• Dr. Jonathan Pitt
  • The Pennsylvania State University
  • Holden Auditorium
  • 4:00 p.m.
  • Faculty Host: Dr. Eric Paterson

The Applied Research Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University has been actively working on projects involving Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) for nearly a decade.  This research area is a natural extension of several core competencies at ARL, namely existing expertise in high-Reynolds number CFD simulations, experimental fluid dynamics, and dynamic structural and acoustics modeling.  This presentation will cover the history of FSI efforts in the Fluids, Structural Mechanics, and Acoustics Office at ARL/PSU, including both computational and experimental advances.  Several of our current and past programs will be highlighted.  Each of the computational tools that have been developed for modeling the interaction of dynamic fluid flows around deformable structures will be detailed. In particular, we will highlight our overset-grid enabled partitioned FSI solver, which leverages unique technological capabilities developed at ARL/PSU.  In-house experimental efforts towards the validation of FSI simulations will be emphasized as well.  The talk will conclude by highlighting several ongoing student projects.

Biography:

Dr. Jonathan Pitt began his studies at Lebanon Valley College, in Annville, PA, where he double majored in Physics and Mathematics.  He then earned his M.S. in Engineering Mechanics, and subsequently his Ph.D. in Engineering Science and Mechanics, at The Pennsylvania State University.  During his doctoral work, Dr. Pitt was awarded a Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) Fellowship from the Department of Defense, and after defending, began work as a Research Physical Scientist in the Signature Physics Branch at the US Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (ERDC-CRREL) in Hanover, NH.  Since June of 2010, Dr. Pitt has held the position of Research Associate at the Penn State Applied Research Laboratory (ARL/PSU), where he works in the Computational Mechanics Division.  In addition to his research, Dr. Pitt holds an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at Penn State, where he advises several students and teaches advanced engineering mathematics.  Dr. Pitt's research interests include computational mechanics (both fluids and solids) and the numerical solution of PDE, as well as topics from continuum mechanics, including continuum damage mechanics, thermoelasticity, and failure of brittle materials.  Recently, he has been involved in ongoing efforts involving the modeling of fully-coupled fluid-structure interaction, and large scale ocean current hydrodynamics simulations.