StarDust

Dr. Piyush Mehta, in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Strathclyde is using ARCHIE-WeSt to develop and validate a Free Open Source Tool for Re-entry of Asteroids and Space Debris. The research is part of the Marie-Curie FP7 ITN ‘Stardust’: Pushing the boundaries of Space Research to save our future. http://stardust2013.eu. The atmospheric re-entry of any object involves complex processes that can have significant effect on the survivability and ground-impact location. Accurate modeling of such processes requires model development and validation using intensive high-fidelity simulations. Two processes that are currently being investigated are aerodynamics and aerothermodynamics. Modeling and capturing surface distribution profiles of heat flux even for simple geometries like a cube can be quiet challenging as shown in the figure. The Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method is used to simulate the re-entry conditions and require intensive computational resources.

For more information about the project contact Prof Massimiliano Vasile, at the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Strathclyde.

For a list of the research areas in which ARCHIE-WeSt users are active please click here.