Past Event: Oden Institute Seminar

From Insect Flight to Heart Murmurs: Multiphysics Modeling and Analysis of Complex Biological Flows

Rajat Mittal, Department of Mechanical Engineering Johns Hopkins University

Abstract

Complex three-dimensional moving boundaries and fluid-structure interaction are hallmarks of biological configurations. Computational modeling of such flows however poses severe challenges for conventional modeling approaches and the last decade has seen a tremendous rise in the popularity of immersed-boundary methods (IBM) for modeling such flows. The key feature of the immersed boundary method is that simulations with complex moving boundaries can be carried out on stationary, body non-conformal Cartesian grids. This approach eliminates the need for complicated re-meshing algorithms that are usually employed with conventional body-conformal methods. I will describe the salient features of a versatile sharp-interface immersed-boundary method which is especially well suited for biological flows. The IB method developed here is accurate, efficient, scalable and fast, and can handle extremely complex, moving geometries with relative ease. The solver is coupled to a powerful finite-element based solid dynamics solvers as well as a low-Mach number acoustics solver, enabling multi-physics simulations of complex biological flows. This simulation tool is being used for a number of studies including insect flight, fluid-structure interaction in the human larynx and hemodynamics of the left ventricle, and results from these studies will be presented.