Grant: Alliance Grants

The project will address the challenges and opportunities of using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to evaluate the atmospheric effects on pilot training for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). A reliable method for creating realistic flight simulations based on digital twin models of cities accounting for atmospheric effects will be developed. It will contribute to the optimization of safe flight routes in urban environments. The simulations will help improve the safety of both the aircraft operators and the civilians along the flight path. The project will cover the following aspects: automated geometry and mesh processing, CFD simulations based on Large Eddy Simulations, validation of urban flow simulations, and integration of wind flow and flight paths. All students involved in this project will gain expertise and experience in conducting research in the field of AAM. Moreover, some students will acquire more fundamental skills in developing numerical simulation, and designing performance, stability and control algorithms. Others will conduct more applied research in urban flow simulations and validation. This advanced and technically demanding project will be carried out by five Master's students supervised by four Concordia professors and collaborating with two industry leaders in flight simulations and environmental engineering. The project will also help CAE to establish criteria that will be used to assess the relevance of using urban flow simulations in the AAM pilot training curriculum. Since atmospheric effects have been modeled on training devices before, the emergence of AAM raises the security challenges of operating vehicles within the urban landscape. By validating urban flow simulations against multiple sources, this project will provide RWDI with the level of CFD simulation accuracy needed to capture the effects of the urban flow on the performance, stability and control of AAM vehicles.