Computational rheology with OpenFOAM® computational library

Abstract

The current capabilities of numerical codes, which able to model very complex processes, and the existing powerful computational resources, clearly promote the employment of numerical modeling tools to assist design-related tasks. The Computational Rheology Group, from the Institute for Polymers and Composites (IPC) of the University of Minho (UMinho), has been developing and exploiting modeling codes for more than one decade, with a special focus on polymer processing applications. During the last 6 years, most of the numerical developments of the Computational Rheology Group were based on the OpenFOAM® computational library. This talk aims at providing an overview of the computational rheology-related work done at IPC/UMinho, in close cooperation with industry, and at illustrating the advantages of using the computational library OpenFOAM ® for the development of new codes. The presentation will cover both the work done by the group to support the design of polymer processing tools and the development of new solvers in the OpenFOAM® computational library.