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Computational System Streamlines Design of Fluidic Devices


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Users need only specify the locations and speeds at which fluid enters and exits the device  the computational pipeline then automatically generates an optimal design that achieves those objectives.

The pipeline uses three-dimensional blocks that can vary their shape to produce a fluidic diffuser that channels liquid from one large opening to 16 smaller ones.

Credit: Yifei Li/MIT CSAIL

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers were part of a team that built a new system to simplify the process of designing fluidic devices.

When users input the locations and speeds at which fluid should enter and exit the device, the system automatically identifies optimal designs that can accomplish the stated objectives.

The system can produce more complex shapes than other methods, due to its use of three-dimensional cubes (voxels) that can vary their shape.

After the voxels form a shape, the system simulates the flow of fluid through the design, making adjustments until the optimal shape is identified.

The researchers found the system could produce smooth shapes with complex structures too intricate to have been specified beforehand. For instance, it produced a propeller-shaped device that allows for a twisting flow of liquid and involved automatically optimizing close to 4 million variables.

From MIT News
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Abstracts Copyright © 2022 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA


 

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