Jason Bender

  • Academic Institution: University of Minnesota
  • Program Year: 2
  • Practicum(s):
    Argonne National Laboratory (2012)
  • Degree(s):
    B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Cornell Univ, 5/2008
  • Field of Study: Hypersonic Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Academic Advisor: Graham Candler

Summary of Research:

Hypersonics is linked with some of mankind’s greatest ambitions, from traveling at blazing fast speeds to landing a human on Mars. Due to the tremendous cost and complexity of experiments at hypersonic conditions, computational science plays a vital role in this field.

The goal of my research is to develop improved fundamental chemical models for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of hypersonic reacting flows. Presently, such models are outdated and of inferior quality for aerodynamic simulations of many hypersonic vehicles of interest to the Air Force, NASA, and other organizations. Central to this research is a collaboration between experts in CFD and computational chemistry.

My current work focuses on modeling key gas-phase reactions in the shock layer of a hypersonic flow in air with strong thermal nonequilibrium, (up to 20,000 K). We are constructing new global potential energy surfaces for nitrogen and oxygen systems, using state-of-the-art ab initio electronic structure methods and novel approaches for fitting six-dimensional surfaces with rugged features. Subsequent phases of the project will involve classical and semiclassical trajectory calculations to study vibrational energy transfer and dissociative collisions, with the ultimate goal of computing cross sections and reaction rates. These will be implemented in tools such as US3D, a finite-volume code developed at Minnesota, to address long-standing questions in the chemical behavior of high-temperature flows.

The project seeks to make progress at the intersection of compressible gas dynamics and physical chemistry. It is an opportunity to advance computational science both by improving a design tool for revolutionary aerospace vehicles and by forming new links between the CFD and computational chemistry communities.

Publications:

Nompelis, I., Bender, J., and Candler, G. V., “Implementation and Comparisons of Parallel Implicit Solvers for Hypersonic Flow Computations on Unstructured Meshes,” AIAA Paper 2011-3547, 20th AIAA Computational Fluid Dynamics Conference, Honolulu, Hawaii, June 27-30, 2011.

Bender, J., and Williamson, C. H. K., “Design and Implementation of a Virtual Unsteady Dynamics Facility (VUDF): Concepts, Tools, and Methodologies for the Novel Application of Force Feedback Control to Experimental Fluid Mechanics,” Cornell University Fluid Dynamics Research Laboratories (FDRL) internal report, 2008.

Awards:

Graduate Awards:
-Computational Science Graduate Fellowship, US Department of Energy, 2011.
-Hertz Fellowship Finalist, Fannie and John Hertz Foundation, 2011.
-Graduate School Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2010.

Undergraduate Awards from Cornell University:
-Sibley Prize, 2008. For attaining the highest overall cumulative average as an undergraduate student in Mechanical Engineering. Ranked 1st of 106.
-Frank O. Ellenwood Prize, 2008.
-Summa Cum Laude Honors in Mechanical Engineering, 2008.
-Cornell Chronicle Senior Profile, 2008.
-Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society Invited Membership, 2008.
-Engineering Global Fellow, 2008. For study abroad in Rome, Italy.
-Exemplary Student Ambassador Award, Engineering Co-op Program, 2007.
-College of Engineering John McMullen Dean's Scholarship, 2004.

Awards from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL):
-Selected Participant in the Mechanical Systems Rotation Program, 2009-2010.
-Team Bonus Award, electromechanical actuator development for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) project, 2010.
-Team Bonus Award, electromechanical actuator development for the MSL project, 2009.