Over the last two decades, advances in numerical methodologies and their deployment on high-performance computing platforms have transformed numerous engineering disciplines, facilitating both deeper physical insight and improved design for multiphysics applications. Such modeling and simulation tools have reshaped the engineering analysis landscape, driving advancements in renewable energy systems design, strengthening fire safety mitigation strategies, and advancing environmental fluids characterization. This workshop explores how recent high-fidelity computational advances can be leveraged to transform understanding of biological systems via morphological designs in maneuvering and cruising specialists (e.g., drag quantification and energy budgets) to advancing the characterization of marine ethology (e.g., thermoregulation of ocean sunfish, functional design quantification of male pufferfish nest structures, etc.). ​

 

The workshop objectives are to capture current exemplars for computational approaches that are focused on solving marine-based use cases, while promoting the open sharing of knowledge, experience and current challenges/opportunities. Our workshop will provide examples that illustrate a science-based workflow, including essential attributes such as 1) robust solid geometry definition and creation; 2) meshing approaches (e.g., focused on quality and suitability to resolve critical features of the application); 3) the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) engine that includes exercising an appropriate set of numerical schemes, and finally; 4) analysis and discovery of multiphysics processes that are commonly found in marine-based use cases. Pitfalls and lessons learned for each aspect of this workflow will be identified, as will best practices. ​

 

The workshop will foster a focused set of technical discussions with leaders in the computational, multiphysics disciplines -- some of whom are new to the marine-based application space. Identified novel partnerships for a targeted set of funding streams represents a key objective, as does identifying strategies for community and societal participation (i.e., broader impacts). We hope to exit the workshop with a shared vision and alignment of available tools and core competencies, along with a set of current challenges that must be closed for the computational community to achieve success.