Aerodynamic Interactions in Multi-Propeller Aircraft Configurations – Online Short Course (Starts 7 October 2025) 7 October - 23 October 2025 Online

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Aerodynamic Interactions in Multi-Propeller Aircraft Configurations









  • From 7–23 October 2025 (3 Weeks, 6 Classes, 15 Total Hours)
  • Every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30–3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (all sessions will be recorded and available for replay; course notes will be available for download)
  • This new essential course covers multi-propeller aircraft configurations for Advanced Air Mobility, on both a theoretical and a practical level.
  • All students will receive an AIAA Certificate of Completion at the end of the course

OVERVIEW

The course will provide comprehensive coverage of the basic principles, technologies and methodologies pertaining to the interactional aerodynamics mechanisms related to multi-propeller aircraft configurations. Key technical topics covered in this course include the definition of the principal interactional aerodynamics phenomena occurring on innovative aircraft/rotorcraft configurations along with their flight envelope (i.e. propeller-propeller, propeller-wing, blade-vortex-interactions, vortex ring state) and their main effects on aerodynamic performance and acoustic footprint. Course material will extend beyond basic theoretical background about interactional aerodynamics touching on related state-of-the-art methodologies, from experimental techniques to numerical methods, used for the investigation of these phenomena applied to innovative multi-rotor aircraft configurations. Finally, a practical wing-propeller numerical test case will be set up with attendants using DUST to provide technical insights about the use of state-of-the-art mid-fidelity software for the investigation of interactional aerodynamics.

DUST is a mid-fidelity aerodynamics software based on VPM for wake modelling developed by the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology of Politecnico di Milano, it is meant to deliver affordable and reliable solutions of aerodynamics problems on complex configurations.

Focused on scalability and flexibility in the input, geometry definition, movement, and solution phase, DUST allows the user to analyze diverse configurations with increasing and scalable levels of fidelity. DUST is free and open-source, released under the MIT License and is one of the most robust and used mid-fidelity software in scientific and industrial community applied to preliminary design of multi-propeller aircraft configuration.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Acquire a sound understanding of interactional aerodynamics problems applied to multi-propeller aircraft configurations
  • Acquire an understanding of the effects of these interactional aerodynamics phenomena on aircraft/rotorcraft loads and performance along with their flight envelope
  • Acquire an understanding of the effects of these interactional aerodynamics phenomena on the acoustic signature of aircraft/rotorcraft
  • Acquire a basic understanding of the design of innovative aircraft architectures that could mitigate interactional aerodynamics effects on performance and acoustic signature
  • Acquire an understanding of the principal experimental techniques and wind tunnel tests set up for the investigation of interactional aerodynamics phenomena in multi-propeller aircraft configurations
  • Acquire an understanding of the use of mid-fidelity numerical models for the investigation of interactional aerodynamics phenomena related to basic wing-propellers aerodynamic interaction.

AUDIENCE
This course is intended for holders of a BS degree in aeronautical/aerospace engineering who have had coverage of basic aerodynamics applied to fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. Audience members might be also new M.Sc. or Ph.D. graduates or experienced engineers who want to learn about the basic aerodynamics challenges of advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles. Course audience members should be able to perform basic computational aerodynamic simulations using surface meshes. Audience members with added interest gained about interactional aerodynamics phenomena can use this course to prepare for more advanced courses on innovative multi-propeller aircraft design.

COURSE FEES (Sign-In To Register)
- AIAA Member Price: $895 USD
- Non-Member Price: $1095 USD
- AIAA Student Member Price: $495 USD

Classroom Hours / CEUs: 16 classroom hours, 1.6 CEU/PDH

Cancellation Policy: A refund less a $50.00 cancellation fee will be assessed for all cancellations made in writing prior to 7 days before the start of the event. After that time, no refunds will be provided.

Contact: Please contact Lisa Le or Customer Service if you have questions about the course or group discounts (for 5+ participants).

Frequently Asked Questions

Outline
  • Overview of the principal interactional aerodynamics phenomena applied to aircraft/rotorcraft
    • propeller-propeller
    • propeller-wing
    • blade-vortex-interaction (BVI)
    • vortex ring state (VRS)
  • Analysis of drawbacks/benefit related to interactional aerodynamics phenomena occurring in the different phases of aircraft/rotorcraft flight envelope
    • propellers loads and performance
    • wing loads and performance
    • acoustic signature
  • Experimental techniques and wind tunnel set up for the investigation of interactional aerodynamics problems
    • design of motorized wind tunnel models
    • design of pitching airfoil systems
    • loads measurements on rotating systems
    • unsteady pressure measurements
    • Particle Image Velocimetry
    • Infrared Thermography
  • Mid-fidelity numerical methods for the investigation of interactional aerodynamics phenomena applied to aircraft/rotorcraft
    • lifting lines, non-linear vortex lattice, surface panels
    • vortex particle method (VPM)
    • introduction to DUST software and application to interactional problems study
    • set up of a wing-propeller numerical model in DUST
Materials

Course Delivery and Materials

  • The course lectures will be delivered via Zoom.
  • All sessions will be available on-demand within 1-2 days of the lecture. Once available, you can stream the replay video anytime, 24/7. All slides will be available for download after each lecture.
  • No part of these materials may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted, unless for course participants. All rights reserved.
  • Between lectures, the instructors will be available via email for technical questions and comments.
Instructors
Dr. Alex Zanotti is Associate Professor of Fluid Dynamics at Politecnico di Milano. He is a graduate of Politecnico di Milano where he received his Ph.D. in Rotary Wing Aircraft in 2012 and also earned his M.S. degree in Aerospace Engineering in 2006. He is the Scientific Coordinator of the Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology of Politecnico di Milano and Deputy Head of the Scientific Council of the Politecnico di Milano Wind Tunnel. He oversees the chair of Experimental Fluid Dynamics and Aerodynamics of Transport Vehicles courses at M.Sc. Degree in Aeronautical Engineering of Politecnico di Milano. He serves as Associate Editor of Aerospace and International Journal of Aerospace Engineering and is author of more than a hundred publications along with journal articles and international conference proceedings. He is Scientific Coordinator of the mid-fidelity aerodynamic solver DUST.
 
Dr. Alberto Savino is Post-Doctoral Researcher and member of the staff of the Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology of Politecnico di Milano as Wind Tunnel test engineer. He is a graduate of Politecnico di Milano where he received his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering with laude in 2023 and also has earned M.S. degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 2019. His main research interest is interactional aerodynamics in rotary wing aircraft with application to eVTOL configurations new-generation aircraft. He is the Principal Developer of the mid-fidelity aerodynamic solver DUST.

 

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