Redesign of the Artechno vertical farm robot: Herontwerp van de Artechno vertical farm robot

This thesis focuses on a vertical farming system designed for growing crops. The system’s deficiencies were identified during a company visit where the system was operating. An analysis was conducted to see when all deficiencies would be resolved. It revealed that the vertical farm robot had to be redesigned to grab seven benches deep to...

Design of a sustainable closure for mayonnaise squeeze bottles

Dressings like mayonnaise can be stored in different ways. A popular way is in a rigid plastic bottle made from PET with a PP closure. This packaging can be designed top-up (the closure is on top of the bottle) or top-down (the bottle stands on the closure). The top-down rigid plastic packaging is the most used by Unilever for their dressings....

Feasibility Study & Embodiment Design of a More Efficient Frying Pan for Commercial Kitchens

This design report discusses the embodiment design of a more efficient frying pan for gas powered stoves in commercial kitchens, to see if a potential market entry is feasible, viable and desirable. Conventional pans have a thermal efficiency of roughly 25%. This means that only 25% of the heat coming from the combusted gas is used for cooking....

Engineering Design of a Modular Hydrogen Production System

The utilization of water electrolysis for hydrogen production is expected to increase significantly in the upcoming decades. Modular system design offers great advantages for emerging markets, whilst providing the necessary flexibility in capacity that intermittent renewable energy sources require. Literature research reveals little information...

Design of a constant diameter retractable Jet-ring with inside-out jetting combined with a Vibro-hammer

Reducing noise pollution during offshore monopile installation is crucial for marine life. Current installation methods create too much noise or do not have the certainty of reaching the required depths. By using a Vibrohammer combined with a Jet-ring this problem could be solved. A Jet-ring is a tool to reduce the sand induced inside shaft...

A walled garden in Brussels: Ambiguity as the foundation for coexistence in the European quarter in Brussels

"Brussels was never destroyed by the wars, but rather by its own people" these words of Victor Bourgouis show the destructive vision of social and cultural spaces in Brussels. The city's vision of urban development is based on top-down politics, fed by the desire to be modern. This affection leads to the non-identification and displacement of...

Monopile Forever: Overcoming the Technical Boundaries of Monopile Foundations in Deep Waters

Since the introduction of the first offshore wind farm in 1991, the demand for offshore renewable wind energy has experienced exponential growth all around the world. To supply this demand, the power rating and corresponding dimensions of offshore wind turbines have grown significantly. Due to the ever-shrinking availability of easily accessible...

Development of a universal cryogenic test facility

Magnets for High Energy Physics applications built to date are generally superconducting magnets, which operate at cryogenic temperatures. The reliability and safety of the applications are entirely dependent on good design which in turn rely heavily on predictable materials performance. Where at these low temperatures the fracture toughness is...

Intermediate Project Progress Tracking: A case study at an ETO Company

With the increasing focus on project planning in engineer-to-order(ETO) companies, tracking the progress of the design phase of a project is essential for effective planning. Such progress tracking currently is done through the regular feedback of discipline leads, which are intrinsically subjective. The information thus collected is then...

tunus - tiny house project: an interdisciplinary approach to architecture

A tiny house is a building for permanent human habitation that is specifically designed to have a limited ground surface. The tiny house design discussed in this report has a strong focus on circularity, sustainable material usage, smart systems, and affordability. To achieve an overall self-regulating and ecological concept, the aim is to...

Spatial Disorientation in a Hexapod Simulator: Evaluating the Effect of Expectation and Display Perception on Control Reversals for Experienced and Novice Pilots

In previous studies, pilots made roll reversal errors (RREs) when responding to a ‘moving- horizon’ type attitude indicator (AI). It was argued that it was the ambiguity of this display leading to RREs. Later, using non-pilots, it was found that RREs were in many cases caused by expectation-induced misperception of the AI bank angle, which can...

A novel Semi-flexible solar panel concept for low Earth orbit applications

As the new space movement develops, so comes the request for cheaper space solar panels with a shorter delivery time. This master thesis investigates the possibilities of using a Semi-flexible terrestrial solar panel in a low Earth orbit space environment. A Semi-flexible solar panel is a sandwich of polymer films with the solar cells in between...

The emergence of dissipation dilution: in doubly clamped nanomechanical resonators

The goal of the research described in this thesis was to investigate the basis of dissipation dilution as well as make it comprehensible. In the written literature we could find that the kinetic energy of an oscillating beam is stored into two types of potential energy~\cite{Kippenberg, Kotthaus}. A dissipative bending component and a...

The modular post-earthquake shell: A multi-objective parametric structural design approach

In April 2018, a graduation project in the field of architecture was concluded. The project entailed the design of a temporary community centre in the earthquake-damaged historic town centre of L’Aquila, Italy. The underlying social concept was focused on participation of the local population in the construction of the community centre. The...

CropChain Market: Reassemble the “Food Supply Chain” in an experimental space dedicated to food

With the nowadays technological changes, a new building typology<br/>should be developed, where all the phases of the “Food Supply Chain” should be elaborated as one: production, process and retail.<br/>The objective is to develop a building typology that could host a space entirely dedicated to food, where all the unnecessary phases are removed...

Reducing pipe penetration costs in shipbuilding: A new engineering & production approach to eliminate manual cutting by use of large predetermined openings

Western shipyards have to distinguish themselves by complex ships with short delivery times. This entails that in most cases the production already starts while the engineering has not even been finished. If the pipes and cables are not routed when the steel plate are cut by the CNC machine, the associated penetrations have to be cut manually...

Development of a Miniaturized Demonstrator for Foam Rheology Microgravity Experiments

The project under analysis is about the development and qualification of a demonstrator for a miniaturized foam rheology experiment performed in microgravity environment. The thesis is part of a larger feasibility study to evaluate the possibility of implementing such experiment on the International Space Station as an internal payload of the...