PhD Studentship:Fast Aircraft Loads Predictions

PhD Studentship:Fast Aircraft Loads Predictions

Aerodynamics & Flight Mechanics Group Location:  Highfield Campus
Closing Date:   Friday 16 June 2017
Reference:  747916AK

Current trends in aerospace are toward more lightweight and slender structures to increase the aerodynamic performance and reduce drag, thus fuel consumption. To increase the realism of predictions during the various phases of the aircraft design, high fidelity models are needed. However, high fidelity models are computationally expensive, and are inadequate for being deployed within an industrial environment for routine use.

The proposed project builds on a previous work carried out by the supervisor in collaboration with Airbus UK. A new aerodynamic solver was implemented within a computational fluid dynamics solver that achieved a reduction in the simulation costs of up to 97% compared to existing state-of-the-art methods. This PhD project aims to leverage on the new aerodynamic solver to provide accurate yet rapid predictions of the impact of aerodynamic changes (i.e. wing configuration) on the aerodynamic loads, accounting fully for dynamic aeroelastic effects.

The proposed project will develop a suite of computer codes for massively parallel calculations that will be demonstrated in the context of realistic aircraft configurations, with the main objective to provide predictions overnight. The project is carried out in collaboration with Airbus UK, and the successful candidate is expected to spend time at the industrial partner.

The project is financially supported by an EPSRC CASE studentship, and eligibility criteria for a full award may be found here: https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/skills/students/help/eligibility/

.The successful candidate will have a proven background in programming and a strong academic curriculum including fluid mechanics and structures.

If you wish to discuss any details of the project informally, please contact Dr A Da Ronch, Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanicsresearch group, Email: A.Da-Ronch@soton.ac.uk,Tel: +44 (0) 2380 59 4787.

 

To apply, please use the following website: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/postgraduate/research_degrees/apply.page?

Further details:

• Job Description and Person Specification