About CPH

The several research disciplines and modeling activities within the Computational Physics and Hydrodynamics Section include combined expertise in heat transfer, thermal hydraulics, atomic and plasma physics, magneto and shock hydrodynamics, radiation transport, physics of material erosion and destruction, particle diffusion and mass transport, and computational fluid dynamics. One major activity is the study and simulation of materials behavior under intense power deposition for various national and international programs that are investigating magnetic fusion, inertial fusion, nuclear physics, high-energy physics, and space, medical, and industrial applications. In the reduced enrichment research test reactor (RERTR) program, the aim is to develop high-density, low-enriched uranium alloy fuels. A near-term goal of this modeling task is to provide an analytical interpretation of swelling in these materials as a function of irradiation condition and fuel composition. In computational fluid mechanics, the emphasis is on development and implementation of mathematical and phenomenological models of single- and two-phase fluids, applied to a variety of advanced applications.

The PRIME facility, currently being constructed in our Section, will allow state-of-the-art experiments in the area of intense particle/radiation interactions with material. These include interactions among plasma, matter (solid, liquid, and gas), and modulated energy beams: electromagnetic radiation, charged particle beams (electrons, ions, etc.), and other particle sources (clusters, molecules, etc.). Studies will focus on particle-matter interactions (PMIs) as they pertain to applications in homeland security, defense (laser attenuation and backscattering from missile plumes), advanced EUV lithography, accelerator high-power target design, inertial and magnetic fusion applications, and space applications (e.g., debris/satellite interactions, ion thruster nozzle design for space propulsion). The figure below shows a general schematic of potential research areas that can be pursued in PRIME complemented by modeling with the HEIGHTS software package (High Energy Interaction with General Heterogeneous Target Systems).