Shanti Engineering and Research
CFD and airflow prediction for airborne viruses
CFD and airflow prediction for airborne viruses
Computational Fluid Dynamics has a long history. This history relied on validation models. We never will know if predictions of any analytical model are correct. However, engineering analysis has always relied on validation of the models for known cases. For example, we know that flow over a cylinder has 0 lift and the numerical product should reflect that. From there, we can advance to wind tunnel data and then to flight test data to validate a numerical model.
As computational methodologies advance, we must be careful to not introduce errors from the computation and also that the computational analysis has built up its reputation on validation with example for cases where the answer is known. We can then progress into the unknown with a level of confidence in the prediction.
Currently, I am writing a book on the history of transonic flows and it's approximate 40 years of evolution. We must constantly keep in mind that faith in CFD solutions only comes about after years of painstaking and accurate comparison with real life accurate test data. This dance between analysis and test data has been in existence since we started modelling problems for their engineering solutions. This process cannot stop now that we are dealing with airborne viruses. We know what we know because we have developed faith in the answers from the analysis through years of comparison with real life test data. Airborne viruses, and their associated low speed flows are difficult to model and their is a stochastic nature to their CFD solution. However, there must still be validation before we just churn out a colourful particle tracker. More on this to come. Please come back to read more on the current state of CFD modelling and airborne viruses.
EdX Online Course on COVID-19 and airborne transmission
EdX Online Course on COVID-19 and airborne transmission
This course was taught by MIT Professor Martin Bazant. Here is the course link. The course is totally amazing when you go from 0 knowledge of airborne, ok maybe a little fluids, to calculating, using an online pre-cooked spreadsheet, how many people can be in a room without infecting others. I thought it was great timing to put that together. I highly recommend it.
Edifice Podcast is the place to listen!
Edifice Podcast is the place to listen!
It was a great event to be talking to Robert Bean, Adam Muggleton, Professor Shelley Miller, Professor William Bahnfleth and Professor Ron Clift. Give this podcast a listen on YouTube here.
A little chat with my mentor Robert Bean along with Adam Muggleton on the Edifice Podcast!
A little chat with my mentor Robert Bean along with Adam Muggleton on the Edifice Podcast!
This was a great conversation with two greats in the building science field. Yes, that's a new topic for me but having taken Robert's course at Heatspring, I got a fast education into Building Science and how aerodynamics, or the flow of air affects buildings!
Catch the interview here.
What we know about Covid-19
A SHORT SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT INFO
- Prime information sources should be scientists
- Buyer beware on data
- Make sure you are following info from a reputable scientist who does their due diligence, has a strong background and years of experience in scientific thinking
- Critical thinking is key
STEM NEWS for women
STEM NEWS for women
Home air quality concerns? page 30 by Robert Bean,
eminent Healthy Heating Consultant(http://www.healthyheating.com/),
Home air quality concerns? page 30 by Robert Bean,
eminent Healthy Heating Consultant(http://www.healthyheating.com/),
Online weekly seminar at Fields Institute:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/talks/Local-Drivers-Growth-and-Containment-COVID-19-Pandemic
Online weekly seminar at Fields Institute:
http://www.fields.utoronto.ca/talks/Local-Drivers-Growth-and-Containment-COVID-19-Pandemic
Engineering Analysis of COVID-19 and HVAC
Engineering Analysis of COVID-19 and HVAC
COVID-19 AND MODELLING
COVID-19 AND MODELLING
Data Science
Data Science
We have been updating our education with Edx https://courses.edx.org/certificates/9b307c59e1094d9e983e1e7131c4da34
and this series of courses are amazing for resources that provide up to date information on data science technology
Blog
Blog
What Shanti Engineering has been up to.
Wearable Technologies and Internet of Things
| Posted on July 2, 2018 at 6:40 PM |
I just successfully finished this amazing course from Harvard Extension School:https://www.summer.harvard.edu/courses/wearable-technologies-internet-things/33578" target="_blank">Wearable Technologies and the Internet of Things taught by https://www.extension.harvard.edu/faculty-directory/aline-yurik" target="_blank">Dr. Aline Yurik. The course had an excellent TA and was a lot of work but very worth it.
In the age that we live in it is difficult to keep in step with the amazing speed of technological advances that compete with or make our jobs easier or harder. We also have to serve our clients properly with accurate, up to date information.
This course brings you up to speed on the current technologies and gives the student an opportunity to dabble into the formulation of a product in a team environment. The learning curve is steep but so worth the ride. We make a lot of great connections in other students for life.
I am currently collaborating with one such student now and hope to get something that everyone can sink their interest into, soon! Stay tuned!
Transonic Flows
| Posted on January 13, 2018 at 1:35 PM |
There has been a lot of historical research carried out in transonic flows.
What constitutes a transonic flow? It is a mixed flow field with subsonic and supersonic regions.
In most cases of interest in aerodynamics, there is a wing immersed in a subsonic freestream with a local supersonic pocket on its surface. This mixed flow is characterized by a shock wave where the transition of Mach number from subsonic to supersonic occurs at Mach number 1. This mixed flow creates a challenging computational environment.
In addition, if we add the element of structural dynamics, the subsequent aeroelastic flowfield makes analysis nontrivial.
Follow Up on Harvard's course on programming
| Posted on January 13, 2018 at 1:25 PM |
An introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming.
So that was an exciting and very game changing course!
You get a flavour of some programming languages and the logic of problem solving.
Videos are amazing. Psets are challenging yet doable.
Plus there is a group of students in the course and we help each other.
I would recommend everyone take this quintessential course!
CS50
| Posted on February 26, 2017 at 8:20 PM |
That's what I have to say about my ongoing saga with CS50 Harvard University's
online computer science course through edx for free. It is defined as
Introduction to Computer Science
An introduction to the intellectual enterprises of computer science and the art of programming.
It is truly an amazing journey. I am not finished the course. I am still working through the psets
and hope to finish it in a few months.
Here'a a link:https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-harvardx-cs50x" target="_blank"> https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-harvardx-cs50x
It is full of surprises and it's not your regular computer science course.
You can check out the videos for free on YouTube as well to get a taste.
The instructors are not boring and they keep you engaged.
Try it, you'll like it..
OPENFOAM
| Posted on July 20, 2016 at 6:45 PM |
I have noticed that there is an open source CFD program called
OPENFOAM and it can produce some good results.
This can be useful if you have something quick that
you want to visualize and don't want to wait for a detailed
post-processing of data.
I am going to download this program and will report back on my adventures in months to come!
Use my contact me form on this website if you have suggestions.
