The COOLFluiD (Computational Object Oriented Libraries for Fluid Dynamics) project, which started in 2002 as a joint effort between the Von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) and the Center for mathematical Plasma Astrophysics (CmPA) at the University of Leuven (KUL), has led to the development of a world-class open source platform for HPC and multi-physics modelling. Within this framework, research efforts have been devoted particularly to the modeling of space re-entry aerothermodynamics and magnetized plasmas. The former includes the development of models/algorithms for simulating chemically reacting hypersonic flows and radiation in re-entry flight conditions and experiments in plasma wind tunnels. The latter focuses on models/algorithms for characterizing space weather phenomena such as solar wind/Earth magnetosphere interactions (by means of ideal magnetohydrodynamics) and a fundamental ubiquitous process known as magnetic reconnection (by means of new generation multi-fluid/Maxwell models). This seminar will present computational modeling aspects and a gallery of numerical results for both the above mentioned applications, while also providing a concise overview of CmPA activities, COOLFluiD and the Leuven Computational Modeling Center (LCMC).
