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Dr. John S. Steinhoff


B. H. Goethert Professor,
Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering and Engineering Science
University of Tn Space Institute
Tullahoma, TN 37388-9700

Phone: (931) 393-7467
jsteinho@utsi.edu
Website

Dr. John S. Steinhoff

Education

  • 9/60-6/64, B.S., Physics - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
  • 9/64-6/65, M.S., Physics - University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
  • 9/67-6/68, New York University, New York, NY
  • 9/68-6/72, Ph.D., Physics - University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Professional Experience

  • 9/81-Present, (tenured, 1983) University of Tennessee Space Institute B. H. Goethert Professor
  • 9/74-9/81, Grumman Aerospace Corp., Research Scientist
  • 6/65-9/68, Trajectory Analyst
  • 7/72-8/74, McGill University, Research Associate

Courses Taught

  • AE 661 – Advanced Topics in Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • AE 599E – Special Topics in Aerospace Engineering: Introduction to Computational Vortex Dynamic
  • ES 595B - Seminar: Computational Mechanics
  • AE 662 - Advanced Topics in Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • ES 652 - Advanced Topics in Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • ES 651 - Advanced Topics in Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • AE 690B - Advanced Topics in AE
  • AE 599B – Special Topics In AE: Numerical Methods
  • AE 572 – Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • AE 599A - Advanced Topics in AE: Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Co-directed six short courses and workshops at UTSI - three on applications of CFD to aerospace design, for which bound proceedings have been published.

Research

Most of my research has involved the treatment of vortex-dominated flows in computational fluid dynamics and the treatment of short wave equation pulses, including the solution of real problems of engineering importance.

The recent development of the ``Vorticity Confinement'' method that eliminates effects of numerical diffusion, for computations on Eulerian grids, without the use of Lagrangian markers.  This technique has recently been used in eight projects involving computation of: Helicopter Blade -- Vortex Interaction, Delta Wing Flow, Helicopter Rotor/Body Flow, Helicopter Body -- Vortex Interaction, Dynamic Stall, Aircraft Trailing Vortices, Supersonic Flow Over Missiles.

The recent development of a new Eulerian Computational technique for propagating short wave equation pulses over long distances without the use of Lagrangian markers, which require the use of complex logic and are not feasible for intersecting pulses.  For computing thin pulse surfaces the method is analogous to the shock wave technique of replacing complex “short fitting” techniques with “shock capturing” techniques

Development of the ``Vortex Embedding'' method for computing compressible flow fields with embedded, strong, concentrated vortices.  The method involved combining Lagrangian Vortex Lattice--type methods with Eulerian finite--volume transonic compressible flow methods on fixed, Eulerian grids. The Vortex Embedding technique and its implementation:  the ``HELIX'' codes, have become one of the most effective tools for computing flows over modern rotors.

Development of a new low speed wind tunnel method for visualizing aerodynamic flows.  This method involves heating and accelerating very small titanium pellets through a flow field, which leave thin trails of dense smoke.  The method appears to have many advantages over pulsed--smoke wire methods, which give similar flow information. The method has been applied to thermally driven flows, flow over airfoils, and flow over model helicopter rotors.

Research Awards

  • B. H. Goethert Professor, 2001
  • Vice President’s Research Award, 1998
  • Arnold Research Award, 1996

Selected Published Works

  • “Large Eddy Simulation Using Vorticity Confinement,” Chapter 4 in Implicit Large Eddy Simulation:  Computing Turbulent Flow Dynamics, Edited by F. F. Grinstein, L. G. Margolin, and W. J. Rider, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 2006. (principal author)
  • “Turbulent Flow Simulations Using Vorticity Confinement,” Chapter 12 in Implicit Large Eddy Simulation:  Computing Turbulent Flow Dynamics, Edited by F. F. Grinstein, L. G. Margolin, and W. J. Rider, Cambridge University Press, New York, NY, 2006.  (principal author)
  • “Computation of Short Wave Equation Pulses Using Nonlinear Solitary Waves,” Published in Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol. 5, No. 4, 2004. (principal author)
  • “Convection of Concentrated Vortices and Passive Scalars as Solitary Waves,” SIAM Journal of Scientific Computing, Vol. 19, December 2003. (principal author)
  • “Application of Vorticity Confinement to the Prediction of the Flow over Complex Bodies,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp.809-816, May 2003. (principal author)
  • “Vorticity Confinement – Recent Results: Turbulent Wake Simulations and A New, Conservative Formulation,” Numerical Simulations of Incompressible Flows, World Scientific Publishing, 2003. (principal author)
  • “Computing Blunt Body Flows on Coarse Grids Using Vorticity Confinement,” Journal of Fluids Engineering, Vol. 124, No. 4, pp.876-885, Dec. 2002. (principal author)
  • “Numerical Method for Vorticity Confinement in Compressible Flow,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 40, No. 10, pp. 1945-1953, October 2002. (co author)
  • “Efficient Eulerian Computation of Realistic Rotorcraft Flows Using Vorticity Confinement,” 39th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, January 2001,(coauthor)
  • “Application of Vorticity Confinement to the Prediction of the Flow over Complex Bodies,” Frontiers of Computational Fluid Dynamics – 2000, Wiley and Sons. (principal author)
  • “The Computation of Flow Over Helicopter Rotors and Complex Bodies Using Vorticity Confinement,” Computational Fluid Dynamics Journal, Vol. 9, No. 1, 2000, (principal author)
  • “A New Eulerian Method for the Computation of Propagating Short Acoustics and Electromagnetic Pulses,” Journal of Computational Physics, Vol. 157, 2000, (principal author)
  • “Numerical Vorticity Confinement for Vortex-Solid Body Interaction Problems,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 3, No. 8, 1447, August 1995 (coauthor)
  • “Vorticity Confinement:  A New Technique for Computing Vortex Dominated Flows,” Chapter 14, Frontiers of Computational Fluid Dynamics, Wiley and Sons, 1994, (principal author)
  • “Modification of Euler Equations for `Vorticity Confinement’ - Application to the Computation of Interacting Vortex Rings,” Physics of Fluids, Vol. 6, 2738, 1994, (principal author)

Recent AIAA Papers

  • “Computation of Blunt Body Wake Flow by Vorticity Confinement,” AIAA 2004-0592, presented at the 2004 AIAA Meeting, Reno, NV, January 2004. (principal author)
  • “Vorticity Confinement for Computing Small Scales in Complex Flows, Including LES,” AIAA 2003-4099, presented at the 2003 AIAA Meeting, Orlando, FL, June 2003. (principal author)
  • “Simulating Small Scale Features in Fluid Dynamics and Acoustics as Nonlinear Solitary Waves,” AIAA 2003-0078, presented at the 2003 AIAA Meeting, Reno, NV, January 2003. (principal author)
  • “Application of Vorticity Confinement to the Prediction of the Flow Over Complex Bodies,” AIAA 2001-2642, presented at the AIAA CFD Conference, Anaheim, CA, June 2001. (principal author)
  • “Efficient Eulerian Computation of Realistic Rotorcraft Flows Using Vorticity Confinement: A Survey of Recent Results,” AIAA 2001-0996, presented at the AIAA Meeting, Reno, NV, January 2001. (principal author)