CENTRALE LYON - Postdoctoral position - Hybrid LBM-VLM simulation of propeller-wing interaction

Founded in 1857, École Centrale de Lyon is one of the top 10 engineering schools in France. It trains more than 3,000 students of 50 different nationalities on its campuses in Écully and Saint-Étienne (ENISE, in-house school): general engineers, specialized engineers, masters and doctoral students. With the Groupe des Écoles Centrale, it has three international locations. The training provided benefits from the excellence of the research carried out in the 6 CNRS-accredited laboratories on its campuses, the 2 international laboratories, the 6 international research networks and the 10 joint laboratories with companies. Its excellent research and high-level teaching have enabled it to establish double degree agreements with prestigious universities and advanced partnerships with numerous companies. With its focus on sobriety, energy, the environment and decarbonization, Centrale Lyon intends to respond to the problems faced by socio-economic players in the major transitions.

The Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics Laboratory (Laboratoire de Mécanique des Fluides et d'Acoustique - LMFA) develops a continuum of research in fluid mechanics and acoustics, from the understanding and the modelling of physical phenomena to applied research, in collaboration with industrial partners and public institutions. Research is organized around three major socio-economic fields: aeronautics and transport, environment and risks, and energy and processes for industry and life.

The Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is gaining increasing interest in Computational Fluid Dynamics. While traditional methods rely on a discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations at a macroscopic level, the LB method considers the fluid at a kinetic level. Capturing the dynamics of collections of fluid particles distributed over a lattice is here preferred to solving non-linear PDEs. Processing a simulation in this way has some advantages. The low numerical dissipation allows for accurate simulation of time-dependent flows, enabling the large-eddy simulation of turbulence [1]. Furthermore, the high scalability on massively parallel computers can lead to advantageous turn-around times for industrial applications.

The Vortex Lattice Method (VLM) [2] is a low-order method used to evaluate the aerodynamics of lifting surface (propellers, wind turbines...), at minimal computational cost.

The Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Acoustics (LMFA, CNRS, École Centrale de Lyon) is seeking a highly qualified candidate for a post-doctoral research fellowship regarding the development of hybrid LBM-VLM methods for the simulation of propeller-wing interactions. The numerical simulations will be carried out using ProLB [3], an LB method software developed at LMFA in collaboration with other academic and industrial partners, including Renault, Safran and Airbus.

The successful candidate will be in charge of developing and implementing a numerical strategy to include VLM simulation results of propellers into LBM simulations of wings. The objective is to reduce the computational cost of the LBM simulations by resorting to VLM results for the description of the propellers. A particular attention will be paid to the numerical coupling strategy, in terms of stability, fidelity and computational cost. Validations on propeller/wing configurations will be carried out, in comparison with LBM simulations representing directly the propellers and the wing.

This research activity is carried out in the ‘Turbomachinery’ team of the laboratory. It is part of a 3 years-long major project co-funded by the DGAC (French Civil Aviation) and directed by Airbus. The successful candidate will therefore develop his research activity collaboratively with the other academic and industrial partners of the project.

[1] J. Boudet, et al. “Unsteady Lattice Boltzmann Simulations of Corner Separation in a Compressor Cascade”, Journal of Turbomachinery, vol. 144, no 1, January 2022, doi: 10.1115/1.4052017.

[2] V. Caries, J. Boudet, E. Lippinois, “Tip-Leakage Flow in a Low-Pressure Compressor: Comparison Between Low- and Medium-Fidelity Modelings”, Journal of Turbomachinery, vol. 148, no 081007, May 2026, doi: 10.1115/1.4071739.

[3] M. Buszyk, P. Cyril, L. G. Thomas, B. Raphaël, S. Edouard, et M. Jacky, “Turbofan Aeroacoustics with a Serrated Stator: Design, Predictions, and Comparisons with Measurements”, AIAA Journal, vol. 63, nᵒ 11, p. 4906 4922, 2025, doi: 10.2514/1.J065316.

Diplomas : PhD in Engineering, Physics, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, or Applied Mathematics.

Experience : Prior Experience in turbomachinery aerodynamics or the Lattice Boltzmann method would be an advantage.

Knowledge required: Contributions in the areas of scientific computing or Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Operational skills : Physical analysis of fluid dynamics, advanced skills in programming and numerical methods, writing scientific reports and articles, presenting at scientific conferences.

Behavioural skills : Independence, ability to work in a team and adapt to the needs of colleagues, creativity.