Summer 2025
Particle-Based Simulation Methods
Lecturer: Dr. Georgii Oblapenko, Dr. Baochao Shan
A new class for graduate students (e.g., master program in CES, SiSc, Math, Physics, etc) on particle-based methods for simulation of physical systems. The course is recommended for master students.
See also the RWTHonline entry of the class
Goals
The class presents approaches to simulation of fluid, gas, and plasma dynamics based on modelling of particle and particle-like systems. These methods are somewhat more intuitive than more classical continuum methods, are able to capture solution discontinuities, and are oftentimes more suited to simulation of physical systems with strong non-equilibrium effects.
We will consider among others smoothed particle hydrodynamics, the lattice Boltzmann method, the discrete velocity method and versions thereof, and the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo and Particle-in-Cell approaches.
The goal is to provide knowledge on how to derive and apply particle-based approaches to simulation of physical systems. To this end, tutorials will focus on certain implementation aspects, as well as the use of existing open-source software tools. Open research questions and examples of application of the methods in industry and science will also be extensively discussed.
Info
The formal structure of the class will be 2 hour of lectures and 1 hour of tutorial each week. The tutorials will be merged into 2 hours every alternating week. There are 5 ECTS points to earn with an oral exam of 30min. Currently the class is linked to the RWTH module "Spezielle Themen der Numerischen Analysis I" ("Special Topics of Numerical Analysis I").
See also online.rwth-aachen.de. Please register with the course to gain access to the Moodle-Page.
Content
- Basics of kinetic theory
- Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics
- Lattice Boltzmann
- Discrete Velocity
- Discrete Unified Gas-Kinetics Scheme
- Direct Simulation Monte Carlo
- Particle-in-Cell
Some Background Literature
The course is a combination of several topics and there is no single book which it can be based on. Moreover, some of the material is quite recent and might be not well represented in books; however, the books listed should provide a good overview of the fundamentals used throughout the whole course.
- The Molecular Theory of Gases and Liquids, J. O. Hirschfelder, C. F. Curtiss, R. B. Bird, John Wiley & Sons, 1964
- Mathematical theory of transport processes in gases, J. H. Ferziger and H. G. Kaper, Amsterdam u.a. North-Holland Publ. Co., 1973
- Molecular gas dynamics, G. A. Bird, Oxford Clarendon Press, 1994
- Nonequilibrium gas dynamics and molecular simulation, I.D. Boyd, T.E. Schwartzentruber, Cambridge University Press, 2017