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

铁磁流体（对磁场有响应并具有许多成熟工业应用的工程流体）合成的进展增加了这些流体在新领域的潜在应用范围。铁磁流体的新兴应用包括：药物的磁性靶向，生物医学系统中的细胞分选和磁性驱动的污染物去除。在这些应用中的每一个中，铁磁流体的使用使得依赖于使用磁场来对铁磁流体进行“远程控制”的新技术成为可能。然而，这些技术的实现受到这些系统的复杂性仿真的阻碍，以便进一步开发和设计。拟议的研究计划包括开发有效，强大的计算工具，使这种模拟。特别是，计算代码将包括铁磁流体的特定磁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。这些有效的仿真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一个概念验证，包括复杂的科学和工程应用的现实多物理场流体模拟。拟议的研究计划将涉及前沿研究的本科生和硕士生，包括在STEM学科中代表性不足的群体的学生，如女性和第一代大学生。在磁性药物靶向中，其组成纳米颗粒已被功能化以携带治疗药物的铁磁流体被定向到肿瘤或其他局部部位（例如，在眼睛里）;通过将生物细胞浸入铁磁流体中进行分选，从而使施加的磁场力取决于细胞大小;通过将污染物吸附到磁性纳米颗粒上来净化污染的流体，然后通过磁力将磁性纳米颗粒与流体分离。然而，在这些应用中的进展受到阻碍的复杂性，多尺度和多物理性质的流体动力学系统中，他们发生。特别是，由于当代流体动力学代码的设计，以纳入磁流体系统的附加物理，有效的模拟与这些代码是困难的。该提案描述了一个计划，以开发和测试一个新的并行，多阶段的代码完全三维流。这个项目将导致一个灵活和高效的，多相磁流体模拟代码，是完全三维和并行的高性能计算。因此，该代码将使现实的模拟相关的重要应用程序解决。具体而言，为了解决上述应用，代码将建模和模拟流动与铁磁流体和其他流体之间的动态界面。此外，该代码将以灵活的方式实现粘度效应（磁粘度）以及由施加的磁场（磁泳）产生的驱动力的模型，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.