TRACES Doctoral Researchers have recently completed the network’s structured training program, designed to establish shared background knowledge on the state of the art in-flight ice accretion and to strengthen their transferable skills. The program comprised four training schools and the “Winter of Code”, an ad-hoc initiative focused on programming tools for modeling and uncertainty quantification. Each activity was hosted over one week by one of the beneficiary institutions, promoting direct interaction among doctoral researchers, supervisors, and associated partners. This format facilitated networking, knowledge exchange, and the development of collaborative discussions across the consortium.

Curious to discover more? Let’s relive together the highlights of these weeks through some photo collection!

Opening Training School, 15-19 January 2024, Politecnico di Milano

The primary objective of the opening training school was to provide a comprehensive overview of in-flight icing, covering topics from fundamental physical processes to modeling approaches and certification aspects, through seminars delivered by recognized experts in the field. This event represented the first formal gathering of the network, offering doctoral researchers (DRs) the opportunity to meet one another and to initiate productive discussions with their respective individual research committees (IRCs).

 

First Training School, 4-8 March 2024, Technische Universität Darmstadt

The training week concentrated on ice physics, relying on TUDA’s expertise in fundamental phenomena such as droplet deposition, impact dynamics, and freezing processes. During this event, the doctoral researchers had their first opportunity to present their individual project concepts and current progress to the network.

 

Second Training School, 23-27 September 2024, Technische Universität Braunschweig

The event focused on training in ice protection system design, complemented by hands-on experience with experimental and numerical icing tools. TUBS laboratories, including the Icing Wind Tunnel, were utilized for demonstration experiments on ice accretion, droplet spray characterization, and photogrammetry-based ice scanning. Doctoral researchers presented the current status of their project development through dedicated poster sessions.

 

Winter of Code, 9-13 December 2024, École Polytechnique

In this event, the Doctoral Researchers received intensive Python training in data processing, model extraction, and uncertainty quantification at the Inria Saclay Centre. The program concluded with a group challenge designed to apply the methods and tools introduced during the week to a practical case study.

 

 

Third Training School, 31 March – 4 April 2025, ONERA Toulouse

The final training week provided a solid background on in-flight icing certification procedures through seminars delivered by domain experts. Doctoral researchers presented their current project progress and took part in visits to ONERA’s experimental facilities.