Introduction to Quantum Computing in Fluid Dynamics (STO-AVT-377)

Date: 06-10 July 2026

Location: online / on-site: Waterloosesteenweg, 72, 1640 Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium - near Brussels

About the lecture series

This lecture series is organized by the von Karman institute for Fluid Dynamics with the financial support of the NATO Science & Technology Organization.

The series aims to:

• Introduce participants to the emerging field of quantum computing in fluid dynamics.
  
  
• Explore state-of-the-art computational methods and software libraries for applying quantum computing to fluid dynamics simulations and multi-disciplinary optimization.
  
  
• Provide a platform for networking and forming international partnerships in this exciting  field.
  
  

This lecture series is suitable for individuals with a background in fluid dynamics and an interest in learning about the potential of quantum computing in this field.

The program features lectures by leading experts from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom, covering topics such as:

• Quantum algorithms for PDE’s and Navier-Stokes equations
  
  
• Approaches to nonlinearity
  
  
• Tackling encoding challenges for applications
  
  
• Quantum lattice-based methods
  
  
• Quantum-assisted optimization
  
  
• Quantum Machine Learning
  
  
• Potential use of neutral atoms and photonic quantum computing

Programme

Monday, 6 July 2026: General Introduction to Quantum Computing 

08:30 - 09:00 Registration and Welcome Coffee

09:00 - 10:15 Welcome and course introduction
Prof. Frank Eulitz, Dr. Wim Munters, VKI, Belgium

10:15 - 10:30 Coffee break

10:30 - 11:00 Introduction to Quantum Computing – The Basics
Prof. Matthias Moller, Calin Georgescu, and Monica Lacatus, TU Delft, The Netherlands

11:30 - 12:30 Industry Impulse 1

12:30 -14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 15:15 Approaches to Quantum Computational Fluid Dynamics
Prof. Dieter Jaksch, University of Hamburg, Germany

15:15 - 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 - 17:00 Tensor Networks for Quantum Computational Fluid Dynamics
Prof. Dieter Jaksch, University of Hamburg, Germany

17:00 - 18:00 Reception

Tuesday, 7 July 2026: Quantum CFD and LBM

09:00 - 10:15 Quantum CFD Approaches
Dr. Rene Steijl, University of Glasgow, UK

10:15 - 10:30 Coffee break

10:30 - 11:30 Introduction to Lattice-Based Modelling (LBM)
Dr. Rene Steijl, University of Glasgow, UK

11:30 -12:30 Participant pitching session 

12:30 Lunch

14:00 - 15:15 Quantum Transport Method
Prof. Matthias Moller, Calin Georgescu, and Monica Lacatus, TU Delft, The Netherlands

15:15 - 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 - 17:00 Collision in Quantum LBM 
Prof. Matthias Moller, Calin Georgescu, and Monica Lacatus, TU Delft, The Netherlands

17:00 - 18:00 VKI Lab tour: from hypersonic to low-speed rigs, from plasma to cryogenic conditions 
Prof. Frank Eulitz, Dr. Wim Munters, VKI, Belgium

Wednesday, 8 July 2026: LBM and PDEs

09:00 - 10:15 Quantum Search in LGA and LBM 
Prof. Matthias Moller, Calin Georgescu, and Monica Lacatus, TU Delft, The Netherlands

10:15 - 10:30 Coffee break

10:30 - 11:45 The Carleman approach to quantum simulation of fluids
Prof. Sauro Succi, Italian Institute of Technology, Italy  

11:45 - 12:45 Industry Impulse 2

12:45 - 14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 15:15 Quantum Linear System Algorithms and Linearization Methods
Dr. S. S. Bharadwaj, New York University, USA

15:15 -15:45 Coffee break

15:45 - 17:00 Stability and Convergence of Quantum Fourier–Carleman and Kolmogorov Linearization Schemes
Dr. Mikel Sanz, University of the Basque Country, Spain

Thursday, 9 July 2026: Reservoir Computing and Variational Algorithms 

09:00 - 10:15 Recent Developments for the Solution of PDE’s on Quantum Computers  
Dr. Oleksandr Kyriienko, University of Sheffield, UK

10:15 - 10:30 Coffee break

10:30 - 11:30 Panel: Future Direction of Quantum Computing in Fluid Dynamics  
Lecturer Board

11:30 -12:30 Industry Impulse 3

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch

14:00 - 15:15 Quantum Generative Models and Quantum Reservoir Computing 
Prof. Joerg Schumacher, TU Ilmenau, Germany

15:15 - 15:45 Coffee break

15:45 - 17:00 Quantum Reservoir Computing: Implementations and Applications
Prof. Joerg Schumacher, TU Ilmenau, Germany

Friday, 10 July 2026: Quantum Machine Learning & PDE’s

09:00 - 10:15 Quantum Machine Learning: Model building for Fluid Dynamics
Dr. Oleksandr Kyriienko, University of Sheffield, UK

10:15 - 10:30 Coffee break

10:30 - 11:30 Quantum Machine Learning: Solving PDE’s
Dr. Oleksandr Kyriienko, University of Sheffield, UK

11:30 - 12:30 Industry Impulse 4

12:30 - 14:00 Closure Lunch

Registration

The lecture series will be held in a hybrid format, offering both online and on-site participation.

Parking and Security Information: Parking places are available on the premises, just before the security fence. To enter, please ring the bell at the fence.

• Deadline for on-site registration: 22 June 2026
• Deadline for online registration: 2 July 2026

How to enroll

This lecture series VKI-STO-AVT-377 is funded by the NATO Science and Technology Organisation. The registration is free, but required. We request only a nominal contribution to cover catering expenses (200€).
    
Only the citizens of NATO countries, Australia, Japan and India are eligible to participate in these lecture series.

The participants will have to present their ID card (for EU citizens) or passport (for other citizens) the first day of the lecture series.

17th Symposium of VKI PhD Research 2026

Date: 10-13 March 2026

Location:

10-12 March 2026: VKI, Waterloosesteenweg, 72, 1640 Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium - near Brussels

13 March 2026 (only VKI staff and students):
Safran Aero Boosters, Route de Liers 121, 4041 Herstal , Belgium followed by a visit of BeCover, Rue du Fond des Fourches 23A,  4041 Herstal, Belgium

About the symposium

Don't miss the opportunity to learn about the exciting research activities conducted at VKI! Join us online (for the public) / on-site (for VKI members, supervisors and invited guests) from March 10th to March 13th for the VKI PhD Symposium, where prominent lecturers in three application fields of fluid dynamics will give keynote lectures to open each day of the symposium.

VKI PhDs will review the doctoral research carried out in the three departments of the Institute. The symposium is organized into sessions covering a range of topics, including:

• Compressor Aerodynamics & Heat Transfer
• Instrumentation & Measurement Techniques
• Propellant Management
• Turbine Aerodynamics & Heat Transfer
• Shape Optimization
• Liquid Metals & Industrial Flow
• Machine Learning for Fluid Dynamics
• Thermal Management and Process Safety
• Wind Energy & Environmental Flows
• Shape Optimization
• CFD & Numerical Methods
• Hypersonic Propulsion
• Aeronautics & Low Speed Aerodynamics
• Rarefied and Plasma Flows
• Aerothermochemistry
• Aerothermodynamics

Programme

Tuesday, 10 March 2026

08:30 - 09:00 Registration invited guests

09:00 - 09:20    Introduction    
Prof. Jeroen van Beeck and Prof. Delphine Laboureur        

Session: Aeroacoustics and Aerodynamics

Chair: Dr. Alessandro Zarri, Research Engineer
            
09:20 - 09:40 Towards Field Characterization of Drone Emission Noise Using an Attached Microphone Cage
Peter HARTFORD     

09:40 - 10:00 Hybrid Experimental – Numerical Approach for Ice Mechanical Properties Characterization
Francesco MANCINI
    
10:00 - 10:30    Coffee Break
            
10:30 - 10:50 Experimental Investigation of Propeller-Strut Interaction Noise
Balint SOOS

10:50 - 11:10 Machine-Learning based Modeling of the Wall Pressure Statistics in Non-canonical Boundary Layers
Nicholas ZINGALE
    
Session: Thermal Management and Process Safety        

Chair: Dr. Muhsin Can Akkurt, Research Engineer

11:10 - 11:30 Experimental Study of Flow in a Mini Channel by μPIV    
Selçuk KIZILCAOGLU

11:30 - 11:50 Numerical Study of Ship Compartment Fires
Benjamin CREVITS

11:50 - 12:10 Cancelled

12:10 - 13:30    Lunch        

Session: Compressor and Turbine Aerodynamics

Chair: Prof. Fabrizio Fontaneto, Turbomachinery and Propulsion Department
            
13:30 - 13:50 POD Reconstruction of Transitional Turbine Flows
Peter CASSIDY

13:50 - 14:10 Heat Transfer Effects in Compressor Bladings
Jorge PEREZ BARCENA

Session: Wind Energy and Environmental Flows

Chair: Prof. Wim Munters, Envrionmental and Applied Fluid Dynamics Department
        
14:10 - 14:30 Persistent Wind Speed Lows over the North Sea in High-resolution Climate Models
Anouk DIERICKX

14:30 - 14:50 Gravity Waves in Wind Farms: Bridging Models and Data
Alexandros PALATOS-PLEXIDAS

14:50 - 16:30    Poster session + drink            

• Andrea BENI: Reduced-order Modeling of the Acoustic Signature of High-Speed Rotorcraft
• Joran DARTEVELLE: From Mesoscale Weather to Dispersion Modeling in Agroecosystems leveraging Large Eddy Simulation and Reduced Order Model
• Tommaso DE MARIA: Adaptive Control of Sloshing in Partially filled Tanks using Semi-active Baffles and Reinforcement Twinning
• Giacomo Gaetano DE SIO: Experimental and Numerical Study of Environmental Effects on Ionic wind for Atmospheric Electric Propulsion
• Asli Beril EJDER: Multi-Fidelity Modeling of Two-Phase Transport in Wicked Heat Pipes
• Alice FISCHER: Transient Growth Mechanism for Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition on Blunt Forebody
• Ioana GOCEA: Numerical Investigation of Water-liquid Metal Interactions under Film Boiling Conditions 
• Charles JACQUET: Development of Engineering Wake Models for Floating Offshore Wind Turbines from Wind Tunnel Experiments and High-fidelity Numerical Simulations
• Yannick LECOMTE: Reinforcement Twinning for Real Time Control of Variable-pitch Quadcopter Propulsion Systems
• Domenico MASSARI: Advanced Methodologies for Thermal Protection System Design using Dynamic Ground Testing and Flight Correlation
• Carolina MORANDI: DECAF - Development of Evaporation and Condensation Correlations in Air and steam Finned channels
• Gianmario PERRUCCI: Development of a High-Order Computational Fluid Dynamics Solver to Simulate Electron Concentration in Hypersonic Flows
• Justin PESESSE: Influence of Aerothermochemistry on Laminar to Turbulent Transition in Hypersonic Flows
• Vittorio PIRO: Development of Uncertainty Quantification Techniques for Meteoroid Entry: Stochastic Approach to Trajectory and Radiation Modeling
• Francesco PORTA: Design of a Linear Cascade Subsonic Wind Tunnel for Rotating Detonation Engines Applications     
• Florian SOYEZ: Numerical modeling of RFICP Torches for the Electrification of High Temperature Industrial furnaces   
• Théo VAN DYCK: Machine Learning Based Flutter Safe Design of Axial Transonic Compressors in Aeroengines and Heavy Duty Gas Turbines
• Tobias WINTER: Variable-Order Subcell Limiting: A Discontinuous Galerkin Stabilization Technique for Robust and Accurate Flow Simulations

Wednesday , 11 March 2026   

09:00 - 10:00    Keynote: The PhD journey: turning every stumbling block into a stepping stone

Dr. Clara Garcia Sanchez, TU Delft, The Netherlands
        
10:00 - 10:30    Coffee Break
            
Session: Liquid Metal and Industrial Flows

Chair: Dr. Matilde Fiore, Research Engineer
            
10:30 - 10:50 Numerical Investigation into CFD - PBE Models for an IRDE Reactor with Applications to Water Electrolysers
Aswath ASHOK

10:50 - 11:10 Development of Reduced Order Models for the Thermal Hydraulics of Nuclear Reactor
Valerio DI DOMENICO

11:10 - 11:30 A Numerical Analysis of Pore-Scale Two-Phase Flow in Porous Transport Layer of Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer
Silay ÖNDER    

Session: Machine Learning for Fluid Systems    
        
11:30 - 11:50 Identification and Control of Floating Wind Turbines
Sebastiano RANDINO 
    
11:50 - 12:10 Flow Development over an Accelerating Propeller at Low Reynolds Numbers
Manuel RATZ

12:10 - 13:30 Lunch
            
13:30 - 14:45 Keynote: Stress to Resilience and Mental Well-being
Dr. Saar Jacobs, Belgium

Session: Machine Learning for Fluid Systems (continued)
        
14:45 - 15:05 A Meshless Data-tailored Approach to Compute Statistics from Scattered Data with Adaptive Radial Basis Functions
Damien RIGUTTO

15:05 - 15:25 High-Fidelity Fluid–Structure Interaction of Sloshing in Microgravity for Flexible Spacecraft
Umberto ZUCHELLI (online presentation)
    
15:25 - 15:55    Coffee Break
            
Session: Aerothermodynamics

Chair: Professor Guillaume Grossir, Aeronautics and Aerospace Department
            
15:55 - 16:15 Optical Characterization of Hypersonic Crosshatching
Diego HACHEZ   

 
16:15 - 16:35 Numerical Investigation of the Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition over a Blunt Cone using High-Order Discontinuous Galerkin Methods and Stability Theories
Antoine GHYOOT
    
Session: CFD and Numerical Methods
            
16:35 - 16:55 Stabilisation Strategies for High Order DG Simulations of Hypersonic Turbulent Flows
Maxime BORBOUSE

16:55 - 17:15 Two-Dimensional Stability-Based Geometry Optimization of a Planar Quiet Nozzle and Assessment in Three-Dimensional Baseflow
Alberto TESTA
    
17:15 - 17:35 Revision of a Variational Multiscale Framework for Airfoil Simulation and Optimization
Carlo BRUNELLI

Thursday, 12 March 2026

09:00 - 10:00    Keynote: Numerical simulation of hypersonic flows

Dr. Pierre Henri Maire, CEA, France

10:00 - 10:30    Coffee Break
            
Session: Aerothermochemistry

Chair: Dr. Bernd Helber, Research Expert,  Aerothermochemistry Research Expertise Group
            
10:30 - 10:50 Staggered Coupling Strategy of Flow and Material Solvers for Modeling of High-Enthalpy Flows with Ablation
Julien KLAUNER

10:50 - 11:10 Investigating Thermomechanical Behaviour of Woven Thermal Protection Material for Aerospace Applications
Diana MARTINS
    
11:10 - 11:30 Advancing Additive Manufacturing of Technical Ceramics for Aerospace Applications
Waut DECLERCQ

11:30 - 11:50 Characterization of Supersonic Plasma Flow over Flat Plate in the VKI-Plasmatron
Sander HOLUM
    
Session: Rarefied and Plasma Flows

Chair: Dr. Federico Bariselli, Co-leader of Rarefied and Plasma Flows Research Expertise Group
            

11:50 - 12:10 A High-Order Discontinuous Galerkin method for Inductively Coupled Plasma flows  
Landry RIOU (online)

12:10 - 13:30 Lunch            

Session: Rarefied and Plasma Flows (continued)

Chair: Dr. Federico Bariselli, Co-leader of Rarefied and Plasma Flows Research Expertise Group            

13:30 - 13:50 Modelling and Simulation of Plasma-spacecraft Interaction and Charging in Very Low Earth Orbit
Jan SKACEL

13:50 - 14:10 Gyromoment Methods for Highly Magnetized Plasma
Zoubair TAZAKKATI (online)

14:10 - 14:30    Development of a Deterministic Boltzmann-Poisson Solver for the Simulation of a Rarefied Plasma Plume in the VKI DRAG-ON Facility
Bruno FONTAINE (online presentation)

14:30 - 14:50 Development of a high order numerical model for Hall Thrusters
Julien COLUTCHE    (online)

14:50 - 15:20 Coffee Break
            
Session: Propellant management

Chair: Dr. Jorge Pinho, Senior Research Engineer
        
15:20 - 15:40 A Lagrangian Meshless Non-Isothermal Solver: High-Performance Python Implementation via JAX Matrix Operations on GPUs
Samuel AHIZI

15:40 - 16:00 Digital Twinning and Control for the Thermal Management of Cryogenic Tanks
Francisco MONTEIRO

16:00 - 16:20 Experimental Investigation of Bubble Cavitation at the Wall
Alessandro NOVI

Session: Hypersonic Propulsion

Chair: Dr. Bayindir Saracoglu, Research Expert, Hypersonic Propulsion and Combustion Research Expertise Group
        
16:20 - 16:40 Verification and Validation of Runtime Configurable Solver through Deflagration to Detonation Transition and Pulsed Detonation Engine Problems
Sunny RAGHAV

16:40 - 17:00 Multi-Objective Design Optimisation of Variable Cycle Engines
Karel VAN DEN BORRE

Session: Rarefied and Plasma Flows (continued)

Chair: Dr. Federico Bariselli, Co-leader of Rarefied and Plasma Flows Research Expertise Group       

17:00 - 17:20 Effect of Thermochemical Nonequilibrium on Species Diffusion for RF Blackout Prediction (online)
Alexandra RICHET

Friday, 13 March 2026 (at Safran Aero Boosters, Route de Liers 121, 4041 Herstal , Belgium)          

09:00 - 10:00    Keynote (Restricted to VKI Staff) : From current flow simulation trends to test validation in axial low pressure compressor

Stéphane Hiernaux, SAB and Rémy Princivalle, BeCover, Belgium
    
10:00 - 10:15    Coffee break
        
Session: Turbomachinery & Propulsion

Chair: Dr. Filippo Merli, Research Engineer 
        
10:15 - 10:35 Aeroelastic Analysis of Instrumentation in Turbomachinery: Investigation of a Possible Root Cause of Rake Flutter
Bruno BARATA
    
10:35 - 10:55 Experimental Investigation of Supersonic Trailing Edge Flows
Andre DIETZ
    
10:55 - 11:15 Loss Modelling for Innovative High-turning Compressor Profiles by Advanced Data Driven Techniques​
Julien HEINE

11:15 - 11:35 Adjoint Shape Optimization of a Turbo Heater based on Large Eddy Simulations through an Adaptation of the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes Equations
Loir VICTOR

11:35 - 11:55 Aerothermochemical Investigation of Reactive Turbomachinery for Steam Cracking Defossilization Using a Novel Implicit OpenFOAM Solver
Marco CASTALDI

12:00 - 13:00    Lunch           

Session: Turbomachinery & Propulsion (continued)

Chair: Dr. Alessandro D'Aguanno, Research Engineer 
            
13:10 - 13:30 Design, Optimization and Flow Analysis for an Aggressive S-shape Diverter-less Duct
Stefano    PLATINI

13:30 - 13:50 Time-Resolved Self-Aligned Focusing Schlieren Applied to Turbine Cascades
Enrico    ZAMMIT

13:50 - 14:10 Influence of Vortex Shedding Regime on Transonic Turbine Losses
Alexandre HALBY

14:10 - 14:30 Experimental Assessment and Modelling of the Effect of Free-Stream Turbulence on Turbomachinery Boundary Layers: Literature Review, Scaling Approach and Preliminary Experimental Results
Giacomo PASTORINO

14:30 - 14:50 Aerodynamics and Loss Budget of a Transonic LPT Profile
Giovanni DI LUCIA
    
14:50 - 15:00    Closing words       

 15:10 - 17:00    Visits : Shop floor and test center Visits (max. 60 people only VKI members)    
            1. Safran Aero Boosters, Route de Liers 121, 4041 Herstal , Belgium         
            2. BeCOVER, Rue du Fond des Fourches 23A · 4041 - Herstal · Belgium

Fee and Registration

The online participation and registration to the symposium is free. The on-site participation is only on invitation. 

Liquid Metal-Cooled Nuclear Systems: Advanced Safety and Thermohydraulic Design Approaches

Date: 20-23 April 2026

Location: on-site: Waterloosesteenweg, 72, 1640 Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium - near Brussels

Extended Early Bird Registration until 16 March 2026

Credits: Heat flux distribution with deformed pin, Dr. Matilde Fiore.

About the lecture series

Liquid metal-cooled fast reactors (LMFRs) are central to the development of next-generation nuclear systems, offering unique advantages in sustainability, safety, and performance. Their design and deployment require a deep understanding of advanced safety features and complex thermohydraulic behavior, including natural circulation, passive decay heat removal, and transient phenomena in large pool configurations. These aspects are critical for ensuring compliance with stringent safety standards and for validating reactor performance under normal and off-normal conditions.
 
This Lecture Series aims to provide participants with a strong foundation in LMFR technology and a comprehensive overview of recent developments in safety analysis and thermohydraulic design.
Over four days, leading experts participating in the EU-funded projects ANSELMUS and LESTO will address key topics such as reactor design principles, core physics with a primary focus on thermal-hydraulics, coolant chemistry, and material challenges. These discussions will include validation processes supported by state-of-the-art experimental facilities.
Additional sessions will address Phenomena Identification and Ranking Technique (PIRT), uncertainty quantification, digital twins, and inspection strategies at high temperatures, as well as passive safety systems.
Moreover, an interactive panel on the social impact of heavy liquid metal technology will provide participants with valuable insights and practical perspectives on how safety and thermo-hydraulics together influence the future deployment of LMFRs. The session will include an open discussion with the experts.

The lecture series director is Dr. Silvania Lopes and Dr. Maria Faruoli from the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Belgium.

Programme

Monday 20 April 2026

08:30 - 09:00 Welcoming participants and registration

09:00 - 09:15 Welcome word and Introduction
Philippe Planquart, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Belgium

09:15 - 10:45 Liquid-metal-cooled-fast reactor (Steven Keijers, SCK CEN, Belgium)
Gen IV reactor, Research reactors, SMRs, Current designs, Sustainability, Safety approach

10:45 - 11:00 Coffee break

11:00 - 12:30 PIRT- Phenomena Identification and Ranking Technique (Marco Caramello, ANSALDO ANN, Italy)
Why we need it, examples, knowledge gaps

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch

13:30 - 15:00 Core - Neutronics (Simone Gianfelici, ENEA, Italy)
Fuel cycle, MOX fuel availability, Safety and security, Integrability

15:00 - 15:15 Coffee break

15:15 - 16:45 Social impact (Mirela Nitoi, RATEN, Romania)- Panel
Social impact of heavy metal cooled nuclear technology, Energy use, Ethical considerations

16:45 Welcome reception

Tuesday 21 April 2026

09:00 - 10:30 Core Thermo-hydraulics: Operating conditions (Julio Pacio, SCK CEN, Belgium)
Objectives, Different design, Coolability, Numerics and experiments

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee break

10:45 - 12:15 Core – Thermo-hydraulics: Safety scenarios (Petrovic Dorde, SCK CEN, Belgium)

12:15 - 13:15 Lunch

13:15 - 14:45 Coolant – Chemistry (Daniel Stein, Alessandro Marino,  SCK CEN, Belgium)
Oxygen control, Fission products, Polonium release, Purification

14:45 - 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 - 16:30 Coolant – Material (Annette Heinzel, KIT, Germany)
LFR materials in lead at high temperatures, Fretting, Erosion

Wednesday 22 April 2026

09:00 - 10:30 Pool thermal-hydraulics  (Ferry Roelofs, NRG PALLAS, The Netherlands)
Design strategies, forced/natural convection, validation, scaling

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee break

10:45 - 12:15 Pool thermal-hydraulics- Future prospectives (Lilla Koloszar, VKI, Belgium)
Digital twin, Future technologies

12:15 - 13:15 Lunch

13:15 - 14:45 Heat Exchanger – General (Nicola Forgione, UNIPI, Italy)
Used technologies in LFR/SMRs, Experiments, Modeling

14:45 - 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 - 16:30 Heat Exchanger – Steam Generator Tube Rupture (Ivan Di Piazza, ENEA, Italy)
Description of physics, Modeling, Experiments

Thursday 23 April 2026

09:00 - 10:30 Passive DHR (Decay Heat Removal) (Fabio Giannetti, UNIROMA, Italy)
What is passive safety? Natural circulation in LMFR, Internal systems (DHR-1), External systems (DHR-2)

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee break

10:45 - 12:15 Monitoring (George Gkosdis, newcleo, France)
Inspection strategy, inspection at high temperatures, Inspection tools

12:15 - 13:15 Lunch

13:15 - 14:45 Summary and Next Challenges (Simone Gianfelici, ENEA, Italy)

14:45 - 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 - 16:30 Visit of VKI labs

Fee and Registration

The lecture series is free for the  ANSELMUS and LESTO partners.

• Deadline for on-site registration: 30 March 2026 
• Deadline for online registration: 6 April 2026
• Discount of 30% for citizens from NATO countries*

* applicable on the price listed below

Extended Early Bird Registration until 16 March 2026

• Undergraduate students: €270
• PhD students: €720
• Staff from recognized universities / research center: €1368
• Staff from commercial organizations: €1728

Late Registration after 16 March 2026

• Undergraduate students: €300
• PhD students: €800
• Staff from recognized universities / research center: €1520
• Staff from commercial organizations: €1920

Introduction to Boundary Layer Stability and Transition Analysis Methods

Date: 02-05 March 2026

Location: on-site: Waterloosesteenweg, 72, 1640 Sint-Genesius-Rode, Belgium - near Brussels

About the lecture series

Flow instability analysis is crucial for identifying and understanding some of the most complex challenges in fluid mechanics. Its applications span a wide range of industrial interests, from hypersonic spacecraft and detached flows in aero-engines to aeroacoustics interactions and drag reduction in air vehicles. Nowadays, the availability of new experimental data and high- fidelity numerical solutions combined with the power of machine learning techniques has led to unprecedented opportunities for the advancement of transitional fluid dynamics understanding and its use in industrial design.

The lecture series will introduce several aspects of the stability theory with a particular focus on compressible flows. It will address numerical methods to predict and models transitional flows (linear and non-linear stability theory, transient growth or resolvent analysis). Engineering approaches to be used for design purposes will be discussed as well as the role of machine learning to compute more accurate efficient model. Finally, measurement methods and experimental techniques will be presented.

The lecture series directors are Professor Pierre Schrooyen and Professor Guillaume Grossir from the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Belgium.

Preliminary Programme

Monday 2 March 2026

08:30 - 09:00 Welcoming participants

09:00 - 09:30 VKI: Welcome introduction

09:30 - 11:00 Introduction to Laminar-Turbulent Transition
Prof. Neil Sandham, University of Southampton, United Kingdom

11:00 - 11:15 Coffee break

11:15 - 12:45 Boundary layer transition mechanisms in the high-speed flow regime
Dr. Olaf Marxen, University of Surrey,  United Kingdom

12:45 - 13:45 Lunch

13:45 - 15:15 Boundary layer receptivity
Prof. Neil Sandham, University of Southampton, United Kingdom

15:15 - 15:30 Coffee Break

15:30 - 17:15 Visit of VKI facilities

17:15 - 18:15 Ice breaking cocktail

Tuesday 03 March 2026

09:00 - 10:30 Linear and non-linear methods for stability analysis
Mr. Stefan Hein, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany 

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee break

10:45 - 12:15 On transient growth
Dr. Pedro Paredes, NASA Langley Research Center, The Unites Sates of America

12:15 - 13:15 Lunch

13:15 - 14:45 High fidelity simulation for high-speed transitional flows
Prof. Paola Cinnella, Sorbonne Université, France

14:45 - 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 - 16:30 Resolvent / input-output analysis
Dr. Samir Beneddine, ONERA, France

Wednesday 4 March2026

09:00 - 10:30 RANS modeling for transitional flow
Dr.-Ing. Florian Menter, ANSYS, Germany

10:30 - 10:45 Coffee break

10:45 - 12:15 Transition Impact on High-Speed Vehicle Design: Engineering Methodologies for Transition Onset and Extent”
Dr. Johan Steelant, European Space Agency (ESA), The Netherlands

12:15 - 13:15 Lunch

13:15 - 14:45 How machine learning can be exploited to predict transition?
Dr. Pedro Paredes, NASA Langley Research Center, The Unites Sates of America

14:45 - 15:00 Coffee break

15:00 - 16:30 On the design of hypersonic quiet facilities
Prof. Guillaume Grossir, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI), Belgium

Thursday 5 March 2026

08:45 - 10:15 Focused Laser Differential Interferometry for Hypersonic Instability Measurements
Dr. Leonardo Saenz, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI), Belgium

10:15 - 10:30 Coffee break

10:30 - 12:00  Experimental characterization of the hypersonic boundary layer transition process
Prof. Jonathan Hill Embry-Riddle Aeroautical University (ERAU), The United States of America

12:00 - 13:00 Lunch

13:00 - 14:30 Transition experiments in a high-density tunnel
Prof. Matthew McGilvray, University of OXford, United Kingdom

14:30 - 14:45 Coffee break

14:45 - 16:15 Temperature sensitive paint
Dr. Jan Martinez Schramm, Leni Schmidt, and Divek Surujhlal, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany 

Fee and Registration

• Deadline for on-site registration: 16 February 2026
• Discount of 30% for citizens from NATO countries*

* applicable on the price listed below

Early Bird Registration until 30 January 2026

• Undergraduate students: €270
• PhD students: €720
• Staff from recognized universities / research center: €1368
• Staff from commercial organizations: €1728

Late Registration after 30 January 2026

• Undergraduate students: €300
• PhD students: €800
• Staff from recognized universities / research center: €1520
• Staff from commercial organizations: €1920