NUMERICAL MODELING AND EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS OF LAVA FLOW COOLING

Lava flows are both destructive and beautiful. It can move upwards of 60 miles per hour, and destroy anything and everything in its path. The 2002 eruption of the Nyiragongo Volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo is an example of the destructive potential of lava flows. The ultimate goal of our project is to determine possible ways to minimize the damage caused by lava flows by either stopping, or at minimum creating a barrier to divert them.

In order to achieve our goal, we are using numerical modeling, as well as physical experimentations using a furnace for melting basaltic rocks to study how the physical properties of basaltic lava might be controlled by its cooling rates. We are studying different ways of cooling the leading edges of an artificial lava flow poured out from a furnace to create a solid barrier to contain and ultimately stop the flow.

For our numerical modeling, we are using a modified Navier-Stokes equation to account for the non-uniform temperature profile throughout the lava flow, in combination with a simplified heat flow equation to determine how the physical properties of the flowing lava might be affected by varying the cooling rates. Those equations, however, use simplified assumptions such as radial flow of lava, uniform cooling rate, uniform flow rate, etc., which may not always hold true for real-life lava flows. We are testing those assumptions by changing the boundary conditions of our physical experiments, such as changing slope of the lava flow, using water or ice to induce non-uniform cooling rates, etc.

We are also exploring how liquid rocks can be used as a medium for art. Despite the obvious beauty of natural lava flows, there are very few artists, notably the artists associated with the Syracuse University Lava Project, who are working with lava as a medium for sculpture. We are exploring the potential use of the molten rocks as an artistic material by letting molten rocks flow over other shaped materials.

Our presentation will focus on the preliminary results of our numerical and physical models, and discuss potential ways to address lava flow hazards. We will also present lava in a new light as a sculptural medium to broaden the aesthetic vision of this powerful force.