Ashok Gopalarathnam
Professor
- Phone: (919) 515-5669
- Email: agopalar@ncsu.edu
- Office: Engineering Building III (EB3) 3256
- Website: http://mae.ncsu.edu/apa/
Dr. Gopalarathnam directs the NCSU Applied Aerodynamics Group. Dr. Gopalarathnam (referred to by his students as Dr. G) is committed to the development of innovative and useful ideas, concepts, and methodologies for the design of aircraft, other types of vehicles, and for alternative-energy systems. He is interested in applied aerodynamics, flight mechanics, aircraft design, adaptive aircraft, and design methodologies.
At the graduate level, Dr. G teaches Airfoil Theory (MAE 551) and Wing Theory (MAE 561). In these courses, the students look beyond theoretical methods in aerodynamics and address practical requirements in the design of airfoils and wings. At the undergraduate level, Dr. G teaches Aerodynamics of V/STOL vehicles (MAE 452) and Flight Vehicle Stability and Control (MAE 462). In MAE 462, his students do team projects in which they design/build/fly micro-gliders.
The graduate students who work with Dr. G are motivated and have an interest in flight and aerodynamics. During their studies, they are exposed to a mixture of theoretical, experimental, and computational methods applied to the design of a wide range of aero-hydrodynamic systems. His students work on sail boats, race cars, aircraft, and wind turbines, to name a few.
Outside of work, Dr. G spends time with his family and enjoys recreational flying when time permits.
Publications
- Lift tailoring on unsteady airfoils with leading-edge vortex shedding using an inverse aerodynamic approach
- Babu, A. V. S., Narsipur, S., & Gopalarathnam, A. (2024), PHYSICS OF FLUIDS, 36(5). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0208567
- Discrete vortex modeling of perching and hovering maneuvers
- Narsipur, S., Ramesh, K., Gopalarathnam, A., & Edwards, J. R. (2023, May 31), THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS, Vol. 5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00162-023-00653-2
- Leading-Edge Suction Behavior of Unsteady Airfoils in Forward and Reverse Flows
- Narsipur, S., & Gopalarathnam, A. (2023), JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN HELICOPTER SOCIETY, 68(2). https://doi.org/10.4050/JAHS.68.022009
- Low-Order Modeling of Dynamic Stall on Airfoils in Incompressible Flow
- Narsipur, S., Gopalarathnam, A., & Edwards, J. R. (2022, September 7), AIAA JOURNAL, Vol. 9. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.J061595
- Modulation and Annihilation of Aeroelastic Limit-Cycle Oscillations Using a Variable-Frequency Disturbance Generator
- Hughes, M. T., Gopalarathnam, A., & Bryant, M. (2023, February 7), AIAA JOURNAL. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.J062295
- Numerical Study of Circular-Cylinder Disturbance Generators with Rigid Splitter Plates
- Jenkins, M., Babu, A. V. S., Bryant, M., & Gopalarathnam, A. (2023, October 31), AIAA JOURNAL. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.J062729
- Prediction of leading-edge-vortex initiation using criticality of the boundary layer
- Ramanathan, H., & Gopalarathnam, A. (2023, May 13), THEORETICAL AND COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS, Vol. 5. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00162-023-00648-z
- Leading-edge-vortex tailoring on unsteady airfoils using an inverse aerodynamic approach
- Suresh Babu, A. V., Narsipur, S., Bryant, M., & Gopalarathnam, A. (2022), PHYSICS OF FLUIDS, 34(5). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0090328
- Novel Surface Flow-Reversal Sensor Applied to Detection of Airfoil Stall
- Aleman, M. A., Gopalarathnam, A., & Granlund, K. (2022, May 13), JOURNAL OF AIRCRAFT, Vol. 5. https://doi.org/10.2514/1.C036732
- Flow criticality governs leading-edge-vortex initiation on finite wings in unsteady flow
- Hirato, Y., Shen, M., Gopalarathnam, A., & Edwards, J. R. (2021), JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS, 910. https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2020.896
Grants
- Criticality of Edge Flows and Vortex Shedding in Two and Three Dimensions
- KH2 Vehicle Development - Phase I: Outer-Mold-Line Geometry, Aerodynamic Analysis, and Wind Tunnel Testing
- Control of Aeroelastic Structures via Prescribed Aerodynamic Disturbances
- SBIR Phase II.5 - N161-003, Refinements to Aerodynamic Modeling of Aerial Refueling Tanker and Receiver Interactions
- Further Aerodynamic Modeling of Aerial Refueling Tanker and Receiver Interactions (Phase II)
- Aerodynamic and Aeroelastic Behavior of Wings in the Presence of Upstream Vortical and Viscous Disturbances
- Development of a Fast Low-Order Aerodynamic Prediction Method for Aircraft Configurations in Post-Stall Flight
- CFD and Experimental Studies to Aid Development of Low-Order Aerodynamic Prediction Methods for Post-Stall Flight
- Aerial Refueling Tanker and Receiver Aerodynamic Interaction Modeling and Simulation
- Theoretical and Computational Modeling of Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Dynamic Stall for Rotorcraft Applications