This is a short course on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) numerical schemes that will cover basic and advanced theoretical concepts, as well as latest innovations. This course is primarily aimed at beginner or intermediate level with a Master and/or a PhD degree in mathematics, engineering, computer science, physics, environmental disciplines, astrophysics and biomedicine, amongst others. The contents will also be of interest to post-doctoral researchers in academia and industry, as well as to academics and SPH practitioners.
The course will combine lectures on the fundamental theoretical formalism, numerical methods and practical implementation techniques. It will also include a PC-based laboratory using the open-source code DualSPHysics on the final day. DualSPHysics an international collaboration between five institutions: The University of Manchester (UK), The University of Vigo (Spain), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), University of Lisbon (Portugal), the University of Parma (Italy), and New Jersey Institute of Technology (United States): http://www.dual.sphysics.org
The SPH method
Developed originally for astrophysics, Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) has seen a rapid development in the last decade with application to engineering problems for both fluids and solids. The meshless and Lagrangian nature of SPH makes it ideal for applications where there are very large deformations with arbitrarily complex moving boundaries and fragmentation. The method has received considerable interest from the industry for solving a range of complex problems where conventional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods and Computational Mechanics have great difficulties.
Venue
The course will be taught in hybrid format (both in presence and online) although in-presence is preferred. A link will be provided to people registered to attend the online classes. The in-presence classes will take place at Centro Congressi S. Elisabetta, (Parco Area delle Scienze 95, University of Parma, Italy).
How to get here:
BY CAR (A1 Motorway):
Exit at the PARMA toll booth and keep to the right, following the signs for “Tangenziale – SS 9 Via Emilia”. After about 2 km, take the right exit for the western bypass (Tangenziale Ovest), following signs for Piacenza-Langhirano or Milano. After about 4 km, take the right exit toward exits 10-19 and continue on the southern bypass (Tangenziale Sud) for about 7 km, following the signs for Langhirano and the University (“U”). Leave the bypass at exit 15; at the next roundabout, take the right-hand road marked for Campus, pass through the gates, and turn right.
BY BUS:
The bus lines that stop near the Santa Elisabetta Conference Center are 7 and 21 (http://www.tep.pr.it/). The closest bus stops to the Santa Elisabetta Conference Center are:
Università Ingegneria (248 meters away, 4-minute walk), Università Cus (306 meters away, 5-minute walk), Università Fisica (562 meters away, 8-minute walk)
Contact person
George Fourtakas, georgios.fourtakas@manchester.ac.uk
Dates
18/11/2024 – 28/11/2024, the course will be hybrid format.
Week 1
| Date | Day | Time | Subject | Hours |
| 18-Nov-24 | Monday | 10-13:00 | Introduction to meshless methods, smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) mathematical fundamentals | 3 |
| 19-Nov-24 | Tuesday | 10-13:00 | Discretisation, accuracy and consistency of the SPH interpolation | 3 |
| 20-Nov-24 | Wednesday | 10-13:00 | SPH discretisation of the governing equations for fluids (and beyond..) | 3 |
| 21-Nov-24 | Thursday | 10-13:00 | Compressible, weakly compressible and incompressible SPH | 3 |
| 22-Nov-24 | Friday | 10-13:00 | Initial and boundary conditions, time stepping and end of week Q&A session | 3 |
Week 2
| Day | Time | Subject | Hours | |
| 25-Nov-24 | Monday | 10-12:00 | Multiphase flows | 2 |
| 26-Nov-24 | Tuesday | 10-13:00 | Alternative formulations | 3 |
| 27-Nov-24 | Wednesday | 10-12:00 | SPH on graphics processing units and heterogeneous architectures | 2 |
| 28-Nov-24 | Thursday | 10-14:00 | Lab session – PC based lab with the open-source solver DualSPHysics | 4 |
Final exam
An exam sheet will be delivered on the final day of the course (28/11/2024) and it must be returned by email to: georgios.fourtakas@manchester.ac.uk by the 29/11/2022 at 12:00 CEST. Certificate of attendance (with the indication of 4 ECTS credits) will be prepared upon request, only for attendees which will pass the final exam.
You can register here: https://forms.gle/XSA64un7L9DPMKkq9
The Registration is free of charge.
Course Lecturer:
Dr Georgios Fourtakas
Dr Georgios Fourtakas is a Lecturer in complex flow modelling and simulation at the School of Engineering of the University of Manchester. He specializes in Lagrangian, Eulerian and high-order particle discretisation schemes such as SPH with complex flows including multiphase and non-Newtonian flows, and sediment scouring and resuspension. Primary research interests in SPH include convergence, consistency and stability, boundary conditions and coupling to other schemes.
He has 15 years of experience in SPH with expertise in high performance computing and heterogeneous architectures within the particle methods framework. He is a core developer of the open-source code DualSPHysics and maintainer for the non-Newtonian and multiphase variant of the solver. He serves as a SPHERIC committee co-opted member and scientific committee member.