Stefanie Duessler

In my research, I am exploring new potential Gust Load Alleviation (GLA) strategies with feedback control for next-generation commercial aircraft within the COMAC - Imperial Research Centre for Wing Technology of Commercial Aircraft. So far GLA has been defined as an aeroelastic problem, but my work will seek a more wholistic view of the aircraft dynamics. The computational methods used are based on the open-source aeroelastic simulation environment SHARPy, which is currently being developed in my research lab. SHARPy couples unsteady aerodynamics based on potential flow theory with flexible-multibody vehicle dynamics to predict vehicle response. This coupling is essential to accurately capture flight dynamic and rigid-body effects, as a considerable proportion of the external work on the vehicle generated by the gust is converted into kinetic rigid body energy. 

The objective is to expand SHARPy’s capabilities to produce a comprehensive mathematical representation and associated computational aeroservoelastic models for the design of GLA systems on next-generation commercial transport aircraft.

Work Experience

• April 2019 – September 2019: Intern in Corporate Innovation Management at Lufthansa Technik AG.