Océane Topenot : an exemplary academic career

After graduating with an engineering degree from SUPMICROTECH-ENSMM and then a PhD in mechanics from FEMTO-ST, Océane joined the aerospace equipment manufacturer SAFRAN.

After obtaining a scientific baccalaureate in 2016 and enrolling in preparatory classes for the grandes écoles in mathematics, physics, and engineering sciences at the Lycée Victor-Hugo in Besançon, Océane joined the SUPMICROTECH-ENSMM engineering school specializing in mechanics and microtechnology, from which she graduated in 2021.

This brilliant career path has opened the door to a three-year thesis in the applied mechanics department of the FEMTO-ST institute as part of an industrial research training agreement (CIFRE) in partnership with Safran Aircraft Engines Villaroche in Moissy-Cramayel (77).

His work focuses on “the efficiency of virtual prototyping of turbomachines with speed reducers.” Specifically, this involves future generations of civil aircraft engines that will incorporate a gear system requiring new modeling methods to assess the influence on the overall dynamics of the turbomachine, in particular to better predict loads. These future engines will incorporate a reduction gear between the turbine and the propeller, optimizing the rotational speed of each component. The ultimate goal is to improve overall performance and reduce fuel consumption. Prototypes of these engines are expected in 2030, with commercialization planned for 2035.

Supervised at the FEMTO-ST laboratory by her thesis advisors Gaël Chevallier and Scott Cogan, Océane Topenot contributed to the development of numerical methods aimed at reducing simulation times for complete turbojet engines. To achieve this, the “speed reducer” subsystem, initially modeled by a highly accurate digital twin, must be replaced by a substitute mathematical model. The latter must be able to capture the complex, non-linear dynamics of the subsystem and its influence on the entire turbomachine, while being faster to evaluate than a detailed model. (The originality of this approach, compared to the state of the art, lies in the use of a metamodel to substitute only one subsystem in a global system, which raises solver convergence issues, among other things.).

Freshly graduated with her PhD, Océane has been recruited by the SAFRAN group. She is following in the footsteps of her sister Margaux, four years her senior and with a similar career path, who is a vibroacoustics engineer at Alstom in Ornans.

Congratulations to Océane and Margaux!
Contact : 
oceane.topenot@safrangroup.com