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MAE Seminar: Sven Schmitz
Title:
A Renaissance of Aerodynamics – Revise and Surpass Classical Theory with Modern Computational Methods
Abstract:
Aerodynamics is a pillar of every Aerospace Engineering curriculum. Both the beauty and benefits of classical concepts and methods are sometimes forgotten when high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solutions and advanced optimization algorithms are becoming increasingly available to the practicing engineer. The presenter is a passionate researcher and teacher of aerodynamics and will illustrate how classical aerodynamics concepts remain relevant and provide physical insight into current research questions. This is achieved by bridging the traditions of mathematical physics and technical mechanics with modern computational methods. Some examples include a viscous correction to the classical Kutta-Joukowski theorem, aircraft drag decomposition in CFD into induced and profile drag, and some preliminary results on extracting induced and profile power from a CFD solution of a rotor in slow axial climb.
Bio:
Dr. Sven Schmitz is the Boeing/A.D. Welliver Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University. His research interests are in the aerodynamics of rotorcraft, wind turbines, and commercial aircraft. His research group embraces projects covering rotorcraft aeromechanics, wind turbine aerodynamics, and aircraft drag decomposition. Dr. Schmitz received a diploma degree in Aerospace Engineering from RWTH Aachen (Germany) in 2002 and a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from the University of California Davis in 2006. He spent four years as a post-doctoral researcher at Davis and the NASA Ames Research Center before joining the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at Penn State in 2010. Dr. Schmitz is an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Helicopter Society, an AIAA Associate Fellow, and a recipient of the Penn State George. W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching.