www.linkedin.com/in/marcolucarini
Contacts:
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Cycle: XL
Curriculum: Aerospace Engineering
Title of the PhD Project: Development of fault-tolerant electrical propulsion systems integrating low-noise toroidal propellers for sustainable air mobility applications
Supervisors: Prof. Gianpietro Di Rito (Università di Pisa), Ing. Marco Nardeschi (UMBAGROUP SpA)
In collaboration with: UMBAGROUP SpA, Via V. Baldaccini, 1 – 00634 Foligno (PG), Italy
Abstract of the PhD project:
This PhD project investigates enabling technologies for reliable and low-noise Fully Electric Propulsion Systems tailored to small- and medium-size eVTOL aircraft. The research combines two complementary directions.
The first focuses on advanced full electric-drive architectures for fault-tolerant propulsion, addressing the intrinsic reliability limits of conventional three-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors driven by three-leg inverter systems. This includes the study of redundant topologies, neutral-point accessible drives, and model-based algorithms for fault detection, isolation, and compensation to ensure thrust continuity under electrical and electronic faults.
The second research path targets the aerodynamic and aeroacoustics performance of innovative propeller architectures, with particular emphasis on toroidal propellers as a viable alternative to open-tip designs for noise reduction in urban environments. A unified modelling and design framework for toroidal propellers will be developed, integrating reduced-order BEMT-based aerodynamic prediction methods, fully parametric geometry generation, and diameter-scalable tools to support design optimisation. The resulting propulsion prototypes will be experimentally assessed at UMBRAGROUP facilities, including thermal-chamber testing for reliability and semi-anechoic measurements for noise characterization.
By bridging fault-tolerant electric propulsion with low-noise propellers, the project aims to contribute to safer, quieter, and more efficient all-electric aerial platforms for next-generation urban air-mobility applications.
Teaching experience:
• Co-supervisor of a Master’s thesis in Space Engineering (Università di Pisa)
Title: “Development of surface position observers for leading-edge flaps with a dual-redundant electromechanical actuation system”. The student conducted the thesis work during an industrial internship at the company UMBRAGROUP SpA.
• Laboratorio di Simulazione degli Impianti Aeronautici (Modulo dell’insegnamento Tecnologie e Laboratorio di Simulazione di Impianti Aeronautici, Cod. 981II), Prof. Gianpietro Di Rito, Bachelor’s Course in Aerospace Engineering, Università di Pisa.
Publications:
Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7119-0952
Articles:
• Corresponding author of the following Article:
Reference: Lucarini, M., Di Rito, G., Nardeschi, M., and Borgarelli, N. (2025). Robustness Analysis of the Model Predictive Position Control of an Electro-Mechanical Actuator for Primary Flight Surfaces. Actuators, 14(8), 407.
https://doi.org/10.3390/act14080407
Special Issue: Flight Control Systems and Dynamic Simulation for Aerospace Applications. Journal: Actuators (MDPI) — indexed in SCIE and Scopus; CiteScore 2024/2025: Q1 (Control & Optimization), Open-access.
Conferences:
• Presenter at the following Conference:
CEAS–AIDAA Joint Conference 2025 (10th CEAS Aerospace Europe Conference & 28th AIDAA International Congress) —Turin (Italy), 1–4 December 2025.
Reference: Lucarini, M., Di Rito, G., Camarri, S., and Nardeschi, M. “Aerodynamic Performance Characterization of UAV Propellers via Blade Element Momentum Theory including Post-Stall Behaviour”.