The build-up of ice on an airplane in flight can seriously impair its ability to fly and, in extreme cases, lead to catastrophe. In Dr. David Del Rey Fernández's lab, algorithms and software are being developed to understand these processes and enhance future aircraft designs to prevent negative outcomes.
Del Rey Fernández, a professor in the University of Waterloo's Department of Applied Mathematics, leads research teams at the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Aeronautics (WISA), focusing on developing simulation software algorithms to design safer, more aerodynamic and fuel-efficient aircraft that are environmentally friendly.
Funded by the Government of Canada, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the WISA research team uses algorithms to solve partial differential equations, simulating aircraft flight under a range of conditions, instead of creating traditional physical models. algorithms to solve partial differential equations, simulating aircraft flight under a range of conditions, instead of creating traditional physical models.
Read the full story from Waterloo News to learn more.