Contact Information

Department of Aeronautics,
Imperial College London,
E455B, ACEX Building,
South Kensington Campus,
P
rince Consort Road,
London, SW7 2AZ
U.K.

Email: l.dalla-longa14@imperial.ac.uk

Twitter: @L_DallaLonga

LinkedIn

 

Research

Simulation, Modelling and Feedback control of the flow around a Square-Back road Vehicle

Carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) have significantly increased over the past decades and represent a major concern for the environment. It has been shown that the transportation sector and more specifically road vehicles were responsible for a major part of the carbon dioxide emissions in the world. Indeed most of the vehicles are powered by fossil-fuel based engines that produce CO2 emissions to overcome the driving resistance. To minimize the impact of vehicle emissions, Europe has pioneered an eco-tax system based on CO2 emissions for new vehicles which impacts their selling price. At highway speeds, the air resistance or aerodynamic drag represents the main source of energy loss. This is why aerodynamic efficiency is very relevant to vehicle manufacturers seeking to comply with emission limits.

The goal of my PhD project is to perform Large Eddy Simulations of the flow past a square-back bluff body with the aim of reducing aerodynamic drag using an active control method. This method employs synthetic jets also called zero-net-mass-flux (ZNMF) jets. These jets are produced experimentally by the vibrating membrane of a loudspeaker placed inside a small cavity which pulses alternately air in and out of this cavity. This technique is promising because not only it does not affect the vehicle geometry, but it also does not necessitate any pumping system to function which saves weight and energy.

Education

M.S Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley 2013

BS, M.S ("Diplome d'ingenieur") Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Arts et Metiers ParisTech 2013

Publications

  • A. S. Morgans, J. A. Dahan, L. Dalla Longa. Reducing the pressure drag of blunt bluff bodies using linear feedback control. Proc. Roy. A. - Math. Phy. , (under review)

Conferences

  • L. Dalla Longa, A. S. Morgans. Simulation, Modelling and Feedback control of the flow around a Square-Back Bluff Body68th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Fluid Mechanics, Boston, USA, 2015. (abstract)
  • L. Dalla Longa, A. S. Morgans, Simulation, Modelling and Feedback control of the flow around a scale model of a square-back road vehicle, Imperial College Aeronautics Research Colloquium, London, UK, 6 May, 2015

Awards

  • Imperial PhD Scholarship 2014
  • Arts et Metiers ParisTech Silver Medal 2013 (top 10% nationwide)
  • Graduate Division Block Grant Award, UC Berkeley 2012
  • ParisTech Award 2011
  • Louis Magne Award 2010