Dr Leslie Johnston

Reader in Aerospace Engineering

• Newton Building Room UG14
• T: +44 (0)161 295 3156
• E: l.j.johnston@salford.ac.uk
• SEEK: Research profile

I hold a BSc (Eng)  and a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering from Queen Mary College, University of London. Between 1974 and 1978 I was also an Undergraduate Apprentice at the British Aircraft Corporation, Military Aircraft Division, Warton. I joined the Aircraft Research Association Ltd, Bedford in October 1981, working in the Theoretical/Applied Aerodynamics Division on the development of computational methods for the prediction of external and internal aerodynamics flows, mainly under contract to the UK Ministry of Defence. In April 1988 I was appointed Assistant Professor in the Aeronautics/Aerospace Department at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Belgium. I returned to the UK in August 1989 as the British Aerospace Research Lecturer in Computational Fluid Dynamics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UMIST. Manchester. I took up my present post of Reader in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Salford in August 2000.

Between October 2005 and November 2010 I was a commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Training Branch, with the rank of Flight Lieutenant, and the Officer Commanding 182 (North Trafford) Squadron Air Training Corps.

Fluid Dynamics, Low-Speed and High-Speed Aerodynamics, Gas Turbine Engines, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Aircraft Design.

My research interests are in the general field of aerospace engineering, including both experimental and theoretical work. These include the development and application of computational methods for predicting the viscous, compressible flow around two-dimensional aerofoil sections and three-dimensional wing planforms. The methods range from compressible boundary-layer and vortex-lattice methods through to solutions based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations. Specific areas of development involve Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods based on unstructured computational grids and advanced turbulence models. I also have experience in the development and application of Computational Electromagnetics (CEM) methods for the analysis of the radar cross section (RCS) of aerospace vehicles. Current areas of research include the high-lift aerodynamics of uninhabited combat air vehicle (UCAV) configurations designed for reduced RCS characteristics, both at low-speed and transonic flight conditions.

BSc(Eng) in Aeronautical Engineering with First-Class Honours

PhD in Aeronautical Engineering

Chartered Engineer

Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society

Senior Member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

ARCHIVAL JOURNALS

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Calculation Method for Two-Dimensional Wall-Bounded Turbulent Flows’, Aeronautical Journal, Vol.90, No.895, May 1986, pp.174/184 (Paper awarded The Pilcher-Usborne Prize for 1986 by the Royal Aeronautical Society)

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Solution Method for the Three-Dimensional Compressible Turbulent Boundary-Layer Equations’, Aeronautical Journal, Vol.93, No.924, April 1989, pp.115/131 (Paper awarded The Busk Prize for 1989 by the Royal Aeronautical Society)

Stolcis, L. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Solution of the Euler Equations on Unstructured Grids for Two-Dimensional Compressible Flow’, Aeronautical Journal, Vol.94, No.936, June/July 1990, pp.181/195

Johnston, L.J., ‘An Upwind Scheme for the Three-Dimensional Boundary-Layer Equations’, International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids, Vol.11, 1990, pp.1043/1073

Johnston, L.J., ‘Solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations for Transonic Aerofoil Flows’, Aeronautical Journal, Vol.95, No.948, October 1991, pp.253/273

Smith, R.J. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Automatic Grid Generation and Flow Solution for Complex Geometries’, AIAA Journal, Vol.34, No.6, June 1996, pp.1120/1124

Johnston, L.J., ‘Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Multi-Element, High-Lift Aerofoil Sections at Transonic Manoeuvre Conditions’, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part G, Journal of Aerospace Engineering, Vol.226, Issue 8, August 2012, pp.912/929

CONFERENCE PAPERS

Johnston, L.J. and Horton, H.P., ‘An Experimental Study of Turbulent Wake/Boundary Layer Mixing Flows’, ICAS Paper 86-2.3.4, Proceedings of 15^th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, London, England, September 7-12, 1986, Vol.1, pp.360/369

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Numerical Method for Three-Dimensional Compressible Turbulent Boundary-Layer Flows’, Proceedings of 5^th International Conference on Numerical Methods in Laminar and Turbulent Flow, Montreal, Canada, 6^th-10^th July, 1987, Pt.2, pp.1421/1435

Weatherill, N.P., Johnston, L.J., Peace, A.J. and Shaw, J.A., ‘A Method for the Solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations on Triangular Grids’, Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics, Vol.20, pp.418/425, Pub. Vieweg, 1988

Johnston, L.J., ‘Solution of the Mean-Flow and Turbulence-Transport Equations Governing Three-Dimensional Boundary Layers’, Proceedings of 6^th International Conference on Numerical Methods in Laminar and Turbulent Flow, Swansea, 11^th-15^th July, 1989, Pt.1, pp.107/119

Stolcis, L. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Implementation of a High Resolution TVD Scheme for Compressible Inviscid Flow on Unstructured Grids’, Lecture Notes in Physics, Vol.371, pp.344/345, K.W. Morton (Ed.), Pub. Springer-Verlag, 1990

Johnston, L.J., ‘Computation of Viscous Transonic Aerofoil Flows Using Eddy-Viscosity Based Turbulence Models’, Proceedings of 7^th International Conference on Numerical Methods in Laminar and Turbulent Flow, Stanford, USA, July 15-19, 1991, Pt.2, pp.1043/1054

Stolcis, L. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Compressible Flow Calculations Using a Two-Equation Turbulence Model and Unstructured Grids’, Proceedings of 7^th International Conference on Numerical Methods in Laminar and Turbulent Flow, Stanford, USA, July 15-19, 1991, Pt.2, pp.922/932

Johnston, L.J., ‘Transonic Aerofoil Performance by Solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations With a One-Equation Turbulence Model’, Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics, Vol.35, pp.427/436, Vos, J.B., Rizzi, A. and Ryhming, I.L. (Eds.), Pub. Vieweg, 1992

Stolcis, L. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Computation of the Viscous Flow Around Multi-Element Aerofoils Using Unstructured Grids’, Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics, Vol.35, pp.311/320, Vos, J.B., Rizzi, A. and Ryhming, I.L. (Eds.), Pub. Vieweg, 1992

Johnston, L.J., ‘Prediction of the Viscous Transonic Aerodynamic Performance of Supercritical Aerofoil Sections’, AIAA Paper 92-2653-CP, AIAA 10^th Applied Aerodynamics Conference, Palo Alto, California, USA, June 22-24, 1992

Stolcis, L. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Application of an Unstructured Navier-Stokes Solver to Multi-Element Airfoils Operating at Transonic Maneuver Conditions’, AIAA Paper 92-2638-CP, AIAA 10^th Applied Aerodynamics Conference, Palo Alto, California, USA, June 22-24, 1992

Stolcis, L. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Near-Wall Turbulence Models and Numerical Solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations Using Unstructured Grids’, 13^th International Conference on Numerical Methods in Fluid Dynamics, Rome, Italy, 6-10 July, 1992

Johnston, L.J., ‘Turbulence Modelling Requirements for the Prediction of Viscous Transonic Aerofoil Flows’, ICAS Paper 92-4.4.2, Proceedings of 18^th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 21-25 September, 1992, Vol.1, pp.755/765

Johnston, L.J. and Stolcis, L., ‘Prediction of the High-Lift Performance of Multi-Element Aerofoils Using an Unstructured Navier-Stokes Solver’, AGARD CP 515, ’High-Lift System Aerodynamics’, September 1993, pp.13-1/13-18

Johnston, L.J., ‘Transonic Flow Drag Prediction Using Navier-Stokes Solvers and Transport Equation Turbulence Models’, Proceedings of 34^th Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences, Israel, February 16-17, 1994, pp.387/398

Johnston, L.J., ‘Computation of Multi-Element Aerofoil High-Lift Performance at Low-Speed and Transonic Flow Conditions’, Proceedings of 34^th Israel Annual Conference on Aerospace Sciences, Israel, February 16-17, 1994, pp.412/423

Smith, R.J. and Johnston, L.J., ‘A Novel Approach to Engineering Computations for Complex Aerodynamic Flows’, Proceedings of 4^th International Conference on Numerical Grid Generation in Computational Fluid Dynamics and Related Fields, Swansea, 6^th-8^th April, 1994, pp.271/285

Lardy, P. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Two-Dimensional Subsonic Thrust-Reversing Flow Computations With an Upwind Scheme’, AIAA Paper 94-1811-CP, AIAA 12^th Applied Aerodynamics Conference, Colorado Springs, USA, June 20-23, 1994

Lardy, P. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Application of a Polynomial Flux Vector Splitter for the Computation of Viscous Subsonic Compressible Flows’, AIAA Paper 95-0468, 33^rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, USA, 9-12 January, 1995

Smith, R.J. and Johnston, L.J., ‘An Automatic Method of Computational Grid Generation and Flow Solution for Complex Geometries’, AIAA Paper 95-0214, 33^rd AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, Reno, USA, 9-12 January, 1995

Cantariti, F.J.-J. and Johnston, L.J., ‘High-Lift Navier-Stokes Computations on Unstructured Grids Using a Differential Reynolds Stress Model’, Numerical Methods for Fluid Dynamics V, K.W. Morton and M.J. Baines (Eds.), Oxford University Press, 1995, pp.319/325

Jahangirian, A.R. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Unstructured Grid Generation and Flow Adaptation for External Aerodynamic Flows’, Numerical Methods for Fluid Dynamics V, K.W. Morton and M.J. Baines (Eds.), Oxford University Press, 1995, pp.439/445

Jahangirian, A.R. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Automatic Generation of Adaptive Unstructured Grids for Viscous Flow Applications’, Proceedings of 5^th International Conference on Numerical Grid Generation in CFD and Related Fields, Mississippi State University, Mississippi, USA, April 1996, pp.219/228

Jahangirian, A.R. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Computation of High-Lift System Aerodynamics Using Unstructured Adaptive Grids and Advanced Turbulence Models’, Proceedings of 2^nd International Mechanical Engineering Conference, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, May 14-17, 1996

Jahangirian, A.R. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Calculation of High-Lift Aerodynamics on Adaptive Unstructured Grids’, ICAS Paper 96-1.10.5, Proceedings of 20^th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, Sorrento, Italy, 8-13 September, 1996, Vol.2, pp.2221/2231

Jahangirian, A.R. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Flow Adaptation Using Unstructured Grid Navier-Stokes Solver and Transport-Equation Turbulence Models’, 3^rd International Mechanical Engineering Conference, Tehran, Iran, May, 1998

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Quasi Three-Dimensional Navier-Stokes Method for Transonic Swept Wing Flows’, AIAA Paper 98-2736, AIAA 16^th Applied Aerodynamics Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, June 15-18, 1998

Cantariti, F.J.-J. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Transonic Navier-Stokes Computations on Unstructured Grids Using a Differential Reynolds Stress Model’, Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics, Vol.65, pp.479/486, Pub. Vieweg, 1998

Marques, S.P. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Unstructured Grid Generation for Viscous Flows’, EUA4X@TXN05 – EUA4X Meeting on Applied Scientific Computing, Lecce, Italy, 5^th-8^th October, 2005

Marques, S.P. and Johnston, L.J., ‘High-Lift Viscous Computations: an Evaluation of Two RANS Turbulence Models’, Proceedings of EUA4X@IAC06 – EUA4X Meeting on Applied Scientific Computing, Rome, Italy, 6^th-7^th October, 2006

Marques, S.P. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Unstructured Grid Generation Method and Flow Solutions for Two-Dimensional, High-Lift Aerofoil Configurations’, AIAA Paper 2007-1299, 45^th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, USA, 8-11 January, 2007

Jahangirian, A.R. and Johnston, L.J., ‘An Efficient Dual-Time Implicit Method for High-Lift Aerodynamics Using Differential Reynolds Stress Modelling’, EUCASS Paper 2.13.01, 2^nd EUropean Conference for AeroSpace Sciences, Brussels, Belgium, 2^nd to 6^th July 2007

Johnston, L.J., ‘Computation of Multi-Element Aerofoil, High-Lift Aerodynamics at Transonic Flow Conditions Using Transport Equation Turbulence Models’, 3^rd EUropean Conference for AeroSpace Sciences, Versailles, France, July 6-9, 2009

Johnston, L.J., ‘Aerodynamic Analysis of Transonic Manoeuvre Devices Using an Unstructured-Grid, Navier-Stokes Flow Solver’, CEAS 2009 European Air and Space Conference, Manchester, 26-29 October, 2009

LECTURE SERIES

Johnston, L.J., ‘Finite-Difference Methods for the Three-Dimensional Turbulent Boundary-Layer Equations’, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Lecture Series 1989-04, Computational Fluid Dynamics, 6-10 March, 1989

REPORTS

Queen Mary College, University of London

Johnston, L.J., ‘Two-Dimensional Turbulent Wake/Boundary Layer Mixing – Part 1: Constant Pressure Flow’, QMC-EP 1070, September 1985

Johnston, L.J., ‘Two-Dimensional Turbulent Wake/Boundary Layer Mixing – Part 2: a Wing/Leading Edge Slat Configuration’, QMC-EP 1071, September 1985

Aircraft Research Association Ltd

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Method to Calculate General Two-Dimensional Wall Bounded Viscous Flows’, ARA Report 62, October 1984

Johnston, L.J., ‘Calculation of Viscous Transonic Flow Around Axisymmetric Cowls’, ARA Report 63, October 1984

Johnston, L.J., ‘The Calculation of Turbulent Boundary Layer Flows Developing into Equilibrium’, ARA Memo 250, October 1984

Johnston, L.J. and Peace, A.J., ‘The Implementation of Viscous Effects in a Finite Volume Axisymmetric Inlet Method’, ARA Memo 251, November 1984

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Calculation Method for Two-Dimensional or Axisymmetric Compressible Boundary Layer Flows’, ARA Report 65, September 1985

Johnston, L.J., ‘A One-Equation Turbulence Model for Boundary Layer Flows’, ARA Memo 257, September 1985

Johnston, L.J., ‘Calculation of Wake/Boundary Layer Mixing Flows Using a Two-Equation Turbulence Model’, ARA Memo 258, November 1985

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Numerical Method to Compute Compressible Three-Dimensional Turbulent Boundary-Layer Flows’, ARA Report 68, November 1986

Weatherill, N.P., Johnston, L.J., Peace, A.J. and Shaw, J.A., ‘Development of a Method for the Solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations on Triangular Grids’, ARA Report 70, December 1986

Johnston, L.J., ‘Some Preliminary Results From a Prediction Method for the Viscous Flow Around Aerofoil Sections’, ARA Memo 281, February 1987

Johnston, L.J., ‘Further Evaluation of a Navier-Stokes Method for Transonic Aerofoil Flows’, ARA TAN 87/15, October 1987

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Finite-Difference Calculation Method for Three-Dimensional Turbulent Boundary-Layer Flows’, ARA Memo 303, October 1988

von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics

Johnston, L.J., ‘A Calculation Method for Compressible Three Dimensional Turbulent Boundary Layer Flows’, VKI Technical Note 167, July 1988

UMIST, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Johnston, L.J., ‘Solution of the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes Equations for Transonic Aerofoil Flows’, TFD/91/1, February 1991

Cantariti, F.J.-J. and Johnston, L.J., ‘Intermediate Report on Transonic Navier-Stokes Computations on Unstructured Grids Using a Differential Reynolds Stress Model’, ETMA/UMI/94/02, June 1994