CAREER: Scalable Open-Source Platform for Real-World Fluid-Structure Interaction Challenges

Fluid-structure interaction is an important and rapidly evolving field in computational engineering, with its outcomes driving significant advancements in sectors such as aerospace, renewable energy, and healthcare technology. Existing computational methods for solving fluid-structure interaction problems face limitations in scalability, energy efficiency, and integration of multi-physics components, restricting their applicability in complex real-world scenarios.

This CAREER project aims to overcome these barriers by developing a scalable, open-source platform based on cutting-edge computational methods. The research focuses on enhancing the accuracy and computational performance of particle methods, enabling experimentally validated models for complex fluid-structure interaction scenarios. By providing this platform as an open resource, the project supports broader scientific progress and empowers engineers to design safer, more efficient systems in critical infrastructure.

Integrated education and outreach plans bring new courses and projects on computational science, drawing students from diverse backgrounds into STEM fields and equipping them with the necessary skills to address complex societal issues. This project aligns with the mission of the National Science Foundation to advance science, support economic growth, and build a more inclusive STEM workforce.

The technical objective of this CAREER project is to develop a scalable, hardware-accelerated, open-source platform that leverages Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics to model complex fluid-structure interaction problems. The project builds upon an existing code infrastructure by implementing and validating new physical models. This is followed by a parallelization phase that adapts the software architecture to support simulations on graphics processing units, both within a single node and across multiple nodes.

The project includes a comprehensive experimental campaign investigating the complex three-dimensional problem of liquid sloshing in partially filled reservoirs. The experiments serve a dual purpose of generating benchmark data for software validation and offering critical insights into the dynamics of fluid behavior in aerospace and space systems. This project pushes the boundaries of fluid-structure interaction modeling by extending the use of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics to real-world, high-stakes scenarios.

It identifies and addresses current limitations of meshless methods when applied to large-scale problems, offering tools that drive progress in areas such as renewable energy, environmental safety, and healthcare innovation.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.