Student Spotlight: Girindra Ramgobin

28th Italian Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIDAA)
10th Council for European Aerospace Societies (CEAS) International Congress, Turin, Italy, December 2025

Talk: A multiscale approach for the thermo-hydraulic and structural performance prediction of compact cross flow heat exchangers

I recently attended the AIDAA conference, which was a highly engaging event with a strong aerospace focus, bringing together researchers and industry practitioners from across Europe. The sessions provided valuable insights into current challenges and innovations in aerospace engineering, in terms of sustainability, achieving better efficiency and harnessing the powers of AI in an aerospace design context.

Image: Girindra Ramgobin and other presenters at the AIDAA Conference, Italy, December 2025

At the conference, I presented my project on a multidisciplinary framework for optimising heat exchangers using a multiscale simulation approach. The presentation focused on the multiscale methodology, specifically the combination of upscaling via microscale conjugate heat transfer simulations and homogenisation to predict heat exchanger performance. The framework was benchmarked against full-scale CFD models, demonstrating its ability to provide accurate predictions while significantly reducing computational cost. The audience response was very positive, with questions about the prospects of incorporating further complexities such as turbulence and porosity in the model. These interactions provided valuable feedback and highlighted areas for further development.

The conference also offered excellent networking opportunities, allowing me to connect with key researchers from major European research groups and representatives from leading aerospace organisations. These discussions helped establish new professional contacts and opened up potential avenues for collaboration. Presenting my work encouraged me to push further with my results and improved my ability to clearly communicate complex concepts. A further benefit was that the extended abstract submitted for the conference proceedings represents my first publication, providing initial visibility for my research, even though it is not peer-reviewed.

Overall, attending the conference was highly beneficial for both my professional and academic development. The next step will be presenting my research at the Airbus DiPaRT conference in Bristol, which is another conference bringing together academics and industry researchers. And of course, I am now focusing on writing my thesis as well.