μFluids@Home is a computer simulation of
two-phase flow
In fluid mechanics, two-phase flow is a flow of gas and liquid — a particular example of multiphase flow. Two-phase flow can occur in various forms, such as flows transitioning from pure liquid to vapor as a result of external heating, separ ...
behavior in
microgravity
The term micro-g environment (also μg, often referred to by the term microgravity) is more or less synonymous with the terms ''weightlessness'' and ''zero-g'', but emphasising that g-forces are never exactly zero—just very small (on the I ...
and
microfluidics problems at
Purdue University, using the
Surface Evolver program.
About
The project's purpose is to develop better methods for the management of
liquid rocket propellants in microgravity, and to investigate two-phase flow in
microelectromechanical systems
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...
, taking into account factors like
surface tension
Surface tension is the tendency of liquid surfaces at rest to shrink into the minimum surface area possible. Surface tension is what allows objects with a higher density than water such as razor blades and insects (e.g. water striders) to f ...
. Systems can then be designed that use
electrowetting, channel
geometry, and
hydrophobic or
hydrophilic coatings to allow the smooth passage of fluids. Such systems would include compact
medical devices,
biosensors,
and
fuel cell
A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
s, to name a few.
Computing platform
μFluids@Home uses the
BOINC volunteer computing platform.
Application notes
* There is no screensaver.
* Work unit
CPU
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...
times are generally less than 20 hours.
* Work units average in size around 500
kB.
* You must run many work units to get levels of credit comparable to
SETI@home or
climateprediction.net BOINC projects.
References
External links
Website archive
Science in society
Free science software
Volunteer computing projects
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