SBIR-STTR Award

This project will develop methods, and their implementation into software components, to support the reliable simulation of multiphase ballistic flows of importance to the design of firearms. Building on the advanced meshing technologies and finite element based multiphase flow technologies the project team has developed to date, this project will address the additional capabilities needed which include: Tracking evolving multiphase flow geometries in parallel. Parallel generation and adaptation of near optimal anisotropic meshes on evolving geometries. Modeling the physics of multiphase ballistic flows using an effective combination of mathematical models and discretization methods. Demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods developed to address multiphase ballistics flows of interest to the Army.

Ballistic systems operate in flow regimes characterized by high speeds, temperatures and pressures, with reacting multiphase, multi-species fluids and fluid-structure interactions. Substantial progress has been made on methods to simulate the component physics. However, there are technical gaps remaining related to tracking the interacting physical components throughout a simulation. This project will develop a full set of geometry and meshing technologies that support the modeling and discretization techniques needed to explicitly track evolving/interacting components for the full range of physics and interactions that occur in ballistic systems. These procedures will be fully integrated with multiphysics analysis capabilities. Full simulation workflows will be demonstrated on scenarios relevant to the operation of firearms. To meet the computational requirements of these complex simulations, the entire simulation workflow will execute on large-scale parallel computers. The simulation of flows with multiple phases is at the core of applications in many fields of science and engineering, including the chemical industry, coastal and hydraulic engineering, naval applications, materials processing, combustion systems design, and phase-change heat transfer. Many of the simulation technologies to be developed in this project will be applicable to these important applications.