Brian Spalding facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Brian Spalding
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Brian Spalding
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Dudley Brian Spalding
9 January 1923 New Malden, England
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| Died | 27 November 2016 (aged 93) |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford University of Cambridge |
| Known for | Computational fluid dynamics Hybrid difference scheme SIMPLE algorithm Spalding number |
| Awards | Franklin Medal (2010) Global Energy Prize (2009) Fellow of the Royal Society (1983) Max Jakob Memorial Award (1978) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Imperial College London |
| Notable students | Suhas V. Patankar |
Dudley Brian Spalding (born January 9, 1923 – died November 27, 2016) was a very important professor at Imperial College London. He was a pioneer in a field called Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Think of CFD as using computers to understand how liquids and gases move and how heat travels through them.
Spalding's work helped create the computer programs that engineers still use today. These programs are used to design many things, from cars to airplanes. He was recognized for his amazing contributions to how heat moves, how fluids flow, and how things burn. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a big honor for scientists.
About Brian Spalding
Brian Spalding was born in New Malden, England. He went to King's College School in Wimbledon. He earned his first degree in Engineering Science from University of Oxford in 1944. Later, he received his PhD from University of Cambridge in 1952.
In 1954, he joined Imperial College London as a Reader in Heat Transfer. He became a full Professor of Heat Transfer in 1958. He even gave a special lecture about how heat moves in rocket engines!
Spalding also started his own company called Concentration Heat And Momentum Limited (CHAM). This company focused on using computers to study fluid dynamics and heat transfer. CHAM's main product is a widely used CFD computer program called PHOENICS. Spalding himself was the main person who created and improved PHOENICS.
Together with one of his students, Suhas Patankar, he developed something called the SIMPLE algorithm. This is a very important method used in CFD to solve complex math problems about fluid flow.
Later in his career, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Brian Spalding was a professor at Purdue University in the United States. Even when he was in his 90s, Spalding continued to work in his field. He sadly passed away after falling ill at a conference in Russia.
CHAM: His Company
Brian Spalding started his company, Combustion Heat and Momentum Ltd, in 1969. It was later renamed to Concentration Heat and Momentum Ltd (CHAM) in 1974. The company's goal was to do research and development in how fluids move, how heat transfers, and how things burn. They especially focused on creating computer programs for engineers. These programs helped design equipment and predict how matter and heat move in the environment.
From the very beginning, CHAM offered CFD services to companies and governments. These services were based on the technology that came from Spalding's research group at Imperial College. Later, these services used PHOENICS, which was the first CFD software available for sale. Spalding created PHOENICS in 1978, and it was released commercially in 1981.
At first, CHAM's projects were done by staff from Imperial College. They developed special computer programs for different companies. These programs helped analyze how fluids flowed in two dimensions. In the early 1970s, CHAM used money from these projects to develop new computer programs. These new programs could handle three-dimensional flows and flows that changed over time.
CHAM also worked with Imperial College to create a full set of computer programs. These programs could predict many types of heat transfer and chemical reactions found in engineering and nature. They included ways to model things like turbulence, radiation, and how chemicals react.
Between 1969 and 1980, CHAM developed many specific CFD computer codes. But in 1978, Spalding had an idea for one single CFD code that could handle all fluid flow problems. So, CHAM stopped making many different codes. Instead, they started creating the world's first general-purpose CFD code, PHOENICS. PHOENICS stands for "Parabolic, Hyperbolic Or Elliptic Numerical Integration Code Series." Spalding and Harvey Rosten did most of the work to create PHOENICS. It was launched in 1981, making it the first time one CFD code could be used for almost all problems involving heat and fluids.
Honors and Awards
Brian Spalding received many important awards for his work:
- Max Jakob Memorial Award, 1978
- Fellowship of the Royal Society, 1983
- Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering, 1989
- Global Energy Prize, 2009
- Benjamin Franklin Medal in Mechanical Engineering, 2010
