Browsing by Author "Sotiropoulos, Fotis"

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    Keeping Ahead of the Future: A Blueprint of the Institute for the Advancement of Science and Engineering (IASE)
    (University of MInnesota: Provost's Advisory Committee for the Advancement of Science and Engineering, 2007-06-12) Neuhauser, Claudia; Berman, Judith; Dahlberg, Daniel; Ebner, Timothy J.; Ekker, Stephen C.; Goodge, John; Gunnar, Megan; Kumar, Vipin; Longmire, Ellen; Mantell, Susan; McGue, Matthew; Paller, Mark S.; Phillips, Ronald; Siegel, Ronald; Sotiropoulos, Fotis; Young, Nevin; Himes, Katherine
    The Institute for the Advancement of Science and Engineering will be a system-wide, premier research institute dedicated to contributing knowledge and providing solutions to great challenges that require multidisciplinary approaches across the sciences and engineering. It will establish the University of Minnesota as a leader in interdisciplinary research at the intersection of biological, chemical, physical, engineering, and computational sciences. The hallmarks of this institute are excellence, faculty engagement, and focused investments to maximize the impact of the Institute.
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    Scaled Hydrokinetic Turbine Array installed in a laboratory channel and flood-like sediment transport conditions: topography, flow velocity and array model performance
    (2019-06-26) Musa, Mirko; Hill, Craig; Sotiropoulos, Fotis; Guala, Michele; mguala@umn.edu; Guala, Michele; Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory, CEGE, University of Minnesota
    The data represent sediment flux, spatio-temporally resolved topographic scans, flow velocity and voltage from the hydrokinetic turbine array experiments presented in the referenced scientific article published on Nature Energy (see reference). Hydrokinetic Energy represents a viable source of renewable energy that harness the kinetic energy of natural currents. Our experiments show that this technology can be deployed efficiently in large sandy rivers (e.g. Mississippi River), without compromising the geomorphic equilibrium of the stream and the structural safety of the turbine foundation, even in the presence of large migrating dunes.
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    Three-Dimensional Simulation of Bridge Foundation Scour on Mississippi River Bridges 9321 & 27801
    (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2016-02) Sotiropoulos, Fotis; Khosronejad, Ali
    We present data-driven numerical simulations of 100- and 500-year floods events in the Mississippi River at its intersection with the Highway I-694 by coupling coherent-structure resolving hydrodynamics with bed morphodynamics under live-bed conditions. The study area is about 1.7 miles long and 220 yard wide reach of the Upper Mississippi River, near Minneapolis MN, which contains several natural islands and man-made hydraulic structures. We employ the large-eddy simulation (LES) and bed-morphodynamic modules of the Virtual Flow Simulator (VFS-Rivers) model, a recently developed in-house code, to investigate the flow and bed evolution of the river along the reach and near the bridge piers BR 27801 and BR 932. We integrate data from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), sub-aqueous sonar apparatus on-board a boat and total station survey to construct a digital elevation model of the river bathymetry and surrounding flood plain, including islands and bridge piers. A field campaign under base-flow condition is also carried out to collect mean flow measurements via Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) to validate the hydrodynamic module of the VFS-Rivers model. Our simulation results for the bed evolution of the river under the 100- and 500-year flood reveal complex sediment transport dynamics near the bridge piers consisting of both scour and refilling events due to the continuous passage of sand dunes. A brief description of the findings in terms of maximum scour depth around individual bridge piers can be found in the executive summary of the report.
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    Using Virtual Reality Environments for Medical Devices Design
    (2009-10-07) Konchada, Vamsi; Coffey, Dane; Borazjani, Iman; Sotiropoulos, Fotis; Erdman, Arthur; Interrante, Victoria; Keefe, Daniel F.
    There is an urgent need for improved design methodologies and tools that give designers meaningful and accurate feedback early in the design process; virtual reality can be used to fill this need.  Virtual reality provides a highly engaging environment that allows user to experience and comprehend abstract concepts.  It can allow designers to broadly explore the space of potential design alternatives, and to expand the boundaries of complex designs that are possible given today's computer assisted tools.  Medical device researchers seek to better understand the complexities of cardiac anatomy, visualize how surrounding structures affect device function and deployment, and ultimately design more effective devices. Virtual representation combines visual graphics, virtual reality applications, finite element analysis based on the architecture of a 3D model. Introducing virtual reality based tools into the process of medical device design can significantly improve the process. We present our initial work aimed at developing new immersive visualization and interactive design tools for improving the medical device design process. Our initial work focuses on developing 3-dimensional visualizations of simulated blood flow through mechanical heart valves. Our goal is to develop 3D user interfaces for refining medical device designs within the context of patient-specific anatomy and simulated flow data.