Alexis graduated from the ESTACA Engineering School in 1998 and, as of 1996, he specialised in fluid simulations involving projects conducted on behalf of the Ligier F1 racing team, which was subsequently to become Prost Grand Prix. After working as an intern at Fluent after finishing his studies, Alexis was recruited by Prost Grand Prix to set up and run the F1 team’s CFD unit. In 2002, he became one of the founders of Aero Concept Engineering and took on the role of CFD Manager. In 2019, he took over the management of the company.
Our areas of expertise
Automotive
Coming from the world of motor sports and based in the technology centre of the Magny Cours circuit, the Aero Concept Engineering team is deeply immersed in the automotive world. From motor sports to series production, along with the world of non-standard vehicles, ACE has contributed its expertise to numerous automotive projects.
Aeronautics
Our engineers have been involved in aeronautic projects for very many years. They have studied certified aircraft, ultralight aircrafts (ULMs), drones and even airships using CFD techniques or in the wind tunnel.
HGVs
Since HGVs, construction machinery and agricultural machinery are subject to aerodynamic and thermal problems very similar to those affecting passenger cars, our teams are regularly called upon to work in these fields.
Rail
Pantographs, landing doors, carriage doors, train tunnel entries, crossings, air conditioning… These are just a few examples of the railway-related topics that we have been asked to address.
Construction
Are you responsible for the construction of a new district or a new building? Do you want to make sure that the aeraulic and thermal issues are dealt with prior to the construction work? Then please contact us!
Defence
Whether earthbound or airborne, armoured or not, take advantage of our experience to optimise the thermal and aerodynamic aspects of your military vehicles.
Sports and Records
Make your entry into the world of ultimate performance thanks to our sports-dedicated entity aeroptimum.fr. Our aerodynamic engineers will help you get the very best out of your machine and open the way to records, medals and victories!
Research
Research has been one of our sectors of activity for many years. With our wind-tunnel tests, the design of mock-ups and our expertise in CFD, we have cooperated in the preparation of many theses and dissertations.
Industry
Do your industrial processes or products involve thermal considerations, aeraulics or fluid mechanics? Would you benefit from support in their development and optimisation ? Then please contact us !
years
of experience
areas
of expertise
thousands of hours
of wind tunnel testings
thousands
of CFD calculations
Our resources
The wind tunnel
With or without a moving surface, with or without turntable, our wind tunnel is perfectly suited to meeting a wide range of requirements. Aeronautics, automotive, research, sport, wind power, etc. are all sectors of activity whose efficiency of their products can be improved by tests performed in our wind tunnel.
CFD
To conduct your studies, our CFD unit uses a machine cluster with more than 300 cores and 2.2 TB of RAM permitting the computational meshing of more than 100 million cells every day. Thanks to our pre-processing tools, we are able to prepare your CAD designs for subsequent computational use. We have also post-processing tools that allow you to visualise the various physical flow values in image or video format.
The workshop
Adjoining the wind tunnel, we have fully equipped assembly, machining, fast prototyping (3D printers) and woodworking workshops. These workshops not only allow us to assemble, fine-tune and modify mock-ups but also enable us to shape the development parts during the wind-tunnel tests. We can also make these workshops available to you during your wind-tunnel testing so that you can benefit from optimum conditions during your work.
ACE of Aircraft
It has been developed specifically to respond to the constraints of businesses in the general aviation field and is guided by four key principles: Reasonable licence cost, Optimised computation runtime, No knowledge of fluid simulations required, and Performance worthy of the best CFD software.
Our ACE of Aircraft software has been designed to meet your needs!
The team at ACE
His passions
Cars, aeronautics and technology
His role at ACE
CEO of the company and responsible for the CFD unit, he still often conducts CFD studies
After graduating from the ISAT Engineering School in 2011, Rémy started work for ACE in the very same year following the end of his student internship. For a number of years, he designed wind-tunnel mock-ups and measuring equipment and managed wind-tunnel testing. He left ACE in 2017 to work on a thesis on the optimisation of the geometries of vessels dedicated to river transport. He returned to ACE in 2020, following the company’s reorientation, in order to take over the management of wind tunnel-related activities (tests and design).
His passions
Sport
His role at ACE
As the person responsible for the wind tunnel and design activities, he is your contact person for all aspects of physical testing. He will advise you about all aspects, starting from the feasibility study, through design of the mock-up and/or measuring and test equipment and on to testing itself.
After graduating from the North East Wales Institute (Master of science in aeronautical engineering) in 2007, Mathieu started his career in ACE’s CFD unit the very same year. During the years that followed, he conducted many studies in all sectors of activity covered by ACE. Since 2019, he has concentrated full-time on software development.
His passions
Parachuting, programming.
His role at ACE
As the person responsible for software development, Mathieu is in charge of front-end and back-end development of the software solution ACE of Aircraft.
After graduating from the Polytech Orléans in 2009, he went on to write a Cifre thesis (Renault/Prisme) on the subject of “Experimental and digital study of diphasic flows in the water tanks of automotive vehicles”. He was awarded his doctorate in 2013 and joined a catapult company, where he worked on a wind power project. A year later, he joined ACE’s CFD unit and also trained users in working with OpenFOAM. After being the first trainee to acquire his OpenFOAM skills from ACE, he has been ACE’s own trainer in this subject since 2016!
His passions
Diving, ultra-trail.
His role at ACE
In addition to being responsible for training, Yann also monitors software developments and performs CFD studies. He is your contact person for all your OpenFOAM training needs.
After graduating from the ISAT Engineering School in 2021 Amandine was recruited by ACE following the end of her final-year student internship. After performing a 4th-year internship in the wind-tunnel unit and a semester at Polimi, where she trained in the use of OpenFOAM, she worked in the CFD unit during her final-year internship. She took up an interdisciplinary position in ACE, taking on responsibility for the Casimear project.
Her passions
Nature photography
Her role at ACE
Amandine joined ACE in connection with the launch of an automotive aerodynamics research project. This project, which brings together CAD design, CFD studies and wind-tunnel tests, has only just been launched. However, we promise we’ll tell you more very shortly!
Assigned to AerOptimum, our sports-focused entity, Benoît is responsible for dynamic bike-fitting. Are you a cyclist or triathlete? Entrust him with the adjustment of your bike and enjoy the comfort and performance gains. To find out more: aeroptimum.fr
After joining ACE in 2023, Laura is studying part-time for a Master’s degree in sports management. Initially assigned to the AerOptimum entity, she handles ACE’s and AerOptimum’s social media presence.
History of the company
2002
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Creation of ACE
The Prost Grand Prix Formula 1 racing team closed down for good in 2002. This was the start of a new era for the Magny Cours wind tunnel, which became the property of the newly formed company: Aero Concept Engineering.
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Diversification
Initially highly involved with the motor sports sector (F1, Proto Le Mans, WTCC, WRC, F3, one-design racing, etc.), ACE very quickly diversified its operations to offer wind-tunnel test and flow simulation services to all types of sectors of activity.
2008 - 2011
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OpenFOAM
Since 2008, ACE has used the OpenFOAM open-source software solution to perform its CFD studies.
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1st training course
In 2011, ACE gave its first training course in the use of OpenFOAM. As if to bear witness to the quality of this training, just a few years later the very first student, Yann Recoquillon, returned to the ACE team to take charge of OpenFOAM training!
2019
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Change of management
In 2019, Alexis Lapouille (one of our founders) took over the management of ACE and introduced a new strategy, which was rolled out during the succeeding years.
2020 - 2022
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Works
In 2020, an extensive battery of works was undertaken in the wind tunnel to renovate the test section, modernise the wind tunnel’s control and data capture capabilities and redesign the fixed-surface measurement platform in order to boost its performance.
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Aeroptimum
In 2021, the work on the wind tunnel was completed and ACE created AerOptimum, its dedicated sports-oriented brand which has made access to the wind tunnel possible for all athletes. Yann Recoquillon was awarded ICPF certification as an Approved Consultant Trainer and ACE started to work towards Qualiopi certification for its training activity.
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ACE of Aircraft
2022 is the year of the launch of the first software solution developed by ACE: ACE of Aircraft. Its aim is to allow small to mid-sized companies in the general aviation sector to benefit from the power of aerodynamic simulations at an affordable price.
Contact us
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+33 (0) 3 86 58 01 65
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Technopôle du Circuit, Magny-Cours - FRANCE
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contact@aero-ce.com