Postgraduate research project

Improved understanding of transonic flutter for highspeed aircraft

Funding
Fully funded (UK and international)
Type of degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Entry requirements
2:1 honours degree View full entry requirements
Faculty graduate school
Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences
Closing date

About the project

Are you excited to develop innovative solutions to revolutionize the development of high-speed aircraft? Do you want to work in an environment that encourages you to guide your own career through exposure to a diverse set of novel, open-ended problems working in a multidisciplinary team?

We're looking for motivated, creative thinkers who can help develop solutions to the toughest challenges in aircraft development today.

This project will explore flutter at transonic speeds and high angles of attack where there is evidence of subcritical limit cycle oscillations (LCO). This is a research in nonlinear aeroelasticity, with a specific focus on transonic aeroelastic flutter.

You'll work with the Benchmark Supercritical Wing (BSCW) model, tested at NASA's LaRC Transonic Dynamics Tunnel. You'll develop advanced computational methods that combine machine learning with physics-based models to analyse aeroelastic instabilities and enhance solution accuracy and speed. 

This project can revolutionize high-speed aircraft performance and safety when flying at transonic speeds. You will create innovative solutions to improve the development of these aircraft.

Additionally, you will:

  • collaborate with top-tier institutions such as ETH Zurich and ZHAW University in Switzerland
  • work with global aerospace organizations
  • participate in the AIAA Aeroelastic Prediction Workshop (AePW4)

You'll be part of a multidisciplinary team, where you'll have the freedom to shape your own career by tackling a wide range of complex, open-ended problems. You'll play a role in creating innovations that will define the future of aerospace.