Possible integrated coastal interventions in Playa Unión and Puerto Rawson: An area prone to coastal erosion

Playa Unión and Puerto Rawson are facing severe coastal erosion and increasingly the negative effects. Since the first half of the 20th century there have been signs of erosion, but also of sedimentation. However, the coastline in the project area is retreating over the years. The situation has recently been declared an emergency. Furthermore,...

Stakeholder research CoVE Water SA: CoVE Water SA the umbrella for all stakeholders

The water and sanitation sector faces well-documented issues that are challenging to address, leading to the establishment of the Platform of Vocational Excellence (PoVE) Water. This platform brings together five regional Centers of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) Water in Europe and South Africa to ensure high-quality skills and competencies in...

Stiffener layout design for thermoelastic spacecraft structures using multi-physics topology optimization

The performance requirements of optical instruments in space telescopes become increasingly demanding. Designing thermoelastic structures is key to account for thermal distortions to achieve the required performance, and modal analysis is required to ensure their survival. This thesis investigates how topology optimization can improve upon...

Barriers and Drivers for Private Investment in Nature-Based Solutions: A Transdisciplinary Analysis of Private Investment in Nature-Based Solutions Using Bayesian Belief Network Theory

A lack of understanding of ecosystem-related projects and scarcity of natural capital reimbursement mechanisms leads to passive involvement and hesitation from the private sector when investing in nature. This study conducts a systematic literature review, furnishes a database of the relevant barriers and drivers for the private investment in...

Scheveningen 2100: Water resilience against climate change

‘The Dutch are not going to lose against the sea’, is a commonly accepted quote of the citizens of The Netherlands. Having developed a country below sea level, Dutch people are aware of the challenges of the sea, but are committed in an endless fight against it. Nowadays, with global warming increasing, the challenge for them is even bigger. Sea...

Stiffness and Pliability: Developing an Algorithm to Identify Intrinsic and Reflexive Stiffness during Voluntary Movement and a Shared Mental Model Making Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration Dynamics Meaningful to Engineers

System identification techniques to analyse movement disorders are in development, but concrete clinical evidence to receive broad support from the clinical world is lacking. This master thesis proposes two ways to accelerate their development as part of the master’s programmes in Mechanical Engineering and Science Communication. The Mechanical...

Multidisciplinary assessment of engineered dunes for West End, Galveston Island, Texas

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is scheduled to present their solution for a storm surge barrier on Galveston Island in 2021 to congress for approval. A solution for an engineered dune system on the Galveston Island West End has been proposed, but storm surge models have shown that protection from this engineered dune only goes...

Effective use of design research for national spatial planning policy

The Dutch national spatial planning system is increasingly dealing with wicked multi-layered spatial challenges, also known as integral challenges. This development has led to a transition in the current national spatial planning system by means of the new Environment and Planning Act, which aims to work in a multi-level governance manner. One...

Feasibility Study on Deep Seawater Solutions for Manado: ROTEC

Due to climate change and growing cities, water scarcity is becoming one of the futures biggest problems. On top of that, the population and prosperity of cities around the equator are growing fast. Meaning that the need for electricity, cooling and drinking water will grow fast in the following decades. ROTEC’s vision is that these growing...

Towards the Industrialization of MDAO: Evolving 1st Generation MDAO to an Industry Ready Level of Maturity

Multidisciplinary Design Analysis and Optimization (MDAO) promises major advances in aircraft design. However, judging from todays aircraft, MDAO is clearly not fully embraced by the industry yet. This is due to technical difficulties (coupling incompatible tools) and non-technical barriers (intellectual property).<br/><br/>Recent research, such...