Our members

Dr James Tyacke As Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering, I am primarily interested in Large Eddy Simulation (LES) of complex flows including Urban Air Mobility Vehicles (Air Taxis), Jet Aeroacoustics, Turbomachinery, Electronics Cooling and Geothermal Energy. Multi-fidelity modelling underpins these areas, both in terms of turbulence modelling and geometry representation. Modern High Performance Computing (HPC) architectures are also being leveraged for both simulation and analysis of large data sets (Big Data), revealing unsteady flow physics. Further interests include increasing CFD automation, including mesh generation and optimisation, solution analysis and feedback into knowledge-based systems using Machine Learning and AI. I am Director (numerical methods) of the Brunel Aerospace Research Centre (ARC). With a vibrant multi-disciplinary research culture, the ARC solves todays pressing aerospace challenges. We pride ourselves in supporting diverse researchers at all career stages and working with the largest and smallest industries. Please get in touch to see how the ARC can meet your needs. I am currently looking for students to complete a PhD under EPSRC DTP funding at Brunel University London or those who are self-funded. A range of projects are possible, focusing on multi-fidelity Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Example projects: DTP funding details: Research degree funding: External funding: My interests lie in tackling challenging and often complex geometry flows using LES and HPC and the use of hybrid LES-RANS to reduce computational cost. Wider research includes solver technology, utilising both second and higher order numerical methods to enable selective application of the best tools for industrial use and to understand detailed flow physics. Detailed datasets can then also be exploited to improve lower order design modelling. I am Director (numerical methods) of the Brunel Aerospace Research Centre (ARC). With a vibrant multi-disciplinary research culture, the ARC solves todays pressing aerospace challenges. We pride ourselves in supporting diverse researchers at all career stages and working with the largest and smallest industries. Please get in touch to see how the ARC can meet your needs. I am currently focused on Urban Air Mobility Vehicle modelling and Geothermal Energy. I have recently investigated installed jet engine aeroacoustics using LES, solving challenges such as the use of the Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings method for complex geometry installed ultra-high bypass ratio jets under flight conditions. Previously I have pioneered engine-airframe coupling where an engine with bypass duct internal geometry generates resolved turbulence and is coupled to a jet-pylon-wing-flap geometry. To reveal noise generation mechanisms I am developing parallel analytical tools for 3D unsteady datasets. Prior to this I investigated application of LES to gasturbine zones. Flows studied included internal cooling, labyrinth seals and LPT/HPT blades. This investigation defined where LES is suitable and affordable relative to rig testing. It also provided a flow categorisation and framework for performing LES in industry, identifying future challenges.During my PhD, I studied conjugate heat transfer for an array of heated cubes and convective heat transfer within ribbed ducts and within large electronics system enclosures. For these I tested a wide range of linear and non-linear RANS models, linear and mixed non-linear LES sub-grid scale models, hybrid LES-RANS and high-order central and upwind spatial discretisations. Aerospace MSc Course Director ME5681 Aerospace MSc group design projects (module leader and supervisor) ME3621 Applied Fluid Dynamics and CFD ME2619 Aerodynamics ME2555 Industrial Work Placement (CEng, IMechE MPDS mentor) ME5500 Mechanical/Aerospace/Automotive Engineering MSc dissertation supervision ME3620 Mechanical/Aerospace/Automotive Engineering final year dissertation supervision BE1707 Statics and Dynamics

Professor Tze Pei Chong

Dr Edward Smith Edward Smith (www.edwardsmith.co.uk) is a researcher working on multi-scale methods combining particle and continuum simulation. He earned his PhD at Imperial College London, developing theoretical and computational techniques for the coupled simulation of molecular dynamics (MD) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). After his PhD, he was awarded the post-doctoral excellence fellowship and published the first ever molecular dynamics simulation of near-wall turbulence. He spent time in Swinburne Australia working with experts in non-equilibrium molecular dynamics and statistical mechanics, before moving to Chemical Engineering at Imperial to work on multi-phase flow and the moving contact line. His next move was to Civil Engineering at Imperial to develop software (www.cpl-library.org), linking particles and continuum flows for granular systems. He recently took up a position at Brunel University London as a lecturer in fluid dynamics. Fluid Dynamics Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Molecular Dynamics (MD) Coupled and multiscale simulation linking CFD and MD A developing idea: a complete 1D Navier-Stokes Solver on one page. Using Jupyter notebook to explain the complete discretisation of the Navier Stokes equations in 1D, explaining the simplest possible case (1D) how we can discretise our equations, issues with osciallations, (eventually) boundary conditions and the fractional step pressure solver. Multi-Scale Modelling Here are the notes for the continuum part of the multi-scale modelling course I taught 2017 and 2018. This was for masters students who have a background in a mathematical subject. Slides for the lectures, part one notes and part two notes two, as well as background notes. The lectures are available: Part one video, introduction to the continuum, differential equations and numerical solutions. Part two video, review of part one, more differential equations and an overview of the steps which lead the the Navier-Stokes equation. A white-board derivation video of the Navier-Stokes equation considering the link to molecular systems. Python Intro Course In order to address the lack of general Python teaching here at Imperial, I put together and gave a three part introduction course through the HPC support here at Imperial. This class was aimed at beginners and also for those who want to switch from Matlab to Python. Introduction to Python for scientific computing, 3/3/17 (Video) (Slides) (Solutions) Motivation for using Python. Introduction to programming in Python Python concepts (lists, iterators, etc) and discussion of the differences to other languages. Scientific libraries numpy and matplotlib. Examples of usage for scientific problems. Further details of the Python language, 10/3/17 (Video) (Slides) (Solutions) More on Python data structures: concepts like references, immutable, lists, data organisation with Dictionaries and numpy arrays. Use of functions and design of interfaces. Introduction to classes and objects. Structuring a project, importing modules and writing tests. Examples of usage for scientific problems. Python libraries, 17/3/17 (Video) (Slides) (Solutions) Using Python to read files (ascii, binary, hp5) and plot. Running parameter studies by calling executables repeatedly with subprocess. Designing a basic Graphical User Interface. Unit testing frameworks and version control. Other libraries and how to wrap your own code from fortran, c++, etc Further course details are available on my website:

Dr Mayo Adetoro

Dr Rui Ramos Cardoso Modelling for Manufacturing Modelling for Additive Layer Manufacturing Modelling of Cold Spray Processes Development of Innovative Numerical Methods Computational Mechanics for Structural Analysis Finite Element Method Meshless Methods IsoGeometric Analysis with Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS) Modelling of Plasticity Crystal Plasticity and Multi-Scale Modelling Modelling of Metal Forming Processes Fundamentals of Solid Body Mechanics Aerodynamics Aircraft Design Aircraft Structures

Dr Jan Wissink I am the Senior Tutor and the Year 3 Level Tutor for all Undergraduate Students in the MAE Department. Study of Physical Mechanisms that promote air-water interfacial Heat and Mass Transfer Study of Transitional and Turbulent Flow in Model Linear Turbine Cascade Passages Wind Energy Solving Shallow Water Equations Environmental Fluid Mechanics Aerodynamics

Dr Alvin Gatto Senior Lecturer in Aerospace 2015-present Teaching Qualifications: Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Experimental and Computational AerodynamicsFlight Physics ME2606 – Aircraft performance and controlME2605/3605 – Principles of Aircraft Design (flight mechanics)ME3602 - FEA, CFD and Design of Engineering Systems (Design)ME3616 – Aircraft flight testing and Analysis

Dr Cristinel Mares

Dr James Campbell Dr James Campbell's research is focused on numerical modelling of materials and structures during transient events such as impact and crash. His PhD in hypervelocity impact on spacecraft from Cranfield University provided a basis for the development of expertise in non-linear numerical methods, code development and complex engineering analysis applied to a wide range of engineering problems. A Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and Chartered Engineer, Dr Campbell has 20 years of experience leading multidisciplinary research projects, funded by the EU, Innovate UK, ESA, industry, academia and research organisations (UK and internationally), with more than 100 publications (peer-reviewed journal, conference papers/book chapters). Areas of Expertise Fundamental development of physical models and non-linear numerical methods (FE and SPH), through implementation and code development up to complex engineering analysis. Numerical modelling of the transient response of materials and structures. Meshless methods, including Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). Predictive analysis of lightweight structures, structural integrity and failure, Impact on spacecraft, fluid-structure interaction, impact on aircraft (birdstrike, ice, hard object), crashworthiness (aerospace/automotive), fragmentation and shock loading. Modelling and experimental characterisation of materials (metallic, composite, ceramic, polymer), from quasi-static loading through to high strain-rate behaviour and shock wave propagation. Use of commercial analysis codes LS-DYNA, ABAQUS Experience Dr Campbell graduated from Imperial College London with a BEng in Aeronautical Engineering and Cranfield University with an MSc then PhD in Astronautics and Space Engineering. His PhD research developed numerical modelling of hypervelocity impact on spacecraft and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. This was followed by research on numerical modelling of shock waves at the Centre for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA, for two years. He returned to Cranfield University as Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Computational Mechanics and Course Director of the Structures, Crashworthiness and Impact MSc. Dr Campbell was then appointed as Head of the Crashworthiness, Impact and Structural Mechanics Group at Cranfield. Awards Derek George Astridge Safety in Aerospace Award, IMechE, 2009. Royal Institute of Naval Architects Medal of Distinction, 2010. Selected research projects Principal Investigator. Development of Advanced Material Modelling for Metal Additive Manufacturing (TWI/Lloyds Register Foundation). Principal Investigator. Basalt Fibre Reinforced HDPE for Wave Energy Converters Co-Investigator. Harpoon Impact Modelling Principal Investigator/Project Coordinator. Smart Aircraft in Emergency Situations (SMAES) Principal Investigator. Nonlinear Static Multiscale Analysis of Large Aerostructures (MUSCA) Dr Campbell's expertise is applied to the aeronautics, space, defence, automotive, manufacturing, energy and offshore sectors - and is directly linked to teaching and supervision of PhD and Masters students and professional development programmes. Dr Campbell’s primary research is focused on numerical modelling of materials and structures during transient events such as impact and crash, with 20 years experience leading multidisciplinary research projects funded by the EU, Innovate UK, ESA and industry, academia and research organisations (UK and internationally). This expertise is applied to the aeronautics, space, defence, automotive, manufacturing, energy and offshore sectors. Research Areas Fundamental development of physical models and non-linear numerical methods Meshless methods for non-linear solid and fluid mechanics - methods and code development for Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). Artificial viscosity methods for shock wave modelling. Implementation of boundary and contact conditions in numerical codes. Constitutive models for strength, damage and shock response of isotropic and orthotropic materials (metallic, composite, ceramic, polymer). Numerical implementation of constitutive models for meshed (finite element) and meshless (SPH) codes. Experimental characterisation of materials. Application of explicit numerical methods to the transient response of solids and structures Predictive analysis of lightweight structures Crashworthiness and ditching analysis for aircraft and helicopters. Impact engineering: Ballistic and foreign object impact on structures, bird strike, ice impact on structures, fragmentation of metals, hypervelocity impact on spacecraft. Transient fluid-structure interaction: aircraft ditching, liquid sloshing, bird strike, extreme wave impact. Process modelling for metallic additive manufacturing. Structural ultimate load prediction. Doctoral Research: Applications from outstanding candidates interested in doctoral research are welcome at any time of the year. Please email james.campbell@brunel.ac.uk. Selected research projects Principal Investigator. Development of Advanced Material Modelling for Metal Additive Manufacturing (TWI/Lloyds Register Foundation). Principal Investigator. Basalt Fibre Reinforced HDPE for Wave Energy Converters Co-Investigator. Harpoon Impact Modelling Principal Investigator and Project Coordinator. Smart Aircraft in Emergency Situations (SMAES) Principal Investigator. Nonlinear Static Multiscale Analysis of Large Aerostructures (MUSCA) Research clients and partners include Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Operations Alenia Aeronautica AWE Dassault Aviation DLR (German Aerospace Centre) EPSRC European Commission (FP5, FP6, FP7) European Space Agency Innovate UK Lloyds Register Foundation ONERA (French Aerospace Research Centre) Raytheon Systems TWI Dr Campbell has more than 20 years experience of teaching and supervision of Masters and PhD students and Continuing Professional Development programmes to industry (UK and Internationally). Module leader - Aerospace Engineering MEng/MSc: Design and Analysis of Spacecraft Systems ME5665/ME5685 (Lead design and delivery of this new module for academic year 2022-2023) Design and Analysis of Aircraft ME5664/ME5684. Current Topics in Aerospace, and Advanced CAD ME5662/ME5682. Module leader - Structural Integity and Oil & Gas MSc: Reliability Engineering ME5605, Reliabilty Engineering and Risk Management ME5637. Lightweight Structures and Impact Engineering MSc: Impact and Crashworthiness ME5707. Advanced Transient Simulation Methods ME5706. Thin-Walled Structures ME5645. Project supervision: MSc Dissertation, Major Individual Project (Engineering MEng and BEng students) and Group Project in Aerospace Engineering (Aerospace MSc) Additional teaching experience: External Examiner University of Bath. MEng/BEng Aerospace Engineering, 2017-2021. Course Director Structures, Crashworthiness and Impact MSc (now Lightweight Structures and Composites). Lead for the development of this new Masters programme from initial concept through approval and successful launch and delivery of the programme. Development and delivery of bespoke CPD courses for a range of industrial clients (UK and internationally) including Boeing (USA) and Augusta Westland (Leonardo). At Cranfield University: Delivered teaching to Advanced Lightweight Structures and Impact MSc, Aerospace Vehicle Design MSc, Automotive Product Engineering MSc, Military Aerospace and Airworthiness MSc and Safety and Accident Investigation MSc courses as well as CPD courses. Topics covered: Crashworthiness Structural Stability (buckling and post-buckling of thin-walled structures) Simulation for Crash and Impact Material Characterisation Aircraft Stress Analysis Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics

Dr Nenad Djordjevic Dr Nenad Djordjevic is a Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Brunel University London, Research Centre Director (Centre for Assessment of Structures and Materials under Extreme Conditions) and a course director of an MSc programme with 15 years of experience in research and teaching. He has been working in the field of applied and computational mechanics on development of linear and non-linear numerical codes (FEM and SPH) for dynamic analysis of solids and structures. His teaching portfolio includes teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level, including the MSc programmes coordination, modules development and delivery, students projects supervision, and delivery of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) courses. Dr Nenad Djordjevic joined the Applied Mechanics and Astronautics Department at Cranfield University in 2007, where he obtained his PhD in Modelling of Inelastic Behaviour of Orthotropic Materials under Dynamic Loading Including High Velocity Impact in 2011. Having worked in the Applied Mechanics and Astronautics Department of Cranfield University for over five years, he joined Brunel and NSIRC as a Lecturer in Structural Integrity. Dr Nenad Djordjevic had been working in Applied Mechanics and Astronautics Department of Cranfield University for over five years, before he joined Brunel and NSIRC. The main area of Nenad’s research interests is development of constitutive models in the framework of thermodynamics and configurational mechanics, applicable to the metals and composites. In particular, his research is oriented towards the simulation of a range of impact and crashworthiness problems in the area of aerospace, naval and automotive industry, including bird strike, high velocity impact and fluid structure interaction problems. Another area of interest is design and application of experimental techniques developed for characterisation of dynamic behaviour of materials. Nenad has been involved in several European Framework programmes, such as TEMPUS, FP6 and FP7, Horizon2020 and a number of industrial projects, developed in collaboration with Rolls Royce, AWE, Lockheed Martin, Office of Naval Research (USA) etc. He is a co-author of seven papers, published in high impact journals, and twelve publications presented in the international conferences. the development of constitutive models in the framework of thermodynamics and configurational mechanics that are applicable to metals and composites in small and finite deformation problems; the simulation of a range of impact and crashworthiness problems in the area of aerospace, naval and automotive sectors, including bird strike, high velocity impact and fluid structure interaction problems. design and application of experimental techniques for characterisation of dynamic behaviour of materials, including characterisaiton of composites; Dr Nenad Djordjevic is a Fellow of Higher Education Academy and has obtained PGCert in Higher Education. Nenad has over 15 years of experience in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. Whilst at Cranfield University, he was leader of the Impact Dynamics, and the Advanced Composites Analysis and Simulation modules that were delivered as a part of the Advanced Lightweight Structures and Impact (ALSI) and Astronautics and Space Engineering (ASE) Masters programmes. He was also involved with teaching on Finite Elements (theoretical and practical parts), Structural Mechanics and Structural Dynamics. Nenad was a supervisor for over 50 MSc Individual Research Projects and a supervisor for six PhD students. Nenad continues to contribute to teaching on the NSIRC based MSc programmes and MEng and MSc in Aerospace engineering and his current teaching modules include: Numerical Modelling of Solids and Structures; Fracture Mechanics and Fatigue Analysis; Stress Analysis; Advanced Composite Materials Analysis; Dynamics of PEtroleum Structures; Design and Construction of Installation; Design and Analysis of Aerospace Vehicles;

Professor Hamid Bahai Hamid Bahai received his PhD degree in 1993 in Computational Mechanics from Queen Mary College, University of London. Between 1993 and 1995 he worked as a Senior Research Engineer at T&N Technology where he was involved in research and development work on a number of projects for the automotive and aerospace industries. This was followed by a period at Halliburton Inc during which time he carried out design and analysis of a number of major offshore structures. In 1996 he moved to the aerospace industry by joining Astrium, an aerospace subsidiary of European Aeronautics Defence and Space company, where as a senior scientist, he played a leading role in conducting design, mathematical modelling and computational analysis of Euro3000 space craft structures and Ariane launcher / spacecraft adapter. It was during this period that he was made a Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers for his technical contributions and services to the scientific and engineering communities. In 1998 he returned to academia and joined Brunel University as a lecturer. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2004, Reader in 2005 and Professor in Computational Mechanics in 2009. He has led a number of research projects covering a wide range of topics in the area of Computational Mechanics and has published over 140 papers on various themes in the field. In 2014 Hamid Bahai was appointed as the Head of the newly formed Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering at Brunel University London and in 2019 was appointed as the Director of Brunel’s Institute of Materials & Manufacturing. Hamid Bahai’s many theoretical and applied contributions include the development of a new type of non-linear shallow shell strain based finite element and a novel inverse eigenvalue formulation for optimising the vibratory behaviour of structures. His current research interests include development of non-linear finite element formulations and algorithms for fluid-solid interaction and multi-scale continuum-particle numerical simulations. He acted as principal investigator and the chair of government and industrial jointly funded consortiums to work on a high performance computational fluid-solid coupled structural analysis projects. The output of a number of analytical models developed by Hamid Bahai and his co-workers have now become international benchmarks in the scientific community and industry. He has conducted consulting work in the field of structural integrity for many UK and International companies and has given invited talks and courses the world over on various topics in structural computational mechanics. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Computational Mechanics. Hamid's current research interests include computational mechanics, fatigue and fracture mechanics, structural dynamics and development of non-linear finite element formulations and algorithms for fluid-solid interaction and multi-scale continuum-particle numerical simulations. Fundamentals of Solid Body Mechanics Finite Element Analysis Advanced Vibration Theory Numerical Methods Geometric Modelling Control Theory

Dr Kevin Hughes Dr Kevin Hughes graduated from Cranfield University where he obtained an MSc in Astronautics and Space Engineering, prior to achieving his PhD in improving helicopter crashworthiness for impacts on water. Kevin has extensive experience in teaching (including development and delivery of new modules) at MSc / Continued Professional Development level, Operating as an MSc Course Director since 2005, Kevin achieved Senior Fellow status with the Higher Education Academy and has supervised over one hundred MSc industry supported dissertation projects to completion. Kevin's research interests are focused on the development of numerical simulation methods for non-linear structural analysis (including crashworthiness), which includes coupling finite element analysis to optimisation methods. Utilising high fidelity modelling of structures and materials has led to research colloborations within automotive, aerospace and rail sectors. Kevin’s research started with improving the level of crashworthiness for helicopters impacting onto hard and water surfaces through his PhD, which led to his interest in applying non-linear transient numerical simulation methods (mesh based and mesh free) to understand the response of structures and materials to a range of dynamic loading. Applications include the use of optimisation approaches to develop robust design solutions (by taking into account sources of uncertainty) for industrially sponsored research / EU collaborative projects. This led to Kevin’s involvement with a number of companies with challenging engineering problems, including Jaguar Landrover and Aston Martin related to car crashworthiness, failure assessment for Network Rail and led to a product to market by developing protection concepts for electronic devices in conjunction with Logitech (resulting in a US Patent). Non Linear Transient Finite Element Method Crashworthiness and Impact Response of Materials and Structures Analysis Led Design and Optimisation Prior to moving to Brunel University London, Kevin has been involved with post-graduate and CPD training since 2005 and is based around the application of non-linear numerical simulation methods and optimisation approaches to understand the response of structures and materials to dynamic loading, covering: Structural Mechanics / Stress Analysis Simulation for Impact and Crashworthiness (explicit FEA) Design of Automotive Integral Vehicle Structures Material Characterisation for Simulation Applied Finite Element Modelling (Static and Dynamic) Thin-Walled Structures Kevin leads strategic development of the off-campus MSc programmes delivered through NSIRC (National Structural Integrity Research Centre), located at Granta Park (near Cambridge) and is programme director: Structural Integrity (Asset Reliability Management) MSc and MScR programmes Lightweight Structures and Impact Engineering: MSc and MScR programmes Kevin also coordinates and delivers credit bearing engineering CPD courses to industry (see link opposite), providinga flexible route towards post-graduate qualifications (PgCert, PgDip, MSc and MSc by Research).

Mr Clinton Naicker

Mr Yash Bakrania Yash Bakrania has successfully completed his master's degree in aerospace engineering at Brunel University London. Having completed his degree, Yash is now working as a doctoral researcher at Brunel University London. Yash's research focuses on investigating flow control methods used to attenuate airfoil self noise and improve aerodynamic performance of turbomachinery fans.

Miss Mansi Bhardwaj

Mr Thomas Goonan Doctoral researcher investigating new numerical and experimental methods for the analysis of aeroelasticity for aircraft structures. Numerical and Experimental Modelling of Aeroelasticity