PhD Candidate
2016-Present

Research Area
Numerical Modeling of the Sub-microsecond Solidification Kinetics of Materials undergoing Dynamics Compression

My research involves computational modeling of the rapid (generally sub-microsecond) phase transition kinetics of materials at high-pressure conditions generated under dynamic compression. These high-pressure conditions may be caused by shock waves or ramp waves resulting from high-speed impacts, magnetic fields, or lasers. Extreme pressures created by shock or ramp waves can lead to rapid phase transitions and other unexpected material behavior. This area of research has applications in both natural processes (planetary science) and in high-energy technological processes relevant to aerospace science and inertial confinement fusion.  The primary focus of my research is on modeling the transition of liquid water to ice VII (a solid polymorph of water that forms under high pressure) that has been observed in several suites of dynamic-compression experiments over the last two decades. In collaboration with researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), my research work involves coupled multiscale modeling of these experiments that accounts for both the phase transition kinetics using physics-based formulations from classical nucleation theory as well as computational hydrodynamics simulations to model the compression of the materials involved in these experiments.

This work is performed in collaboration with the US Department of Energy (DOE) through LLNL. Program support is also provided through the DOE NNSA Laboratory Residency Graduate Fellowship under co-operative agreement number DE-NA0003960.