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Research Areas

Solid Rocket Motors: unsteady combustion, combustion instability, active combustion control through high-frequency acoustic waves.

High-frequency combustion instability in controllable solid rocket motors (pintle nozzle).

Solid rocket motors for deorbiting applications.

Nano-aluminized and special solid propellants for active combustion control.

On-board diagnostic systems and engine condition monitoring systems in turbofan engines.

Intelligent adaptive control under fault conditions in turbofan engines.

Curriculum Vitae

Professor Lombardo graduated in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Palermo in 1985 and qualified for the professional practice of Aerospace Engineering in the same year. In 1986, at Agusta (Cascina Costa), within the Military Helicopter Design Directorate, he was responsible for the integration of the powerplant into the helicopter, as well as for the digital acquisition and cockpit presentation of engine parameters. In 1987, at Aeritalia (Turin), within the Combat Aircraft Design Directorate, he was a member of the Safety, Reliability and Maintainability Working Group for the EFA (European Fighter Aircraft) program, with responsibility for engine integration. From 1988 to 1990, he served as a Permanent Commissioned Officer (Lieutenant) in the Italian Air Force Corps of Engineers, Aeronautical Engineering branch, holding the positions of Head of the Technical Office and Head of the Quality Control Section for aircraft and onboard armament maintenance. His research during this period focused on the analysis and diagnostics of unprecedented failures related to the aging or specific operational histories of the GE J79 turbojet engine. In 1991, already affiliated with the University of Palermo, he spent one year as a visiting researcher at the Laser Doppler Laboratory of the Department of Mechanics and Aeronautics at La Sapienza University of Rome, contributing to the development of new LDA (Laser Doppler Anemometry) and PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) techniques, and to the application of spectral analysis of optical signals. Between 1993 and 1995, he attended several advanced courses on transients, dynamic response, and instabilities in aeronautical and space propulsion systems at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Brussels. From 1995 to the present, collaborating actively with other universities and research institutions, he has specialized in unsteady combustion, combustion instabilities, and active combustion control through high-frequency waves in solid rocket motors; combustion instability in controllable solid rocket motors (pintle nozzle); solid rocket motors for deorbiting applications; and nano-aluminized and special solid propellants for active combustion control. Since 2000, he has been Associate Professor in the disciplinary scientific sector ING-IND/01 – Aerospace Propulsion at the University of Palermo, where he has continuously taught all courses in Aerospace Propulsion. He has also taught, for several years, the courses Experimental Aerodynamics and Gasdynamics.