Computational Mechanics for Shape Optimization and Airplane Bombing Based on OpenFOAM and LS-DYNA Software

Abstract

In this dissertation, two problems are studied by computational mechanics. The first problem is the development and application of open-source software OpenFOAM to solve a coupled system from shape optimization on a time-dependent changing domain to minimize a cost functional. Previously, researchers have treated this problem in 2D space, but here the author will extend the computation to 3D space. She will use the finite volume methods and OpenFOAM to build time-varying domains for optimization.

The second problem is about computational forensics. The author will discuss some photographic evidence, introduce mathematical modeling and do computational modeling regarding this particular Daallo Airlines bombing case, in which only a small amount of explosives was used. Mathematical and computer modeling of viscoplasticity, fracture and explosion by LS-DYNA will be used to study this problem and we computed on the supercomputer at Texas A&M University’s High Performance Research Computing Center. All of the numerical results of airplane bombing can be seen in the many video animations we made from the post-processed supercomputer results. The associated physical phenomena will also be interpreted.