About

Olivier Desjardins is a professor at the Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University, where he joined the faculty in July 2011. His academic background includes a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from ENSAE (Supaero) in Toulouse, France, obtained in 2004, and a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in the same year. He completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University in 2008. Prior to his appointment at Cornell, he was a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His research focuses on large-scale numerical modeling of turbulent reacting multiphase flows with industrial applications. Using advanced parallel computing resources, his group develops numerical methods and models to investigate multi-scale and multi-physics fluid mechanics problems relevant to engineering devices such as combustors and biomass reactors. His work employs high-fidelity computational techniques, including large-eddy simulations and direct numerical simulations, to explore complex non-linear flow physics from first principles. These techniques aim to guide the development of optimized energy and propulsion systems. Dr. Desjardins has received several awards for his research and teaching, including an NSF CAREER award in 2014 and the Robert '55 and Vanne '57 Cowie Teaching Award in 2016.

Research topics

• Mechanics
• Physics
• Materials science
• Statistical physics
• Medicine

Selected publications

• A sharp computational method for simulating multiphase viscoelastic flows

  Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics · 2026-01-02

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Simulation Strategies for Compressible Multiphase Flows Using a Conservative Discretization Scheme

  2026-01-08

  articleSenior author

  A dissipation-free, sharp-interface discretization strategy is presented for the accurate simulation of complex compressible multiphase flows, such as shock-droplet interaction. The approach employs a hybrid scheme where either a centered or WENO3 discretization in the bulk phases, time-integrated with a fourth-order Runge–Kutta method, is coupled at phasic interfaces to a semi-Lagrangian geometric volume-of-fluid method that transports discontinuous phasic quantities with second-order accuracy. The hybridization is both spatial and temporal, and it preserves the dissipation-free property across interfaces. Localized dissipation is introduced only where temporal errors become significant, improving robustness in challenging configurations. By minimizing numerical dissipation, the solver reveals the need for subgrid-scale models for under-resolved turbulence, shocks, and breakup—providing a platform for their development and evaluation. Simulations of shock impact on a liquid droplet at high Reynolds and Weber numbers demonstrate accuracy and robustness in multiphase environments relevant to hypersonic flows.

  PublisherDOI

• <span>A Comprehensive Numerical Model of Thrombus Embolization: Fluid-Thrombus Interactions Through a Coupled Computational Fluid Dynamics - Peridynamics Framework</span><br>

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• High-Speed Shock/Droplet Aerobreakup Using a Sharp Interface Method

  2026-01-08

  articleSenior author

  High-speed droplet aerobreakup has been the focus of numerous experimental and numerical investigations due to its application in hypersonic aircraft development. This paper presents a preliminary mesh convergence study for fully 3D droplet aerobreakup simulations behind a steady normal shock of Mach numbers 5.12 and 3.03 using the open-source multiphase compressible flow solver from the NGA2 CFD framework (https://github.com/desjardi/NGA2). Primary droplet mass and displacement from simulation data is compared to previously published experimental and numerical results as well as previously developed empirical models. This work starts preliminary verification activities and provides the foundation for future work using the NGA2 solver to study the droplet aerobreakup problem.

  PublisherDOI

• 3d Peridynamic Modeling of Isotropic Hyperelasticity in Principal Stretches: With Application to Blood Clot Mechanics

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• A Sharp Computational Method for Simulating Multiphase Viscoelastic Flows

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2025-01-01

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Towards a Model of Thrombus Embolization: Structural Response and Failure of Blood Clots Through Peridynamics

  International Journal for Numerical Methods in Biomedical Engineering · 2025-11-01 · 1 citations

  article

  Despite the high mortality rates associated with thromboembolic diseases, computational modeling of the physics of thromboembolism remains underdeveloped in the literature due to the inadequacy of classical finite element methods to accommodate the growth, large deformation, and fracture of blood clots, especially under the influence of fluid dynamic forces. Accordingly, we present a meshless numerical framework, employing peridynamics (PD) that readily captures the constitutive response, damage progression, and eventual failure of a blood clot. The PD framework was validated against three benchmark test cases: tensile loading of a plate with a hole, torsional loading of a column, and tensile loading of thin structural plates both with and without notches. Comparative quantitative and qualitative analysis demonstrated excellent agreement with finite element solutions generated using the commercial software ANSYS. The validated framework was then used to calibrate the peridynamic parameters to accurately reproduce the mechanical response, the cohesive bulk fracture of blood clots under tensile loading, and the debonding of blood clots from artificial surfaces, including titanium (Ti), polyurethane (PU), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Force-displacement curves obtained using these calibrated parameters demonstrated a strong correlation with experimental data.

  PublisherDOI

• Numerical methods for multiphase flows

  International Journal of Multiphase Flow · 2025-05-28 · 36 citations

  articleOpen access

  Multiphase flows are ubiquitous in both nature and engineering. Over the past two to three decades, substantial progress has been made in developing numerical methods for simulating these complex flows. Yet, significant challenges persist in accurately capturing intricate interfacial dynamics and the multi-scale interactions inherent to multiphase systems. This review focuses on several key numerical approaches that have proven particularly relevant from both practical and theoretical perspectives. In particular, we discuss Volume-Of-Fluid techniques, level set methods, diffuse interface models, and front tracking methods, along with immersed boundary strategies designed for particle-laden flows. We also examine multi-fluid Eulerian frameworks, population balance models for reactive processes, and sub-grid scale techniques for handling unresolved dynamics. Furthermore, emerging hybrid strategies that integrate conventional numerical methods with data-driven machine learning techniques are highlighted as promising directions. In conclusion, while current methodologies offer valuable insights into multiphase flow behavior, continued interdisciplinary efforts are essential to enhance predictive accuracy, computational efficiency, and the overall applicability of these simulations to real-world challenges. • Reviews recent developments on numerical methods for multiphase flows. • Covers a broad range of topics. • Provides recommendations for future work.

  PublisherDOI

• Towards Efficient and Accurate Modeling of Pressure Swirl Atomization Using Sub-Grid Scale Modeling of Thin Liquid Films

  2025-01-03 · 3 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Predicting droplet size distribution in liquid atomization processes from numerical simulations is an objective of critical importance to the aerospace industry. Because classical Eulerian interface capturing methods such as Volume of Fluid (VOF) suffer from spurious numerical break-up when interfacial scales approach the mesh size, they tend to generate wildly inaccurate droplet size distributions, even on very refined meshes. In recent work, we introduced a VOF reconstruction technique that allows for two phase interfaces to coexist within a grid cell, providing the novel capability to represent and transport sub-grid scale liquid and gas films without numerical break-up. In this work, we use this framework to simulate a realistic simplex atomizer, demonstrating the ability of this approach to capture the thin liquid film that characterizes the liquid hollow cone. In addition, we provide encouraging preliminary comparison of droplet size distribution against experimental measurements.

  PublisherDOI

• The Effects of Compressibility on the Evolution of a Multiphase Shear Layer

  2025-01-03

  articleSenior author

  Direct numerical simulations of single and multiphase planar shear layers are performed using NGA2's compressible multiphase flow solver. The effects of compressibility are first observed in the single-phase limit by comparing the momentum thickness growth rate across a range of convective Mach numbers and validating the results with literature. The turbulent kinetic energy budget for the quasi-incompressible case is used to further validate the results. The shear layer flow is then modified to consider compressible mixing between a low-speed liquid layer and high-speed gas layer, which allows for the combined effects of gas compressibility, density ratio, and surface tension to be investigated. In this study, we focus on the evolution of the multiphase shear layer for a range of gas Mach numbers. Increasing the gas Mach number is shown to dampen not only the gas momentum thickness growth rate, but also the volume fraction thickness growth rate. A qualitative analysis of the interface reveals a similar initial evolution of interfacial structures but a greater number of interface features like droplets and ligaments for the low gas Mach number case at later times. Examining the density gradients of the high gas Mach number case reveals a mixture of oblique shocks upstream of waves and ligaments and small density fluctuations around droplets.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Direct Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Electrohydrodynamic Fuel Atomization

  NSF · $290k · 2010–2012

• Direct Numerical Simulation and Experimental Validation of Electrohydrodynamic Fuel Atomization

  NSF · $282k · 2011–2014

• CAREER: Towards Understanding and Modeling Turbulent Atomizing Liquid-Gas Flows

  NSF · $400k · 2014–2019

• Collaborative Research: A Fundamental and Modeling Study of Cluster-Induced Turbulence in Particle-Laden Flows

  NSF · $260k · 2014–2017

Frequent coauthors

• Rodney O. Fox

  46 shared

• Jesse Capecelatro

  43 shared

• Heinz Pitsch

  RWTH Aachen University

  37 shared

• Robert Chiodi

  Cornell University

  22 shared

• Alexander Nepomnyashchy

  Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

  16 shared

• Michaël Iskedjian

  Williams (United States)

  15 shared

• Bo Kong

  China West Normal University

  14 shared

• Austin Han

  13 shared

Awards & honors

• Research Excellence Award, College of Engineering, Cornell U…
• Robert '55 and Vanne '57 Cowie Teaching Award (College of En…
• Junior Award (recognizes outstanding achievements and influe…
• CAREER Award, National Science Foundation (2014)
• Distinguished Paper Award, 33rd International Symposium on C…