Drag reduction through a streamlined aerodynamic design process: Development and implementation of a methodology to accelerate the aerodynamic design process in the preliminary phase of car design

Continuous innovation is very important to stay competitive in today’s world. Automotive manufacturers are an excellent example of this evolution when looking to new vehicle concepts. But also behind the scene, they have to be innovative in order to be able to keep up this progression. Aerodynamics has a large influence on the total performance...

Structural Sizing Method for Propulsive Empennage System: Weight Estimation of Ducted Propeller Systems that Provide Longitudinal and Lateral Stability

Flight Performance and Propulsion department of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology has proposed an effective and sustainable solution to the main challenges aviation is currently facing, namely the raising concerns regarding the environmental and health impact of the industry. Delft University Unconventional Concept (DUUC) has...

Assessment of Conceptual Hybrid-Electric Regional Aircraft with Boundary-Layer Ingestion Propeller

Boundary Layer Ingestion (BLI) is a promising propulsion concept for aviation, aiming to reduce fuel burn. This configuration involves using the propulsor to ingest the boundary layer from the fuselage or wing. Typically, aircraft with BLI propulsors also integrate a hybrid-electric powertrain. This integrated setup has shown potential in fuel...

Fuel Tank Integration for Hydrogen Airliners

Zero-carbon-dioxide-emitting hydrogen-powered aircraft have, in recent decades, come back on the stage as promising protagonists in the fight against global warming. Nevertheless, most recent studies agree that hydrogen aircraft would underperform their kerosene counterparts in terms of operative empty mass and specific energy consumption. The...

Aerodynamic Design Integration of Strut Braced Wings

Due to the high aspect ratio and low induced drag of aircraft with strut-braced wings, they are being extensively studied due to their fuel-saving potential. This thesis aims to expand the fundamental knowledge in the design of aircraft with Strut Braced Wings (SBW) by achieving the following objectives. <br/><br/>The objectives of this thesis...

An Assessment of a Regional Turboprop Featuring Wingtip-Mounted Propellers: Design Integration Coupling Propeller-Wing Aerodynamics and Structural Wing Weight

The current focus in the aviation industry for more sustainable designs, could mean the revive of propeller propulsion, due to their relative high propulsion efficiency compared to jets. In addition, the application of wingtip-mounted propellers installed in tractor configuration can be used as tip-vortex attenuating devices, reducing the wing...

Application of Power Balance Method to CFD

A formulation based on the evaluation of power conversions within the system allows to overcome the limitations of conventional momentum analyses to study tightly coupled airframe-propulsion configurations such as Boundary Layer Ingestion. The so-called power balance method is applied in a CFD framework to gain insight about the application of...

Positioning of the Ducted Fan Propulsive Stabiliser

A new aircraft configuration, the Delft University Unconventional Configuration (DUUC), was recently invented by the Flight Performance and Propulsion group at TU Delft. As a solution to the concerns regarding the environmental and health impact due to increasing demand of air travel. The DUUC has a characteristic feature which consist of two...

A Conceptual aircraft design methodology for parallel hybrid-electric powertrains: Prediction of engine performance and electric component integration

The demand for environmentally friendly aviation has increased the interest in alternative concepts, such as hybrid-electric propulsion systems. A novel conceptual hybrid-electric sizing methodology was devised, which provides a detailed engine performance prediction and an accurate sizing of the powertrain components. The performance prediction...

Mission assessment for hybrid-electric single aisle aircraft

The environmental impact of aviation is a well-known issue scientists all around the world are desperate to tackle. The population that can afford air travel is growing and this demand is likely to double within the next 20 years. This increasing demand comes at a hefty price: the emissions of greenhouse gases cause climate change and local air...

Supporting MDO through dynamic workflow (re)generation

The use of advancements in computing technology has enabled designers to perform more thorough and more detailed design studies. Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) architectures provide users with guidelines on how to structure their MDO problem, including the linking of disciplines and how to perform the optimization. However, complex...

Propeller Slipstream Effects on Longitudinal Static Stability: Effect of the Rethorst Correction at the Horizontal Stabilizer

The potential for a correction by Rethorst for Vortex Lattice Methods (VLMs) exists to improve Longitudinal Static Stability predictions when applying the Rethorst correction to a slipstream engulfed horizontal stabilizer. The Rethorst correction has already proven to result in accurate lift predictions in VLMs for an isolated wing in a...

Investigation of the benefits of a parallel-hybrid electric architecture in NOx,CO and H2O emissions in the LTO cycle for regional turboprop

Air traffic is expected to grow in the next decades, and with it, aircraft emissions are likely to increase. Hybrid-electric propulsion has been investigated as a concept that could address this problem by potentially bring fuel-saving and emissions reduction. This research assesses whether an electrically assisted regional turboprop aircraft...

Development of a Software Architecture for a Reconfigurable Aircraft Design System

Aircraft design systems are frequently used to synthesize aircraft designs. However, it is inherently difficult to reconfigure these software systems to facilitate a broader range of design studies (e.g. optimization or sensitivity studies) and to address follow-up questions about the synthesized aircraft designs. This report presents an...

Aerodynamic Design and Analysis of a Two Stage to Orbit Winged semi-Reusable Launching Vehicle

The commercialization of the space industry has led to a reduction in size and weight of satellites and launching vehicles, which have effectively reduced the cost of space services. The costs of launching payloads to space can be significantly reduced when the launching vehicles are reusable. The two-stage-to-orbit system with a winged,...

Optimizing hybrid-electric aircraft design and airline planning for efficient energy management and profitability through multidisciplinary coupling

Coupled hybrid electric aircraft design and strategic airline planning

With the aviation sector growing each year, the need for a reduced climate impact is becoming increasingly important. Electrification of the propulsion system is believed to offer promising avenues in achieving this reduction. Additionally, airlines operating these aircraft have to adapt their operations and network to optimally utilize these...