tudelft beyond imagination
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TUDelft Beyond imaginationTRANSCRIPT
Facu
lty
of A
eros
pace
Eng
inee
ring
Aerospace Engineering
Beyondimagination
Future world
In the course of a century, aviation has
matured from a pioneering technology to an
indispensable part of daily life for more and
more people. We are convinced that information
and communications technology will not reduce
the demand for air transport in the future. With
the rapid development of Asia, South America
and Africa, this demand will continue to grow
for decades to come. Aerospace engineering
is essential to both sustaining our way of life
and answering some of our greatest and most
fundamental questions.
Scientific and engineering challenges
New knowledge, technology and very
smart engineers are required to reconcile
these growing demands with the limited
resources of our planet. More than any other
sector, the aerospace industry is dependent
on fossil fuels. However, not only are they
running out, they are also responsible for
CO2 emissions. New materials are being
used despite the present lack of knowledge
regarding their behaviour and their true
The faculty of Aerospace Engineering was established in 1975. The faculty of
Aerospace Engineering (AE) is one of the largest faculties devoted entirely to
aerospace engineering in Northern Europe. It is the only institute engaged in
research and teaching that is directly related to the aerospace engineering
sector in the Netherlands. It covers the whole spectrum of aerospace
engineering subjects, and explores vital related fields such as wind energy.
Facts& figures
potential. AE aims to take a leading role in
Europe in thinking about the aircraft of the
future: the post-oil plane. The time lapse
between developing a new technology and
implementing it in an actual aeroplane
typically spans several decades (in the case
of GLARE® this was 30 years). It is therefore
important that we think about solutions
for aircraft now, before oil becomes a very
scarce commodity.
To be the best Aerospace
Engineering faculty in the
world with a firm eye on
the future, by inspiring
students, staff and
society through modern
educational techniques and
ambitious research of the
highest quality.
Students
Number of first-year students 400
Total number of students 2700
(BSc/MSc)
Staff numbers
Professors 27
Associate professors 18
Assistant professors 42
Postdocs, Researchers 110
PhD candidates 170
Finance Million euro
Government funding 22
Contract funding from Industry 8
Sustainability/Green Aircraft
The invention of highly efficient, safe, sustainable and quiet aircraft
that will not need any fossil fuel is a challenge that inspires both our
research and teaching.
Miniaturisation
New applications arise along with new technologies, including
insect-sized unmanned aircraft, ever-smaller satellites, spacecraft,
new materials and perhaps even personal air transport. Small
unmanned vehicles are carrying out an increasing share of tasks in
the skies as well as in space.
Exploration of our solar system
In space, the current generation is likely to witness the discovery by
spacecraft of extraterrestrial life forms and maybe even of extraterrestrial
environments that we could inhabit.
Research Priorities
Research Areas
Head of Department
Science Department
Research Group
Prof. H. Bijl
Aerodynamics, Wind Energy, Propulsion and Performance
Aerodynamics
Wind Energy
Applied Sustainable Science, Engineering and Technology
Flight Performance and Propulsion
Prof. M. Mulder
Control and Operations
Control and Simulation
Air Transport and Operations
Prof. B.A.C. Ambrosius
Space Engineering
Astrodynamics and Space Missions
Space Systems Engineering
Prof. R. Benedictus
Aerospace Structures and Materials
Structural Integrity and Composites
Aerospace Structures and Computational Mechanics
Novel Aerospace Materials
Our research covers all areas of aerospace engineering:
A new era of aerospace engineering
requires a new type of engineer. The complex
multidisciplinary problems and challenges we face
in society and in the field of aerospace engineering
in particular require thorough problem-solvers
in the fields of science, management and
engineering, who are also capable of interacting
with and understanding specialists from a wide
range of disciplines and functional areas. Industry
refers to such people as “T-shaped professionals”.
The Bachelor’s degree programme provides a
broad academic background with consolidated
knowledge of aerospace engineering. Students
to develop intellectual academic skills needed
for analysis, application, synthesis, and design,
including a critical attitude, communication skills,
and an awareness of the scientific and societal
context. The AE Master’s degree programme allows
students to develop an expert view on aerospace
engineering and focuses on detailed knowledge of
one discipline, combined with intellectual academic
skills and attitudes to modelling, analysing,
problem-solving, experimenting and research.
Educational framework
AE is an excellent choice for anyone looking for
a valuable study programme that offers excellent
prospects for a future career. Between twenty-five
to thirty per cent of our Bachelor’s and Master’s
students come from outside the Netherlands.
The faculty offers one three-year Bachelor’s
degree programme, which focuses on the full
spectrum of aerospace engineering and on
skills such as designing and integrating multiple
disciplines. For the Master’s degree programme,
we have identified five areas, that together cover
the field of aerospace engineering, which are
referred to as tracks:
- Aerodynamics & Wind Energy
- Flight Performance & Propulsion
- Control & Operations
- Space Engineering
- Aerospace Structures & Materials
Educational philosophy
Area A
Area C-I Area D-I
Area D-II
Area D-III
Area D-IV
Internship
Graduationwork
DepthMSc-phase
2 years
WidthBSc-phase
3 years
Tim
e
Area E-I
Area B Area C Area D Area E Area G Area H
Building European partnerships
AE participates in major European programmes
such as CleanSky and SESAR. We are pushing to
get long-term goals on the agenda to safeguard
the future of aerospace engineering in Europe.
The faculty plays an active role in Brussels to
ensure that long-term research gets the place on
the European agenda that it deserves
AE is intensifying its relationship with the number
two in Europe, ISAE Toulouse, in terms of areas
of research and education. AE is a founding
member of Pegasus, the association for academic
aerospace education in Europe. Strategic alliances
with our European partners enable us to achieve
a truly European Aerospace Academy framework.
On the global level we also cooperate with
partners and industry in the USA and Asia, having
formed strategic partnerships in those areas.
Bringing knowledge within your reach
Our broad knowledge base is one of the
reasons for our involvement in two of the four
Delft Research Initiatives: Infrastructures &
Mobility and Energy. The Delft Research Initiatives
bring the knowledge, engineers and facilities TU
Delft has to offer within your reach.
Turning ideas into reality
Valorisation is an important objective for our
faculty. Our staff is therefore closely involved
in key student initiatives like the student rocket
engineering society DARE and the NUNA solar car.
And of course we encourage our students and PhD
researchers to convert their ideas into profit by
starting their own businesses. In fact, some of our
techno-starters have become successful suppliers
to the aerospace industry themselves.
Facilities
Cessna Citation II jet aircraftThe Cessna is equipped as a flying laboratory for students to carry out experiments in the airspace above
and around Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam.
SIMONA
The super flight simulator SIMONA (International Research Institute for Simulation, Motion and Navigation
is used to study man-machine interactions and can simulate the motion of airplanes, helicopters, heavy and
light vehicles, and spaceplanes.
Wind tunnelsEight high-speed and low-speed wind tunnels are used to verify aerodynamic theory and observe physical
phenomena. Experiments can be performed at speeds ranging from subsonic (as low as 35m/sec) to
hypersonic (up to Mach 11).
Structures and Materials LaboratoryThis laboratory contains a variety of testing equipment, including fatigue-testing machines, low-speed
and high-speed impact testers, production equipment (e.g. a filament-winding machine) and a chemistry/
physics section equipped with microscopes and an autoclave. The laboratory is used for several kinds of
materials research, including experiments with lightweight structures.
HangarThe faculty hangar contains a collection of aircraft and spacecraft parts, including cockpits, wings,
advanced sensors and rocket components. It also houses an F-16 helicopter and a test model of ENVISAT,
the largest European satellite to date. In this facility, students gain a greater understanding of design and
performance considerations, with the ultimate goal of generating new ideas and solutions.
Practical exercises form an essential part of testing
and verifying theories. The faculty has a complete
range of high-tech facilities at the disposal of
students and researchers.
Clean RoomThe Clean Room has a variety of equipment for integration and testing. With its low level of
environmental pollutants, our Clean Room conforms to ISO class 5: 100,000 particles per m³. Particles,
temperature and humidity are monitored continuously (measurements are saved). Pressure is monitored
during operations of the low-thrust rocket test stand. The first Dutch satellite built by students, Delfi C3,
was created here. Students are currently working on its successor, the Delfi N3xt.
Micro Air Vehicle laboratory (MAV-Lab)The development of MAVs requires knowledge from many areas, including electronics, mechanics,
aerodynamics, navigation and control. At TU Delft, this knowledge has been combined in the Micro Air
Vehicle laboratory: the MAV-lab. The MAV-lab develops various Micro Air Vehicle platforms and uses them
for research that produces advances in state-of-the-art knowledge. The goal is to stimulate the use of the
lightweight MAVs in a wide variety of applications.
Additional facilitiesThe faculty also has a unique satellite database and a kite-testing laboratory for experiments on innovative
ideas in sustainable aerospace engineering and technology.
Faculty of Aerospace EngineeringKluyverweg 1P.O. Box 50582600 GB DelftThe Netherlands
COLOPHON Text Marketing & Communication, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, July 2012 Graphic Design SD Communicatie Print De Swart
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