Staff profile

Prof. Sims-Williams undergraduate teaching includes/has included Level 1 Fluid Mechanics, Level 1 Programming, Level 2 Heat Transfer, Level 3 Compressible Flow, Level 3 Materials Selection, Level 4 Low Carbon Vehicles, Level 4 Turbomachinery and Level 4 Aeromechanics (Theoretical Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics).

Prof. Sims-WIlliams acts as Faculty Advisor to the Durham University Solar Car team (see www.duem.org).

Research Project topics include:

• Impacts of Unsteady Onset Flows on Vehicles
• Unsteady and Asymmetric Wake Flows Behind Bluff Bodies
• The Development of Instrumentation - especially pneumatic probe measurements for unsteady flows
• Flow Measurements Around Rotating Wheels including Telemetry Development

• Aerodynamic Unsteadiness
• Road and Racing Car Aerodynamics
• The Development of Advanced Wind Tunnel Instrumentation and Analyses

Chapter in book

• Yang, H., Sims-Williams, D., & He, L. (2006). Unsteady Measurement with Correction on Tubing Distortion. In K. Hall, R. Kielb, & J. Thomas (Eds.), Unsteady Aerodynamics, Aeroacoustics and Aeroelasticity of Turbomachines. Springer Verlag

Conference Paper

• Masoudi, E., Gan, L., & Sims-Williams, D. (2021, September). Near wake flow features of polygonal cylinders in different incidence angles. Paper presented at UK Fluids Conference 2021, Online
• Sims-Williams, D., Kounenis, C., Dominy, R., & Oettle, N. Three Dimensional Beamforming for Improved Noise Source Localisation. Presented at 10th FKFS Conference Progress in Vehicle Aerodynamics and Thermal Management, Stuttgart, Germany
• Liu, X., Ingram, G., Sims-Williams, D., & Breckon, T. P. (2024, September). Extracting Quantitative Streamline Information from Surface Flow Visualization Images in a Linear Cascade using Convolutional Neural Networks. Presented at GPPS Chania24, Chania
• Oettle, N., Graham, S., Sims-Williams, D., Riegel, M., & Hebestreit, R. (2023, May). Beamforming Quantification of Acoustic Transmission Paths for Passenger Vehicles Using a Reciprocal Approach. Presented at Noise and Vibration Conference & Exhibition, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States
• Kremheller, A., Moore, M., Le Good, G., Sims-Williams, D., Newbon, J., & Lewis, R. (2016, September). The Effects of Transient Flow Conditions on the Aerodynamics of an LCV Concept using CFD and Wind Tunnel Experiments. Presented at International Conference on Vehicle Aerodynamics 2016, Coventry
• Newbon, J., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2016, June). Analysis of the Impacts of Formula 1 Car Wakes on the Aerodynamic Performance of a Following Vehicle. Presented at Aerovehicles 2 : Second International Conference in Numerical and Experimental Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles and Trains., Göteborg, Sweden
• Kounenis, C., Bonitz, S., Ljungskog, E., Sims-Williams, D., Lofdahl, L., Broniewicz, A., Larsson, L., & Sebben, S. (2016, April). Investigations of the Rear-End Flow Structures on a Sedan Car. Presented at SAE 2016 World Congress and Exhibition, Detroit, Michigan
• Kounenis, C., Sims-Williams, D., Dominy, R., Berson, A., Oettle, N., & Freeman, C. (2015, April). The Effects of Unsteady Flow Conditions on Vehicle in Cabin and External Noise Generation. Presented at SAE 2015 World Congress & Exhibition, Detroit, Michigan
• Kounenis, C., Sims-Williams, D., Dominy, R., Berson, A., & Oettle, N. (2014, October). Interactions between Underbody Aerodynamics and Aeroacoustics. Presented at International Vehicle Aerodynamics Conference, Loughborough, UK
• Newbon, J., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2014, October). Investigation into the effect of the wake from a generic formula one car on a downstream vehicle. Presented at International Vehicle Aerodynamics Conference, Loughborough, UK
• Mankowski, O., Sims-Williams, D., Hunt, A., & Dominy, R. (2014, June). An Active Turbulence Generation System for the Simulation of Aerodynamic Transients in a Model Wind Tunnel. Presented at First International Conference in Numerical and Experimental Aerodynamics of Road Vehicles and Trains (Aerovehicles 1)., Bordeau, France
• Oettle, N., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2013, December). Evaluation of the Aeroacoustic Response of a Vehicle to Transient Flow Conditions. Presented at 9th FKFS Conference Progress in Vehicle Aerodynamics and Thermal Management, Stuttgart, Germany
• Förster, F., Sims-Williams, D., & Ingram, G. (2012, December). Reconstruction of the Unsteady Pressure Field in a Low Speed Linear Cascade. Presented at ASME Turbo Expo 2012: Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Forster, F., Sims-Williams, D., Ingram, G., & Dominy, R. (2023, June). Time resolved measurements in the Durham Cascade. Presented at ASME Turbo Expo 2011, Vancouver, Canada
• Oettle, N., Sims-Williams, D., Dominy, R., Darlington, C., Freeman, C., & Tindall, P. (2010, April). The Effects of Unsteady On-Road Flow Conditions on Cabin Noise. Presented at SAE 2010 World Congress & Exhibition, April 2010,, Detroit, USA
• Allen, N., Wood, D., Rosamond, M., & Sims-Williams, D. (2009, September). Fabrication of an in-plane SU-8 cantilever with integrated strain gauge for wall shear stress measurements in fluid flows. Presented at Eurosensors XXIII conference, Lausanne, Switzerland
• Hetherington, B., & Sims-Williams, D. (2006, April). Support Strut Interference Effects on Passenger and Racing car Wind Tunnel Models. Presented at SAE World Congress., Detroit, USA
• Sims-Williams, D., Kaye, S., & Watkins, S. (2006, April). Periodic Structures within the Formation Region of Trailing Vortices. Presented at SAE World Congress., Detroit, USA
• Yang, H., Sims-Williams, D., & He, L. (2003, September). Unsteady Measurement with Correction on Tubing Distortion. Presented at 10th International Symposium on Unsteady Aerodynamics, Aeroacoustics and Aeroelasticity in Turbomachines., Duke University, Durham, USA
• Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2002, December). The Design of an Open-Jet Wind Tunnel for Model Testing. Presented at SAE Motorsports Engineering Conference., Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
• Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2002, October). The Design of a New Wind Tunnel for Vehicle Aerodynamics Research. Presented at MIRA Vehicle Aerodynamics Conference, Warwick, UK
• Crossland, S., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2000, August). The Reconstruction of Bluff-Body Unsteady Flow Fields. Presented at 9th International Symposium on Flow Visualization., Edinburgh, UK
• Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (1998, October). The Validation and Application of a 5 Hole Pressure Probe with Tubing Transfer Correction for Time-Accurate Measurements in Unsteady Flows. Presented at Second MIRA International Conference on Vehicle Aerodynamics., Coventry, UK
• Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (1998, April). Experimental investigation into unsteadiness and instability in passenger car aerodynamics. Presented at SAE World Congress., Detroit, USA

Doctoral Thesis

• Sims-Williams, D. (2001). Self-Excited Aerodynamic Unsteadiness Associated with Passenger Cars. (Thesis). School of Engineering, Durham University. https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1647413

Journal Article

• Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (online). The reconstruction of periodic pressure fields from point measurements
• Sims-Williams, D., White, A., & Dominy, R. (online). Gurney Flap Aerodynamic Unsteadiness. Sports Engineering, 221-233. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1460-2687.1999.00035.x
• Oettle, N., Mankowski, O., Sims-Williams, D., Dominy, R., Freeman, C., & Gaylard, A. (online). Assessment of a Vehicle's Transient Aerodynamic Response, SAE Paper 2012-01-0449. SAE Technical Papers, https://doi.org/10.4271/2012-01-0449
• Fuentes Holden, J. P., Gan, L., Sims-Williams, D., Gilbert, J., Osborne, P., & Bastankhah, M. (2024). Characterisation and Integration of Piezoelectric Trimorph Actuators for Blade Active Surface Control on a Scaled Wind Turbine. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2767(9), Article 092094. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2767/9/092094
• Masoudi, E., Sims-Williams, D., & Gan, L. (2023). Flow separation from polygonal cylinders in an incident flow. Physical Review Fluids, 8(1), Article 014701. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevfluids.8.014701
• Xiao, L., Wang, Q., Zhu, X., Bu, H., Huang, T., Yuan, X., Gan, L., & Sims-Williams, D. B. (2022). Representative On-Road Aerodynamic Yaw Angle Distribution in China for Vehicle Development. SAE International Journal of Passenger Vehicle Systems, 16(2), https://doi.org/10.4271/15-16-02-0008
• Masoudi, E., Gan, L., & Sims-Williams, D. (2021). Large Eddy Simulation of incident flows around polygonal cylinders. Physics of Fluids, 33(10), Article 105112. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0063046
• Aubrun, S., Bastankhah, M., Cal, R., Conan, B., Hearst, R., Hoek, D., Hölling, M., Huang, M., Hur, C., Karlsen, B., Neunaber, I., Obligado, M., Peinke, J., Percin, M., Saetran, L., Schito, P., Schliffke, B., Sims-Williams, D., Uzol, O., Vinnes, M., & Zasso, A. (2019). Round-robin tests of porous disc models. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1256, https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1256/1/012004
• Oettle, N., & Sims-Williams, D. (2017). Automotive aeroacoustics: An overview. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D: Journal of Automobile Engineering, 231(9), 1177-1189. https://doi.org/10.1177/0954407017695147
• Newbon, J., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2017). Aerodynamic Analysis of Grand Prix Cars Operating in Wake Flows. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 10(1), 318-329. https://doi.org/10.4271/2017-01-1546
• Newbon, J., Dominy, R., & Sims-Williams, D. (2015). CFD Investigation of the Effect of the Salient Flow Features in the Wake of a Generic Open-Wheel Race Car. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 8(1), 217-232. https://doi.org/10.4271/2015-01-1539
• Oettle, N., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2014). Assessing the Aeroacoustic Response of a Vehicle to Transient Flow Conditions from the Perspective of a Vehicle Occupant. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 7(2), 550-558. https://doi.org/10.4271/2014-01-0591
• Mankowski, O., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2014). A Wind Tunnel Simulation Facility for On-Road Transients. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 7(3), 1087-1095. https://doi.org/10.4271/2014-01-0587
• Oettle, N., Mankowski, O., Sims-Williams, D., Dominy, R., & Freeman, C. (2013). Evaluation of the Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Response of a Vehicle to Transient Flow Conditions. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 6(1), 389-402. https://doi.org/10.4271/2013-01-1250
• Sprot, A., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2012). The Aerodynamic Characteristics of a Fully Deformable Formula One Wind Tunnel Tyre. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 5(2), 1026-1041. https://doi.org/10.4271/2012-01-1166
• Howell, J., Sims-Williams, D., Sprot, A., Hamlin, F., & Dominy, R. (2012). Bluff Body Drag Reduction with Ventilated Base Cavities. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 5(1), 152-160. https://doi.org/10.4271/2012-01-0171
• Allen, N., Sims-Williams, D., & Wood, D. (2012). An in-Plane Cantilever for Wall Shear Stress Measurement. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 22(7), Article 074007. https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/22/7/074007
• Mankowski, O., Sims-Williams, D., Dominy, R., Duncan, B., & Gargoloff, J. (2011). The Bandwidth of Transient Yaw Effects on Vehicle Aerodynamics. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 4(1), 131-142. https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-01-0160
• Sprot, A., Minto, J., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2011). Aerodynamic Investigation on the Effect of Varying Through-Hub Flow on a Formula One Front Wheel Assembly. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 4(1), 929-944. https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-01-1431
• Sims-Williams, D. (2011). Cross Winds and Transients: Reality, Simulation and Effects. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 4(1), 172-183. https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-01-0172
• Oettle, N., Sims-Williams, D., Dominy, R., Darlington, C., & Freeman, C. (2011). The Effects of Unsteady On-Road Flow Conditions on Cabin Noise: Spectral and Geometric Dependence. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 4(1), 120-130. https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-01-0159
• Sims-Williams, D., Marwood, D., & Sprot, A. (2011). Links between Notchback Geometry, Aerodynamic Drag, Flow Asymmetry and Unsteady Wake Structure. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 4(1), 156-165. https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-01-0166
• Lawson, A., Dominy, R., Sims-Williams, D., & Mears, A. (2008). A Comparison between On-Road and Wind Tunnel Surface Pressure Measurements on a Mid-Sized Hatchback
• Lawson, A., Sims-Williams, D., & Dominy, R. (2008). Effects of On-Road Turbulence on Vehicle Surface Pressures in the A-Pillar Region. SAE International Journal of Passenger Cars - Mechanical Systems, 1(1), 333-340. https://doi.org/10.4271/2008-01-0474
• Sims-Williams, D., & Luck, D. (2007). Transfer function characterisation of pressure signal tubes for the measurement of large amplitude pressure fluctuations
• Muscroft, R., Sims-Williams, D., & Cardwell, D. (2006). The Development of a Passive Magnetic Levitation System for Wind Tunnel Models
• Hetherington, B., & Sims-Williams, D. (2004). Wind tunnel model support strut interference. SAE transactions, 113(6), 442-448
• Sims-Williams, D., & Duncan, B. (2003). The Ahmed model unsteady wake : experimental and computational analyses. SAE transactions, 112(6), 1385-1396
• Sims-Williams, D., Dominy, R., & Howell, J. (2002). An investigation into large scale unsteady structures in the wake of real and idealized hatchback car models. SAE transactions, 110(6), 1197-1208
• Duncan, B., Sengupta, R., Mallick, S., & Sims-Williams, D. (2002). Numerical simulation and spectral analysis of pressure fluctuations in vehicle aerodynamic noise generation. SAE transactions, 111(6), 872-892
• Dominy, R., Ryan, A., & Sims-Williams, D. (2000). The aerodynamic stability of a Le Mans prototype race car under off-design pitch conditions. SAE transactions, 109(6), 1454-1460. https://doi.org/10.4271/2000-01-0872