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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
The numerical simulation of plasma flows including non-neutral regions is a considerable challenge due to the large variation in physical time scales involved: while electrons travel at velocities as high as millions of meters per second within the plasma sheaths and discharges, neutrals and ions travel at velocities 4-6 orders of magnitude lower. This large discrepancy between the time scales leads to what is commonly referred to as a "stiff" system of equations which require an excessive number of iterations to reach convergence in relation to the smoothness of the solution. We discuss recent advances in numerical methods that get rid of the stiffness within plasma systems of equations and enable the addition of detailed plasma sheath and discharge models to a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) flow solver while not decreasing its computational efficiency.
Bio:Dr. Parent obtained his bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering at McGill University in 1996, and his PhD at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies in 2002. During his PhD, he developed a CFD code to simulate chemically-reacting turbulent flows in scramjets. From 2003 to 2019 he worked in various locations including Princeton University, the Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Pusan National University where his research focused on extending his CFD code to simulate in detail plasma flows. Since August 2019, he is an Associate Professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona where his research focuses on the simulation of plasmas in plasma-assisted combustion, planetary entry flows, and hypersonic re-entry flows.
Host: Angel Garcia