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The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DoE/NNSA) has recently declared that it has chosen MIT to create a new research institute focused on enhancing the predictive simulation of extreme conditions, such as those faced in hypersonic flight and atmospheric re-entry. This institute will be incorporated into the fourth phase of NNSA’s Predictive Science Academic Alliance Program (PSAAP-IV), which supports cutting-edge research improving the predictive abilities of high-performance computing for open science and engineering applications pertinent to national security objectives.

The Center for the Exascale Simulation of Coupled High-Enthalpy Fluid–Solid Interactions (CHEFSI) — a collaborative initiative of the MIT Center for Computational Science and Engineering, the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, and the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN) — intends to leverage state-of-the-art exascale supercomputers and next-generation algorithms to simulate in unparalleled detail how very hot, rapidly moving gaseous and solid substances interact. The comprehension of these extreme conditions — noted for temperatures exceeding 1,500 degrees Celsius and velocities reaching Mach 25 — and their impact on vehicles is crucial to national security, space exploration, and the advancement of sophisticated thermal protection systems.

“CHEFSI will utilize MIT’s profound expertise in predictive modeling, high-performance computing, and STEM education to help maintain the United States’ leadership in scientific and technological progress,” states Ian A. Waitz, MIT’s vice president for research. “The center’s specific significance to national security and advanced technologies underscores MIT’s dedication to promoting research with extensive societal benefits.”

CHEFSI is among five newly established Predictive Simulation Centers disclosed by the NNSA as part of a program anticipated to extend up to $17.5 million to each center over five years.

CHEFSI’s investigations aim to link detailed simulations of high-enthalpy gas flows with frameworks of the chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of solid materials, capturing occurrences such as oxidation, nitridation, ablation, and fracture. Advanced computational frameworks — validated through meticulously designed experiments — can overcome the limitations of flight testing by delivering essential insights into material performance and potential failure.

“By amalgamating high-fidelity physics models with artificial intelligence-enhanced surrogate models, experimental validation, and cutting-edge exascale computational resources, CHEFSI will assist us in comprehending and forecasting how thermal protection systems function under some of the most extreme conditions faced in engineering systems,” asserts Raúl Radovitzky, the Jerome C. Hunsaker Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, associate director of the ISN, and director of CHEFSI. “This expertise will aid in designing resilient systems applicable to a range of uses from reusable spacecraft to hypersonic vehicles.”

Radovitzky will be supported in the center’s leadership team by Youssef Marzouk, the Breene M. Kerr (1951) Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, co-director of the MIT Center for Computational Science and Engineering (CCSE), and recently appointed associate dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing; along with Nicolas Hadjiconstantinou, the Quentin Berg (1937) Professor of Mechanical Engineering and co-director of CCSE, who will function as associate directors. The center’s co-principal investigators include MIT faculty from various departments including Aeronautics and Astronautics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Materials Science and Engineering, Mathematics, and Mechanical Engineering. Franklin Hadley will oversee center operations, with administration and finance managed by Joshua Freedman. Hadley and Freedman are both part of the ISN headquarters team.

CHEFSI anticipates extensive collaboration with the DoE/NNSA national laboratories — Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories — and, through this engagement, aims to provide graduate students and postdoctoral researchers with immersive research experiences and internships at these facilities.

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