My research focuses on using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to study multiphase
flow problems and to develop numerical methods to improve simulations of these flows. Multiphase
flows occur when a liquid and gas interact and are typically complex, dynamic, and
challenging to simulate. But, the importance of multiphase flows to a variety of applications
makes studying their properties crucial to improving many devices. For example, the
shift of liquid fuels being produced from fossil fuels to more sustainable bio-fuels
requires understanding how the difference in fuel properties affects the fuel atomization
process, which has a direct effect on pollutant formation. Numerical simulations
provide insight into the phenomena that effect the atomization process and the effect
fuel properties have on the resulting spray. By using high fidelity computational
fluid dynamics, run on thousands of compute cores, to study such problems we are able
to gather a large amount of data that can provide insight into the phenomenological
processes of the flow. The data can be used to develop models, which can be used
in the design of devices that interact with multiphase flows.
Mark Owkes Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Office: Roberts 201
Montana State University
P.O. Box 173800
Bozeman, MT 59717-3800
Phone: (406)-994-6300
Fax: (406)-994-6292
[email protected]