College of Engineering Unit:
Testing large scale projects can be time consuming, expensive, and potentially dangerous. Using simulations can minimize all of the negatives of testing while still achieving accurate data. Our project, the SPH Fluid Simulator, uses Rust and Bevy to simulate fluid particles as they would behave in the real world through the use of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). SPH is a computational method for simulations of things such as fluid flows and solid mechanics where particles are never fixed points, but move with the flow of the simulation. All of the information such as position, velocity, density, etc. is stored for each particle and can be accessed at any time. Our group chose to use SPH because of its many advantages such as it is much more computationally faster than grid-based techniques, it guarantees conservation of mass, and the information for each particle is easily accessible. We have developed the framework for fluid simulations through the creation of SPH functions such as collision testing and movement systems, boundary conditions to check for mesh and wall collisions, and more.
These building blocks can be expanded upon by future users to create their own applications for fluid simulations. In this project, we have provided one such application for the Orion Splashdown that showcases how our fluid particles react with each other, their surroundings, and other external forces. This application also shows how the use of a simulation can remove the need for extensive testing, therefore saving lots of time and money that would’ve been used to develop many prototypes of the Orion Capsule to test how it would collide with water in the ocean.
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