The PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow Seminar: Guodong Gai

Abstract: We investigate the interaction between a Platonic solid and an unbounded inertial flow. For a fixed Platonic particle in the flow, we consider three different angular positions: face facing the flow, edge facing the flow, and corner facing the flow, to elucidate the effects of the particle angularity on the flow regime transitions. The impact of these angular positions, notably on drag and lift coefficients, is discussed. The particle cross-section area has a prominent influence on the drag coefficients for low Reynolds numbers, but for higher Reynolds numbers, the impacts of angular positions are more significant. As for the freely moving particle, the change in symmetry of the wake region and path instabilities are strongly related to the particle's angular position and the transverse forces. We analyze and determine the two well-known regimes transitions: the loss of symmetry of the wake and the loss of stationarity of the flow.

Speaker biography: Guodong obtained his PhD from the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA) in cooperation with Université de Rouen Normandie in Rouen, France. His doctoral research focused on a range of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) problems related to nuclear accident scenarios, such as hydrogen combustion, shock waves, and droplet-induced turbulence. His work spanned from industrial applications to fundamental studies in CFD. In February 2021, he joined the University of British Columbia (UBC) as a postdoctoral researcher, where he is currently investigating the interactions between laminar flow and Platonic solids. He is a highly motivated researcher.

Medium: Read more about Guodong and their research here.

This event is part of the Emergent Research: The PIMS Postdoctoral Fellow Colloquium Series.