We are pleased to announce the successful defense of the Master’s thesis “Interactive Aerodynamic Design Based on Physics-Informed Models and Immersive Visualization” by Mihai Alin Helciug at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, under the supervision of Prof. Marco E. Biancolini and co-supervision of Ing. Emanuele Di Meo.

The research focused on the development of an interactive Digital Twin framework for aerodynamic optimization in a Formula SAE application. The proposed methodology integrated high-fidelity CFD simulations, reduced-order modeling techniques, and immersive virtual reality environments to enable real-time exploration of aerodynamic performance while overcoming the computational limitations of conventional simulation-driven design processes.

A central component of the workflow was the adoption of RBF Mesh Morphing for geometry parameterization. By directly deforming the computational mesh without requiring CAD reconstruction or remeshing, RBF Morph enabled the efficient generation of a large design space and the automated production of CFD snapshots for model training. The parameterization involved the front and rear wings, sidepods, and diffuser, allowing systematic investigation of their influence on aerodynamic behavior.

The generated dataset was employed to construct physics-informed Reduced Order Models of the static pressure and wall shear stress fields through modal decomposition techniques. The resulting digital twin was subsequently exported and integrated into a virtual reality environment running on Meta Quest 3, enabling real-time geometric modifications and instantaneous visualization of pressure distributions in an immersive setting.

The study demonstrated that the proposed approach can effectively bridge high-fidelity simulation, reduced-order modeling, and interactive visualization, providing a powerful framework for aerodynamic optimization and supporting the adoption of digital twin technologies in advanced engineering design workflows.

You can read the presentation and the full thesis.