RCAC Partner Forum - Women in HPC Special guest Dr. Li Qiao presents Molecular simulations for propulsion applications
Please join us as we welcome our speaker for Women in High-Performance Computing group.
Special guest Prof. Li Qiao will speak about her research in her group Propulsion and Energy Lab in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the College of Engineering at Purdue University. Please support us and register for the event at EventBrite.
Abstract
Practical propulsion systems such as rockets and gas turbines all operate at higher pressures. For example, the most powerful liquid rocket, the RD-170 families developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s, has a thrust chamber pressure of 245 bar. At such high pressures, the injected liquid fuel is often at transcritical and supercritical states, for which the injection, evaporation and mixing processes are fundamentally different from those at low pressures. Our fundamental understanding of high-pressure reacting flows is far from complete, especially at transcritical and supercritical conditions. Modeling these processes has serious challenges due to the lack of a physical interface and departure from ideal gas behavior. In this talk, Prof. Qiao will discuss the use of molecular dynamics simulations to examine thermodynamics, transport properties, and fluid models of supercritical fuel systems. She will also discuss the challenges that women scientists face and share her perspectives on how to tackle these challenges.
Bio
Dr. Li Qiao is a Professor in the School of Aeronautics & Astronautics at Purdue University. She earned BS and MS degrees in Engineering Mechanics from Tsinghua University in 1999 and 2001, and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2007. Her research focuses on the development of new technologies and the understanding of basic science in the areas of fuels, combustion, propulsion, and sustainable energy. She is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (2013), the AFOSR Young Investigator Award (2013), and the ARO Young Investigator Award (2010). She was a summer faculty fellow at NASA Glenn Research Center (2011) and Air Force Research Lab (2010). She is an AIAA Associate Fellow and a member of the AIAA Terrestrial Energy Systems Technical Committee. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Combustion Institute, an international scientific society that promotes and disseminates research activities in all areas of combustion science and technology. She and her students received several prizes in the annual Art Competition of the Combustion Institute.