Abstract:

Multiphysics and

multiscale problems exist in many aspects of nature and our daily lives.

Multiphysics involve multiple physical behaviors to be coupled for an

inter-related response. Multiscale problems are to couple physical models at

different length or time scales in order to achieve more precise and accurate

description of physical behaviors. To obtain stable, effective, and accurate

coupled solutions is not trivial. Traditional methods that are available in

commercial software often generate numerical instabilities. To simulate and

analyze engineering applications involving multiphysics and multiscales require

robust simulation strategy and computational tool. In this talk, I will present

the non-boundary-fitted mesh technique used initially in the Immersed Finite

Element Method (IFEM) for fluid-structure interactions. It provides a robust

numerical framework that easily couples the physics of any co-existing phases

and scales with overlapping meshing or grids. Limitations that have been

commonly observed in the immersed boundary method such as low density ratios,

small material deformation, low Reynolds number flow, and accurate material

descriptions are eliminated. Several applications involving

acoustics-fluid-structure interaction to model vocal fold vibration, gas-liquid-solid

(3-phase) interactions to model water column impact on structures, and

multiscale models of nanoparticle transport in a tumor microenvironment are

demonstrated. Potential and future applications will also be discussed.

Biography:

Prof. Lucy Zhang is currently an Associate Professor at the

Department of Mechanical, Aerospace & Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer

Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the US. She received her B.S. from Binghamton

University in December of 1997, obtained her M.S. and Ph.D. from Northwestern

University, IL in 2000 and 2003, respectively. Upon graduation, she joined

Mechanical Engineering Department at Tulane as an assistant professor in July

of 2003. In August 2006, she moved to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was

promoted to Associate Professor in 2011.

Her research interests are building advanced and robust

computational tools and software for accurate and efficient multiphysics and

multiscale simulations that can be used for engineering applications in

biomechanics, micro and nano-mechanics, medicine, and defense projects

involving impacts. She has published

more than 40 highly cited peer-reviewed journals and more than 20 peer-reviewed

conference papers. In 2016 she received Young Investigator Award at the

International Conference for Computational Methods. Her pioneer work in

developing the Immersed Finite Element Method (IFEM) had been and is still

being widely used in academic engineering and scientific communities. Prof.

Zhang is now developing open-source tools and technology that can conveniently

and efficiently couple any existing solvers for multiphysics and multiscale

simulations and analysis.