19 November 2020
10.00am - 11.15am
Zoom

The global pandemic has been one of the most disruptive events in modern time. Every country, economy and society has been affected in one way or another. However, global challenges present new opportunities for new innovations, especially in an environment that has seen the most increased digitalisation efforts than at any other time in history.

The webinar will highlight how the pandemic has changed the way we live and work, and how high performance computing (HPC) enabled research, technologies and innovations could help re-shape industries, strategies and society in the new normal.

Topics:

Powering Airflow and Droplets Spread Study with Supercomputing 

by Dr. Kang Chang Wei, Deputy Director, Fluid Dynamic Department, Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), A*STAR

The virus laden droplets and aerosols could expel from an infected person’s mouth while talking, singing, coughing, or sneezing. The transmission of respiratory droplets/aerosols demonstrates the competing effects of drag, inertia, gravity, and evaporation. Each transmission process is affected by complex flow phenomena, ranging from turbulent jets, flow-induced droplets/aerosols dispersion, and sedimentation, to droplet evaporation and deposition. Modelling and simulation-based fundamental thermo-fluid physics could provide accurate insight and visualise the droplets/aerosols dynamics and spread process.

A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) framework considers critical factors including but not limited to expulsion force of fluid volume, droplet/aerosol size distribution, evaporation of water from the droplet (temperature and humidity dependent), and viral load in the droplet. The computational framework would enable quantifying droplets falling on human subjects under air flow due to natural and mechanical ventilation or air-conditioning, allowing the risk-based analysis of different configurations and scenarios. Harnessing the power of supercomputer resources, the team manages to delve deeper into the underlying physics and evaluate multiple settings. The fundamental knowledge of the underlying physics, together with some use cases, will be shared in this webinar.

Accelerating Innovation in Healthcare and Medical Devices through Engineering Simulation

by Mr. Karthik Sundarraj, Technical Manager, Indo-Pacific, Hexagon, MSC Software Corporation, Singapore

Advancements in grid generation, flow solvers, fluid-structure interaction methods, ability to provide realistic boundary conditions, data reduction and visualization methods have made the application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in medical field prepossessing. On close observations with experiments, the scientists can rely on CFD in developing and improving upon the existing devices related to cardiology, orthopedic and pulmonology by analyzing the fluid flow across the devices. The opportunity to analyze the fluid flow across the arteries, veins and nasal passages are unparalleled now with advancements in technology. However, numerous challenges arise primarily in the accurate modelling of the flow – heterogeneous Non-Newtonian nature of blood, the material properties of the arteries, veins, capillaries and the moving wall dynamics of the heart comprises some of them.  Correct representation of the boundary information is also vital in the numerical analysis since the solution parameters are highly sensitive to the boundary condition. Possibility of patient-specific approach makes CFD investigations efficacious. Accurate modelling using CFD can give information and detailed insights into the flow physics on bio-medical applications. CFD can also help determine certain parameters relevant to interest of medical practitioners which otherwise cannot be obtained.

Droplet dynamics and its interaction with the fluid can be modelled in CFD using particle tracking method. Especially in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic, investigations on the topic seem fruitful. CRADLE can model the physics related to hemodynamics, fluid-structure interaction, moving boundaries and other phenomena as observed in the biomedical industry. Published articles by researchers on biomedical applications using CRADLE prove otherwise.

10:00am – 10:05am: Introduction by NSCC

10:05am – 10:25am: Presentation on Powering Airflow and Droplets Spread Study with Supercomputing by Dr. Kang Chang Wei

10:25am – 10:45am: Presentation on Accelerating Innovation in Healthcare and Medical Devices through Engineering Simulation by Mr. Karthik Sundarraj

10:45am – 11:05am: Live Q&A and moderated panel discussion

11:05am – 11:10am: Closing by NSCC

Dr. Kang Chang Wei
Deputy Director, Fluid Dynamic Department @Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), A*STAR

Dr KANG Chang Wei is a Senior Scientist and Deputy Director of the Fluid Dynamic Department, Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) in A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research). He co-leads the department to pre-position, steer and strengthen department strategic direction, as well as mentor and groom talents. He is also the Innovation Lead for Green Technology for Marine, Offshore, Oil & Gas (MOOG) to promote cross-cutting initiatives that integrate IHPC competencies and department strengths in the field of MOOG sector. Over 15 years of working experience in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for research and industry, he led and/or involved in numerous projects in the field of green shipping (e.g. hull form optimisation, emission control, ballast water treatment), manufacturing process (e.g. thermal spray, cold spray, shot peening) and sustainability (e.g. data centre, renewables, aquaculture). Specially for this year, he is leading a team of computational scientists with fluid dynamics expertise to develop advanced computational modelling of airflow and airborne droplets dispersion. The team has developed, verified and used the model to understand how droplet in-flight characteristics and their final destination are affected by a range of factors and interdependent interactions. The scientific outcomes will be shared in the talk.

Mr. Karthik Sundarraj
Technical Manager, Indo-Pacific @Hexagon, MSC Software Corporation, Singapore

Mr. Karthik Sundarraj is an expert in Experimental and Computational Fluid Dynamics specialised in the areas of High-speed flows and aerodynamics with special interest in Electro-thermal and Bio-medical research. Karthik has the perfect combination of an experienced researcher, a successful academician and an emerging technology strategist. Karthik now works as the Technical Manager, Indo-Pacific at Hexagon | MSC. In his role, Karthik is responsible for the Technical and Business Development activities of CFD Solutions and also handles Academic, skill development and transformational business initiatives. Karthik holds a Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering from Brunel University and Bachelors in Industrial Engineering. He has recently submitted his Doctoral research thesis in high speed flow physics using experimental and computational methods.

Presentation Slides

Dr. Kang Chang Wei: Powering Airflow and Droplets Spread Study with Supercomputer

Mr. Karthik Sundarraj: Accelerating Innovation in Healthcare and Medical Devices

The recording of the webinar is available on NSCC’s YouTube page here.