SLIIT hosts seminar by Professor Malalasekera from Loughborough Uni on Computational Fluid Dynamics

With the vision of disseminating knowledge and fostering innovation among students, a series of workshops and seminars featuring eminent personalities are organized for the students and staff of the SLIIT Engineering Faculty. The most recent seminar held at the SLIIT campus in Malabe featured Weeratunge Malalasekera, Professor of Computational Fluid Flow and Heat Transfer from Loughborough University, UK. Loughborough University is UK’s largest single campus which has won several awards. Ranked one for best student experience award in 2016, Loughborough University has won seven Queen’s Anniversary Prizes for higher education and is renowned for engineering education in UK. Prof. Malalasekera is an internationally known researcher with a strong research group working on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Professor Malalasekera spoke on

‘Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling of IC engine combustion’ as a next generation powerful tool in the design and analysis of internal combustion engines. Highlighting the severity of environmental radiation and adverse effects of combustion emissions on the environment, Prof. Malalasekera explained the need for novel techniques to analyze and design advanced combustion equipment. During the last couple of decades, CFD has matured into a powerful, reliable, and extremely versatile engineering tool, “We have to improve existing devices and processes; design new systems; increase efficiency of current systems through experimental work or through computer modelling.

That is where computational fluid dynamics comes in,” said Prof. Malalasekera. Through interesting visuals and examples, Prof. Malalasekera enlightened the audience how to develop combustion models using numerical methods and verify them through experiments, solve numerous equations and propose solutions that can be visualised using visualisation techniques on computers. This interactive seminar which led to a thought provoking discussion was one of the many seminars to come in the future. The Faculty of Engineering at SLIIT already has UGC approved Engineering degree programmes in four disciplines; Civil Engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering (specialising in Mechanical or Mechatronics).