BACKGROUND

2010 - present

School of Marine Science and Technology Newcastle University

Lecturer in Naval Architecture

Chair of the Computational Fluid Dynamics Workgroup

2009 - 2010

Post Doctoral Fellow
Yacht Research Unit, Auckland, official scientific advisor of Emirates Team New Zealand

2008

One-Bllion-Cell project
funded by the European Union

2004 - 2007

PhD granted by Luna Rossa Challenge, Politecnico di Milano Wind Tunnel (Italy)

2001 - 2003

Project Manager,
then Mass Production Director
MAS yacht yard (Como, Italy)

1995 - 2001

Bachelor’s and master’s degree

in Naval Architecture,

Università degli Studi di Genova (Italy)

STUDENTS

We are always looking for bright talents. If you are a student and you would like to join our research group, send a letter of motivation and your CV to ignazio.viola@ncl.ac.uk

Exceptional students can be hosted for twelve or six month internships with no university fees to pay. Postgraduate students can either apply for a three-years PhD or a one-year research master (MPhil). For additional information on the university fees, see  fees.pdf

If you are looking for an economic support in order to pay your living expenses and the university fees, then apply for a scholarship.  See scholarships.pdf and www.ncl.ac.uk/marine/postgrad/funding to find a scholarship.  Note that scholarships are competitive and preparing the application takes about two weeks full-time. The scholarship is typically awarded more than six months after the submission date.    

Note that the application for a PhD/MPhil/Internship is independent from the application for a scholarship.

If you are a young CFD student/researcher, join our Facebook group to share comments and suggestions:

Download the 34MB high-resolution icon
of the billion cell grid

SELECTED
PUBLICATIONS

Viola I.M., Bot P., Riotte M., On the Uncertainty of CFD in Sail Aerodynamics, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, in press, expected 2013.

Viola I.M., Bot P., Riotte M., Upwind Sail Aerodynamics: a RANS Numerical Investigation Validated with Wind Tunnel Pressure Measurements, International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, in press, expected 2013.

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Sail Aerodynamics: On Water Pressure Measurements on a Downwind Sail, Journal of Ship Research (SNAME), 56 (4), 197-206, 2012.

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Ponzini R., CFD Analysis of the Hydrodynamic Performance of Two Candidate America’s Cup AC33 Hulls, International Journal of Small Craft Technology, Trans. RINA, 154 (B1), 1-12, 2012.

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Sail Pressures from full-scale, wind-tunnel and numerical investigations, Ocean Engineering, 38,  1733-1743, 2011.

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Sail Aerodynamics: Understanding Pressure Distributions on Upwind Sails, Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, 35 (8), 1497-1504, 2011.

Viola I.M., Pilate J., Flay R.G.J., Upwind Sail Aerodynamics: a Pressure Distribution Database for the Validation of Numerical Codes, International Journal of Small Craft Technology, Trans. RINA, 153 (B1), 47-58, 2011.

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Full-scale Pressure Measurements on a Sparkman & Stephens

24-foot Sailing Yacht, Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 98, 800-807, 2010.

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Pressure Distribution on Modern Asymmetric Spinnakers, International Journal of Small Craft Technology, Trans. RINA, 152 (B1), 41-50, 2010.

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Force and Pressure Investigation of Modern Asymmetric Spinnakers, International Journal of Small Craft Technology, Trans. RINA, vol. 151, part B2, pp. 31-40, 2009. Discussion in Trans. RINA, 152 (B1), 51-53, 2010.

Viola I.M., Downwind Sail Aerodynamics: a CFD Investigation with High Grid Resolution, Ocean Engineering, 36(12-13), 974-984, 2009.

Towing tank test of an Open 60 class yacht performed at the Newcastle University (for other related videos www.youtube.com/user/MarineNewcastle):

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Experimental & Numerical Fluid Dynamics - High Performance Yacht Design - Velocity Prediction Programs - Sail Aerodynamics - Bluff Bodies Aerodynamics - Hull and Appendages Hydrodynamics

EXPERTISE

Download a short flyer: IgnazioMViola.pdf

NEW PRESS RELEASE

Virtual sailing gives competitors the edge

Simulating weather and water conditions before a race could give sailors the advantage they need to win, new research reveals.

The study, carried out by the Yacht and Superyacht Research Group (YSRG) at Newcastle University, UK, with the Yacht Research Unit of the University of Auckland and the Italian super-computer centre CILEA, looked at how accurately we can predict the way a yacht will behave during a particular race using parameters such as sea conditions and currents.

Modelling the way each factor impacts on the yacht at every stage of the race, the team - led by Newcastle University’s Dr Ignazio Maria Viola - has shown that it is possible to use a virtual simulation to steal an advantage over your competitors.

Dr Viola, who over the last ten years has worked with several Olympic Sailing teams and America’s Cup teams, explains: “Until now, competition-level sailors would have to carry out physical tests to accurately choose the best boat for that particular race.

“What we have shown is that by simulating the conditions we can predict with the same degree of accuracy as the most reliable of these tests how each boat will behave across the course.

“At the highest competitive level every second counts and using this information, competitors can choose the boat that can potentially win them the race and give them an edge over the rest of the field.  Ultimately, however, whether they win or not is down to the sailor and how he or she performs on the day.”

The team modelled the resistance on the hull in a range of scenarios, racing virtual crews in state-of-the-art yacht designs, comparing the results with data from model-scale towing tank tests.

The research, published this month in the leading academic journal for yacht engineering, the International Journal of Small Craft Technology (Transactions of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects), shows for the first time that simulation can be used to precisely measure water resistance against a boat’s hull.

The new method, developed by Dr Viola, can now be employed by any sailor, yacht designer or researcher to test the performance of a boat under different weather conditions.

Newcastle University Yacht and Superyacht Research Group is the most published and largest research-focussed group in Europe.  Currently working with America’s Cup sail and yacht designers, the team are world-leaders in the numerical modelling of sailing yachts.

“Virtual races could be the key to helping Britain finally clinch the America’s Cup,” explains Dr Viola, who has also just completed tests on a new candidate for the 2016 Olympics - the AURA, built and designed by Ovington Boats Ltd. of North Shields.

“The America’s Cup is the oldest trophy in the world and the most expensive to win with each challenger spending tens of millions of dollars in designing, building, and sailing its boat, which represents the state-of-the-art of the worldwide marine industry.

“First held in 1851 at Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, America held the title for 132 years.  Since 1983, however, the Cup has been successively won by Australia, USA, New Zealand and Switzerland, before finally being brought back to the USA in 2010 with the San Francisco Yacht Club’s victory of the 33rd America’s Cup.

“The race will be won by the team with the most skill but our research shows that we can use virtual sailing to remove other unknowns.”

Ends

 

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Ponzini R., CFD Analysis of the Hydrodynamic Performance of Two Candidate America’s Cup AC33 Hulls, International Journal of Small Craft Technology, Trans. RINA, 154 (B1).

Viola I.M., Flay R.G.J., Ponzini R., Chasing the Wind: the New State-of-the-Art in the America’s Cup Design, Dynamics – Engineering Success, 3 (03), 55-58

TACTICS – Development of a Computer Program to Support Decision Making of Yacht Races

The aim of this project is to study tactics in sailing competitions under uncertain weather conditions. A computer program based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) that can help a tactician to take the optimum decision during a sailing yacht race will be developed. Based on the data measured before and during the race, the possible future scenarios that can arise during the race and the associated distribution of probability will be calculated with ANN. For each possible scenario, the best tactic will be computed with the use of a velocity prediction program (VPP).

SAILS – A numerical and experimental investigation of the aerodynamics of modern yacht sails

The project aims to investigate the fluid dynamic performance of sails, which are used by modern racing sailing yachts, with the aim of understanding the specific flow features that allow modern sails to be more efficient than the wings and blades commonly used in other fields such as aeronautics. Understanding these aerodynamics feature will allow enhancing further the performance of sails and, very importantly, will allow the cross fertilisation towards different fields of applications where thin and high-lift airfoils are used.

RESEARCH ASSISTANT

We are looking for a Research Assistant to join our research group for a short period, from 1 to 3 months, depending on the arrangement. The candidate should have a PhD and expertise in computational fluid dynamics. Applicants should send a CV to ignazio.viola@ncl.ac.uk

CFD BENCHMARK

The present paper aims to provide a benchmark set of sail pressure distributions for the validation of numerical codes. Modern upwind sails were built at 1/15th-scale and tested in a wind tunnel. The sails were built as a fibreglass sandwich and the pressures were transmitted through channels inside the core. The sails were supported with wind-transparent fishing lines, and a flat plate was used to model the boat deck. Four genoa and four mainsail trims were tested varying the sheet angle, resulting in 16 test conditions. Four twist of the mainsail and three twist of the genoa were also tested, resulting in 7 additional trims. The geometry of the sails and the pressure coefficients along four horizontal sections of each sail are provided herein. Details of the experimental test can be found in:

Viola I.M., Pilate J., Flay R.G.J., Upwind Sail Aerodynamics: a Pressure Distribution Database for the Validation of Numerical Codes, International Journal of Small Craft Technology, Trans. RINA, vol. 153, part B1, pp. 47-58, 2011.

Viola_IJSCT2011.pdf

Download the table of the pressure coefficients and the iges files of the sail geometries:

Viola_et_al-IJSCT2010.xlsx

Viola_et_al-IJSCT2010-sheet.igs

Viola_et_al-IJSCT2010-twist.igs

Please report any problem if any.