Research summary
The air transport industry is undergoing a major transformation to achieve its zero-net carbon emissions target by 2050. At the same time, changing atmospheric conditions due to climate change—like larger rain drops and increased air turbulence—make for new certification requirements. Aircraft manufacturers and research centres are attempting to address these challenges by proposing radical new aircraft configurations. These incorporate several key aerodynamic strategies that, in turn, place new challenges on the control of the aircraft.
As Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Multi-fidelity Aerodynamic Aircraft Analysis and Design, Dr. Éric Laurendeau is improving our knowledge of steady and unsteady aircraft aerodynamic phenomena and models. He and his research are working to increase our understanding of these physical concepts by proposing new multi-fidelity steady and unsteady aerodynamics models. Ultimately, their research will benefit many fields, including wind energy, helicopters and unmanned vehicles. It will also generate advances in machine learning and high-performance computing.