Seasonal variability in M2 and M4 tidal constituents and its implications for the coastal residual sediment transport

We use an observational data set of tidal gauges in the North Sea to investigate the annual cycle of the M2 and M4 amplitudes and phases. The sea surface elevation amplitude of the M2 can vary by 8–10% and the M4 amplitude by 12–30% over the course of the year, with larger amplitudes in summer. The annual phase variations are in the range of 3...

Experimental showcase

When it opened for business in September, the Science Centre was still unfinished. According to Dr. Michael van der Meer, the Centre’s director, it will never be finished. “We are a showcase for the science carried out at TU Delft. And science is never finished.”

Multidimensional rays

Taking accurate measurements, cutting steel, trapping DNA molecules, transforming eyes: the range of applications offered by the laser beam is endless. Fifty years on and it is still one of the most widely used instruments under development and a mainstay of scientific research at TU Delft.

A better world: Action not words!

Chemicals, materials and fuels made from biological raw materials. It is time to stop just thinking about the ideal world. We must take action to make it a reality, believes Professor Luuk van der Wielen.

Robot ray the bloodhound; searching underwater for cyanobacteria, terrorists, and mines is all in a day’s work for a robot ray developed by a team of aerospace engineering students

Modeling collapse aggressiveness of cavitation in hydromachinery

Shining a light on the past

Invisible to the naked eye, pinpricks of light from minerals reveal how long they have been hidden inside a brick. Researchers at Delft University of Technology have ways of detecting the light, but their dating method yields results that don¿t tally with those of archeologists.

Exploring local knowledge of the flooding risk of the Scheldt Estuary

Rock-hard coatings

Aircraft jet engines have to be able to withstand infernal conditions. Extreme heat and bitter cold tax coatings to the limit. Materials expert Dr Ir. Wim Sloof fits atoms together to develop rock-hard coatings. The latest invention in this field is known as ceramic matrix composites. Sloof has signed an agreement with a number of parties to...

Climate change - clouds remain the misty factor

Clouds are the great unknown quantity in predictions about climate change. For aeons they have been drifting quietly across the sky, but scientists still dont know exactly how they are formed and why they eventually come down again as rain. High time to take a closer look at clouds, say researchers at Delft University of Technology. Politicians...

Fast reactors

There is a new generation of nuclear power stations on the drawing board. They must be sustainable as well as safe and cost-effective. Can these ambitions be realised? The sustainable power stations are less safe, and the safe ones are less sustainable.

Shaping up blunt bodies

Lorries are great for transporting goods, but their inferior aerodynamics means they get fewer kilometers a liter of fuel. Bad news indeed for the environment, and for hauliers purses. But according to researchers at Delft University of Technology, cones and wings attached to the rear end along with technical tricks suspended under the vehicle...

Potential below the poverty line

A squeeze bottle that enables children to purify their own drinking water. A bicycle that disabled unemployed people can use to sell ice cream. In Africa, inventions from Delft can make a world of difference.

Living on the edge

If the sea were to flood the southern parts of the agglomeration that covers most of the western part of the Netherlands, the death toll would be in the thousands, as predicted by a calculation method developed at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). Evacuation would save precious few lives. So how can a disaster of this magnitude be averted?

Shot-noise limited detection sensitivity in multiplex CARS microscopy

In multiplex CARS microscopy the generated anti-Stokes signal is generated and detected simultaneously over a significant part of the vibrational spectrum. The signal-to-noise ratio of the thus detected spectra is limited only by shot-noise. This principle is demonstrated using a dilution series of 2-propanol in water. It is derived...

Racing against the clock

Sixty student members of TU Delft’s DUT Racing Team are working on DUT09. The racing car they plan to enter at Silverstone in July is still on the drawing board.