Research |
Program for Computational Reactive Mechanics (PCRM)
With an accelerating rate of energy consumption and the need for sustainable development in the coming decades, clean and efficient energy systems is a must. Scientists and engineers have to provide economically viable technologies for clean combustion systems. The political and ecological ramifications of stringent emission and pollutant requirements are imminent unless we provide the necessary supporting technology. By exporting improved combustion technologies and power generation systems to both developing and developed nations, we will accrue further economic and environmental benefits. Rationale Environmental concerns and the need for efficient combustion systems for different applications are two of the driving factors for this OSC initiative. This research requires an integrated approach based on fundamental theory, experiments, and high performance computer simulations. The Earth's atmosphere is a complex mixture of more than a thousand trace chemicals that are constantly reacting and redistributing. Understanding the sources and distribution of these chemicals, along with the mechanisms by which they are transformed and transported, requires high performance computing and an understanding of the reactive mechanics. Increased concern about air pollution, global warming, and its consequences on global climate perturbations and human health has increased the importance of such studies. Aims and Vision OSC's Program for Computational Reactive Mechanics (PCRM) aims to find solutions to complex problems of reactive flow by using fundamental theories, advanced computing technologies, experiments, and field data. PCRM brings together scientists and engineers from many disciplines such as chemistry, physics, mathematics, computational fluid dynamics, heat transfer, computational science, etc. A virtual collaborative laboratory is created linking the scientists via an electronic network. These scientists work together, share results and data, and exchange ideas from their own respective perspectives. The program aims to provide technologies for clean combustion systems using theory, experiments, and high performance computer simulations. PCRM establishes an electronically linked research and development base for related computer software programs, provides education and training, and is a catalyst for multitudes of industrial applications. The program's goal is to create a state-of-the-art environment for research involving reactive flow. There is only one Earth: it has only one atmosphere. Understanding our global environment and our role in it is the first step toward living in harmony with it. PCRM aims to fulfill this goal by making the global change program a main priority. |
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OSC's Program for Computational Reactive Mechanics (PCRM) helps scientists understand the complex nonlinear interactions of multiple gases and phases in a dynamical system using high performance computing techniques. The Earth's climate and atmosphere, an automobile's internal combustion engine, a boiler burning a fossil fuel, or aluminum extraction processes -- all of these involve the interaction of physical, chemical, and occasionally biological phenomena with multiple spatial and temporal scale variations. Computer modeling and numerical simulations are indispensable tools for diagnostic and prognostic analysis of these interacting phenomena.