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Flying high or at the bottom of the sea

Unicamp's Faculty of Mechanical Engineering invests in interdisciplinarity in both research and teaching offered at undergraduate level

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What are the steps that lead to innovation? Whatever the path chosen, the development of solutions that meet the challenges of the contemporary world involves dialogue between different areas of knowledge. This is a question posed to all engineering areas, especially Mechanical Engineering. The area is responsible for creating machinery and systems that are the basis for the development of a series of research, technologies and products and, for this, it depends on the synergy between techniques and skills. For this to happen from the students' training, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FEM) at Unicamp is committed to interdisciplinarity both in research and in the teaching offered at undergraduate level. 

“Some fields of research are clearly interdisciplinary, as is the case with materials studies. There are researchers who work with the development and verification of the properties of materials used in medicine and dentistry, for example”, highlights Arnaldo Walter, director of the college. According to him, the exchange of knowledge goes beyond technological aspects, allowing mechanical engineers to dialogue with major contemporary themes. “There are also researchers in the field of energy systems who work on topics such as air pollution.”

Given the research challenges, a broader perspective is a necessity, as Arnaldo explains. They come both from the productive sector, which seeks new technologies and products, and from the students themselves, who arrive at university with new perspectives. “In relation to other universities in the world, Unicamp is relatively new. New themes and demands emerge quickly, there is a challenge for modern society to adapt to these needs. This not only in research, but also in teaching. The university must follow this movement”, he points out. 

In this edition of the series “That’s Unicamp”, the Journal of Unicamp highlights two areas of research at FEM that exemplify the potential of Mechanical Engineering to develop technologies in different environments, contexts and applications: aeronautics and infrastructure for oil exploration.

Photo of a man appearing from the waist up. He is white, has short white hair and wears a beige shirt.
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering focuses on interdisciplinarity both in research and in the teaching offered at undergraduate level. In the photo the director of FEM, Arnaldo Walter (Photo: Antonio Scarpinetti)

The sky is the limit

The improvement of aerospace technologies is a great demand today. They range from satellite communications, through the search for greater efficiency in air transport, to the new period of space exploration driven by private companies, such as Elon Musk's SpaceX. Looking at this scenario, FEM's Aeronautical Sciences Laboratory is mainly concerned with understanding how aircraft interact with the air, in order to improve their aerodynamics, reduce their noise and improve their performance in turbulence situations. To this end, they find numerical simulations an important resource for analysis and experiments. 

“Our numerical simulations are so accurate that we can trust them completely, to the point of using the results to calibrate the equipment used in physical experiments”, highlights William Wolf, professor at FEM and laboratory coordinator. Studies that use simulations are dedicated to the so-called 'flow control'. Using them, researchers evaluate how air flows through different parts of aircraft, such as the wings, fuselage and turbines. In most cases, this air flow is subject to variations in temperature, density and wind direction, which makes it turbulent. It is these conditions, the turbulence, that intrigue researchers. 

Photo of a man standing in a classroom. He is white, has short gray hair and is wearing a beige blouse. Behind him is a whiteboard with scribbles.
William Wolf, from the FEM Aeronautical Sciences Laboratory (Photo: Antonio Scarpinetti)

In these cases, the role of Mechanical Engineering is to observe turbulence and design aircraft and vehicles that are more efficient in these situations. This is because, contrary to common sense, planes are in turbulence throughout the flight. “When planes go through what is commonly known as turbulence, there is a great deal of agitation in the air around them and, as a result, the aircraft also becomes agitated. There are whirlwinds, like small hurricanes of various sizes, around the plane. Sometimes, the plane passes through one of these larger vortices, the size of the plane itself, which causes agitation”, details Wolf. 

The knowledge applied in these different situations ranges from the principles of aerodynamics and material resistance to specific concepts, such as aerospace vehicles. “To re-enter the atmosphere, space capsules face speeds that are tens of times greater than the speed of sound. The temperatures these capsules face are on the order of 10 degrees Celsius, much higher than the surface of the sun. So that it doesn't melt and a tragedy occurs, there is an entire engineering project to understand how the air flow occurs when these capsules re-enter”, explains the professor. According to him, this type of research also requires the analysis of chemical transformations that can occur due to differences in temperature and pressure. 

The less noise, the better

The search for greater efficiency in aerial vehicles is not restricted to travel time or lower energy consumption. Reducing aircraft noise is an improvement sought by large aerospace companies. To this end, studies analyze how much noise the flow produces and how controlling these processes can reduce them. In aircraft, the flow in various components can generate noise, but the research by Túlio Ricciardi, PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Unicamp, focused on an unconventional element: the landing gears. “Aircraft noise has been studied since the 1960s, but the focus has always been on propulsion, on the engine itself. It was surprising to me, I never imagined that the landing gear was such a source of noise. When we look at the entire plane, the landing gear is a small component, but it generates a very significant noise”, explains Ricciardi. According to the researcher, this is because it is a structure with little aerodynamics: “The landing gear greatly hinders the airflow, which generates noise in itself. When there is a smoother structure, interaction with the air is facilitated.” The research was supported by Boeing and was one of those awarded the Capes Theses Prize 2022. Today, Ricciardi is a researcher at the University of Illinois, in the United States.

 

Photo of computer simulations of noise in aircraft landing gear.
Computer simulations help reduce noise in aircraft landing gear (Photo: Disclosure)

To analyze which parts of the landing gear generate the most noise, Túlio carried out a simulation that took more than six months to complete. From there, it was possible to identify the directions of the noise. “The noise that goes downwards, towards the ground, is what really interests us and would need to be reduced”, he comments. 

Even though major changes to the shape of the landing gear are not possible, as they are aircraft safety items, the research opens up space for important improvements in the industry. “Some airports close at night precisely because of noise. If aircraft generate less noise, it is possible to increase the number of flights at night without causing discomfort to people”, he points out.  

The concern about aeroacoustic noise is not restricted to aircraft projects. The study of flow is also applied in the automobile industry. After completing his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Maurício Massarotti had the opportunity to apply his knowledge to cars produced by the Swedish company Volvo, with the same objective of reducing the noise generated by air flow, but in electric vehicles. 

“Today, an electric vehicle emits road noise and aeroacoustic noises. Therefore, the industry needs professionals in this area. Automakers have this challenge ahead of them, it is a field in progress”, comments Massarotti. In his research, the engineer developed a type of component that generates less noise, which increases user comfort. “I managed to implement a solution developed in my master's degree on the vehicles' rear spoiler. This was just one of the applications of the knowledge generated over all these years, but it is exactly what I worked on in the research. It is a solution for the latest in automotive technology, which has not yet been launched, and which was developed at Unicamp.”

After bringing innovation to Volvo in Sweden, Massarotti is moving to England. He was hired by automaker Bentley as a technical lead in aeroacoustics. All achievements were based on the learning built at Unicamp. “Here in Europe, most engineers have a master’s degree. But the type of knowledge generated is what sets us apart. I was able to apply theoretical knowledge and this made me stand out. Everything was built based on my passion for applying science in industry”, he celebrates.

Composition with two photos. On the left there is a white man. He appears from the chest up, has black hair, beard and mustache. On the right there is a white man who appears from the chest up. He has short brown hair and is wearing a navy blue t-shirt.
FEM researchers, Túlio Ricciardi and Maurício Massaroti (Photos: Personal collection)

Deep dive

The need to promote dialogue between different areas of knowledge is also applied in research whose environment is the seabed. “In recent decades, knowledge has become much more specialized and deeper. This ends up hindering the creation of integrated solutions, which involve creativity. Therefore, today we feel the need to combine knowledge from different disciplines”, analyzes Celso Morooka, a professor at FEM who focuses on Mechanical Engineering studies applied to oil exploration infrastructure. 

Morooka explains that engineering's contribution to the area occurs in two main aspects: the improvement of oil exploration and the development of equipment and systems capable of resisting the harsh elements of the ocean. “It's not trivial, because you have to go to a depth of around 2,5 meters and energize the oil so that it reaches the surface. There are several mechanisms to do this, which also involves a lot of knowledge and technologies”, he points out. 

Engineering projects developed in the area must consider variations such as waves, sea currents that move in various directions, differences in temperature and pressure at different depths, as well as conditions that affect platforms on the surface. “In other words, it’s not just about hydrodynamics, but also about aerodynamics.”

Photo of a man standing in a laboratory. He is white, bald, has slanted eyes, wears glasses and is wearing a gray shirt.
Celso Morooka is dedicated to studies applied to oil exploration infrastructure (Photo: Antonio Scarpinetti)

Another aspect that affects the projects are the properties of the seabed, which is neither completely solid nor completely fluid. The facilities need to go through this layer to then reach the rocks, from where the oil is extracted. These are complex conditions in which numerical simulations help to design the platforms' support structures. 

To do this, they use what is called topological optimization. The technique consists of, through algorithms, designing the ideal structure to support the platforms and enable oil exploration, within a context in which environmental variables are involved and maintaining the maximum rigidity possible. “These calculations include factors such as sustainability, environmental impact and economic cost. All of this is involved when designing a structure that adapts to these criteria”, explains Renato Pavanelo, a professor at FEM who works in partnership with Morooka on research in the area. 

Where are we going?

Today, research involved with oil exploration infrastructure deals with internal and external challenges to the production chain. One of them is to apply the concepts already used to enable the digitalization of processes and apply artificial intelligence resources. “A big question is how to collect data through sensors. We are talking about 2 meters deep, in addition to the depth of the subsoil, and it is common for us to need pressure and temperature information from down there. Based on this information, intelligent systems can make decisions”, comments Morooka. 

Another challenge is working in the context of the energy transition. Whether due to environmental factors, or episodes such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which raised the price of a barrel of oil on the international market, researchers are faced with the need to adapt technologies and structures that, in the future, will be explored in another way. form. 

Photo of a man sitting behind a desk. He is white, has gray hair, wears glasses and a mask and has his arms raised.
Renato Pavanelo works with algorithms to design the ideal structure to support platforms and enable oil exploration (Photo: Antonio Scarpinetti)

Morooka considers that society will not do without oil abruptly or in a short period of time, but that there are opportunities that can now be taken advantage of. He cites the example of using structures built on the high seas to produce energy from other sources, such as solar and wind. “For example, today, part of the energy needed for the processes that occur on platforms comes from burning natural gas. One possibility would be to install floating wind farms, taking advantage of the structure of the platforms, and solar energy panels too, to generate electricity for the platforms and direct natural gas to other purposes on land”, proposes the researcher. 

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Photo of an airplane's landing gear and turbine.

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