Collaborative Research: RUI: Three-Dimensional Multiphysics Simulation of Multi-phase Flows with Magnetic Fluids

铁流体(对磁场作出响应并具有许多公认的工业应用的工程流体)的合成进展扩大了这些流体在新领域的潜在应用范围。磁流体的新兴应用包括：药物的磁靶向、生物医学系统中的细胞分选和磁驱动的污染物去除。在这些应用中的每一个中，磁流体的使用实现了新的技术，这些新技术依赖于使用磁场来对磁流体进行‘远程控制’。然而，这些系统的复杂仿真阻碍了这些技术的实现，以便进行进一步的开发和设计。拟议的研究计划包括开发有效的、健壮的计算工具，使这种模拟成为可能。特别是，计算代码将包括磁流体的特殊磁性物理以及由磁场产生的力，这些力在这些应用中用作控制手段。这些有效的模拟工具的开发将支持和加速这些新兴技术的创新。此外，拟议的代码开发、模拟和综合物理实验计划将作为概念验证，为复杂的科学和工程应用纳入现实的多物理流体模拟。拟议的研究计划将让本科生和硕士研究生参与前沿研究，包括在STEM学科中代表性不足的学生，如女性和第一代大学生。在磁性药物靶向中，其组成的纳米颗粒已被功能化以携带治疗药物的磁流体被定向到肿瘤或其他局部位置(例如，在眼睛中)；通过浸泡在磁性流体中对(非磁性)生物细胞进行分选，从而使所施加的磁场的力量取决于细胞的大小；通过将污染物吸附到磁性纳米颗粒，然后通过磁力将其与流体分离来净化受污染的流体。然而，这些应用的进展受到它们所在的流体动力系统的复杂、多尺度和多物理性质的阻碍。特别是，由于现代流体动力学程序没有设计成包含磁-流体系统的额外物理，因此用这些程序进行有效的模拟是困难的。该提案描述了一项为全三维流动开发和测试一种新的并行、多阶段代码的计划。该项目将产生一个灵活而高效的多相磁流体模拟代码，该代码完全是三维的，并且是并行的，用于高性能计算。因此，该代码将实现与所处理的重要应用相关的真实模拟。具体地说，为了解决上述应用，代码将利用磁流体和其他流体之间的动态界面对流动进行建模和模拟。此外，该代码将以一种灵活的方式实现粘性效应(磁粘性)模型以及由外加磁场(磁电性)产生的驱动力，从而简化模型的调整和更新。

Advances in the synthesis of Ferrofluids (engineered fluids that respond to magnetic fields and have a number of well-established industrial applications) have increased the scope of potential applications of these fluids to new areas. Emerging applications of ferrofluids include: magnetic targeting of drugs, cell sorting in biomedical systems and magnetically driven contaminant removal. In each of these applications the use of ferrofluids enables new techniques that depend on the use of magnetic fields for 'remote control' of the ferrofluid. However, the realization of such technologies is hampered by complexities simulation of these systems for further development and design. The proposed research program includes the development of effective, robust computational tools that will enable such simulations. In particular, the computing codes will include the particular magnetic physics of ferrofluids as well as the forces resulting from the magnetic fields, which serve as the means of control in these applications. The development of these effective simulation tools will support and accelerate innovation in these emerging these technologies. Moreover, the proposed program of code development, simulations and integrated physical experiments will serve as a proof-of-concept for the inclusion of realistic multiphysics fluid simulations for complex scientific and engineering applications. The proposed research program will involve undergraduate and masters-degree students in leading-edge research, including students who are members of groups under-represented in STEM disciplines such as women and first-generation college students.In magnetic drug targeting, a ferrofluid whose constituent nanoparticles have been functionalized to carry theraputic drugs is directed to a tumor or other localized site (e.g., in the eye); sorting of(nonmagnetic) biological cells by immersion in a ferrofluid so that the force of an applied magnetic field depends on cell size; purification of a polluted fluid by adsorbption of contaminants to magnetic nanoparticles, which are then separated from the fluid by magnetic forces. However, advances in these applications are stymied by the complex, multi-scale and multi-physics nature of the fluid-dynamical systems in which they occur. In particular, because contemporary fluid-dynamics codes are not designed to incorporate the additional physics of magnetic-fluid systems, effective simulation with these codes is difficult. The proposal describes a plan to develop and test a new parallel, multi-phase code for fully three-dimensional flows. This project will lead to a flexible and efficient, multi-phase magnetic-fluid simulation code that is fully three-dimensional and parallelized for high-performance computing. Hence, the code will enable realistic simulations relevant to the significant applications addressed. Specifically, in order to address the above-noted applications, the code will model and simulate flows with dynamic interfaces between the ferrofluid and other fluids. Moreover, the code will implement models of viscosity effects (magnetoviscosity) as well as driving forces that result from applied magnetic fields (magnetophoresis) in a flexible manner that simplifies adjustment and updating of the models.