TotalSim and ESI-OpenCFD) are immediate beneficiaries of this project, and they will assist in identifying new technology application areas for the software. The Software Sustainability Institute will promote and disseminate the project outcomes through their own networks. Therefore both academic and industrial users of the open-source software will benefit from being enrolled in a new community of multidisciplinary engineers engaged in the simulation of revolutionary flow technologies.
People |
ORCID iD |
Duncan Lockerby (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
Borg MK
(2014)
The FADE mass-stat: a technique for inserting or deleting particles in molecular dynamics simulations.
in The Journal of chemical physics
Borg M
(2013)
Fluid simulations with atomistic resolution: a hybrid multiscale method with field-wise coupling
in Journal of Computational Physics
Borg M
(2017)
Multiscale simulation of enhanced water flow in nanotubes
in MRS Bulletin
Borg M
(2015)
A hybrid molecular-continuum method for unsteady compressible multiscale flows
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Borg M
(2013)
A hybrid molecular-continuum simulation method for incompressible flows in micro/nanofluidic networks
in Microfluidics and Nanofluidics
Alexiadis A
(2013)
A Laplacian-based algorithm for non-isothermal atomistic-continuum hybrid simulation of micro and nano-flows
in Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
Description | We have released non-continuum fluid dynamics software open-source, via GitHub (https://github.com/MicroNanoFlows/). This code is able to go beyond classical fluid simulations and can be used to predict counter-intuitive flow behaviour at the micro and nanoscale. Such a simulation capability can be used by future designers of micro and nano-scale fluid systems. The project has generated a large number of publications on multiscale methodology for non-continuum fluid dynamics, and has laid the foundation for a successful EPSRC Programme Grant bid. For more details, see: micronanoflows.ac.uk |
Exploitation Route | The project will generate novel multi scale methodology for fluid dynamics encapsulated in open-source software. Making accessible simulations of fluid-engineering systems at the micro and nano-scale. |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Energy Environment Healthcare Transport |
URL | http://www.micronanoflows.ac.uk |
Description | CBET-EPSRC Dynamic Wetting & Interfacial Transitions in Three Dimensions: Theory vs Experiment |
Amount | £539,280 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/S029966/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2019 |
End | 09/2023 |
Description | EPSRC Programme Grant (Nano-Engineered Flow Technologies: Simulation for Design across Scale and Phase) |
Amount | £3,380,740 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/N016602/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2016 |
End | 12/2020 |
Description | EPSRC project "From Kinetic Theory to Hydrodynamics: re-imagining two fluid models of particle-laden flows", £412,290 (Total value £788,180) (1/1/18, for 4 years) |
Amount | £788,180 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/R008027/1 (EP/R007438/1) |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2018 |
End | 12/2021 |
Description | Multiscale Simulation of Rarefied Gas Flow for Engineering Design |
Amount | £449,193 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/V012002/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2021 |
End | 12/2024 |
Description | Multiscale Simulation of Rarefied Gas Flow for Engineering Design |
Amount | £434,008 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/V01207X/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2021 |
End | 12/2024 |
Description | Royal Academy of Engineering, Chair in Emerging Technologies (CiET1718\54, £1.3M, 03/18-02/28) to JMR |
Amount | £1,300,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | CiET1718\54 |
Organisation | Royal Academy of Engineering |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2018 |
End | 02/2028 |
Title | OPENFOAM-2.4.0-MNF-1.0.1 |
Description | This dataset contains the package OPENFOAM-2.4.0-MNF-1.0.1, which is referenced in the following CPC Feature Articles: dsmcFoam+: An OpenFOAM based direct simulation Monte Carlo solver - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2017.09.030 mdFoam+ : Advanced molecular dynamics in OpenFOAM - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2017.09.029 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/7b4xkpx43b/1 |
Title | OPENFOAM-2.4.0-MNF-1.0.1 |
Description | This dataset contains the package OPENFOAM-2.4.0-MNF-1.0.1, which is referenced in the following CPC Feature Articles: dsmcFoam+: An OpenFOAM based direct simulation Monte Carlo solver - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2017.09.030 mdFoam+ : Advanced molecular dynamics in OpenFOAM - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpc.2017.09.029 NOTE: this version of the dataset corrects an error which occurred when extracting the previous version of the program files archive. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/7b4xkpx43b/2 |
Title | OpenFOAM 2.4.0 plus the MicroNanoFlow Group Codes |
Description | OpenFOAM is a free, open source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software package released by the OpenFOAM Foundation. It has a large user base across most areas of engineering and science, from both commercial and academic organisations. In this GitHub repository we include codes developed (as an extension to OpenFOAM) for simulating non-continuum fluid dynamics (e.g. mdFoam and dsmcFoam). The Micro & Nano Flows (MNF) Group are the original authors of the mdFoam and dsmcFoam applications. This repository provides up to date versions of these applications (name mdFOAM and dsmcFOAM), with the groups most recent developments included along with documentation and new tutorial cases. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2016 |
Open Source License? | Yes |
Impact | Impact is difficult to ascertain at this stage, as it is in early release. |
URL | https://github.com/MicroNanoFlows |