Effect of Steering Limit Constraints on the Performance of Variable Stiffness Laminates

A method to optimise the fibre angle distribution of variable stiffness laminates is proposed. The proposed method integrates a fibre angle retrieval step with a fibre angle optimisation procedure. A multi-level approximation approach is used in combination with the method of successive approximations. First, fibre angle retrieval is done by...

Multi-Level Acceleration for Sub-Iterations in Partitioned Fluid-Structure Interaction

Computational fluid-structure interaction is most commonly performed using a partitioned approach. For strongly coupled problems sub-iterations are required, increasing computational time as flow and structure have to be resolved multiple times every time step. Many sub-iteration techniques exist that improve robustness and convergence, although...

A Semi-Continuous Formulation for Goal-Oriented Reduced-Order Models

A semi-continuous formulation is introduced for finding bases which minimise the error in a specific output functional of a reduced-order model. The formulation is advantageous in that it can be easily applied to nonlinear problems and functionals. A general description of the approach is given, then explicit formulations are derived for the...

Filament Winding. A Unified Approach

In this dissertation we have presented an overview and comprehensive treatment of several facets of the filament winding process. With the concepts of differential geometry and the theory of thin anisotropic shells of revolution, a parametric shape generator has been formulated for the design procedure of optimal composite pressure vessels in...

Great expectations for offshore wind turbines: Emulation of wind farm design to anticipate their value for customers

To date, the technical feasibility of making electricity from offshore wind energy has been convincingly proven. However, the current challenge is to reduce the costs of this form of energy. One of the aspects playing a role in cost reduction is the optimisation of the wind turbine. The wind turbine influences the costs of various elements of an...

Applications of a discrete viscous adjoint method for aerodynamic shape optimisation of 3D configurations

Within the next few years, numerical shape optimisation based on high-fidelity methods is likely to play a strategic role in future aircraft design. In this context, suitable tools have to be developed for solving aerodynamic shape optimisation problems, and the adjoint approach—which allows fast and accurate evaluations of the gradients with...

A methodological approach for optimisation of product development processes by application of design automation

In the past decades a clear transition can be seen from fully human-based production techniques towards more automated systems. With the Product Development Process (PDP) being a potential source of competitive advantage the same trend of adopting more automation can be seen in the PDP. The application of automation can lead to large reductions...

Effects of Increasing Aerothermodynamic Fidelity on Hypersonic Trajectory Optimisation for Flight Testing Purposes

In a previous study, the optimal re-entry trajectory of Hyperion-2 has been derived. The mission of the vehicle is to measure hypersonic boundary-layer transition, a phenomena in which the laminar boundary layer turns into a turbulent boundary layer. This is an important feature in hypersonic flow to investigate, as it introduces peak heating...

Influence of stiffeners on a variable stiffness laminate optimisation

Engineers are still looking for ways to improve the performance of materials used in aircraft. A major step was going from metal parts to laminates in order to save weight significantly. Those laminates existed of fibres with a constant orientation, and became laminates with changing fibre directions. Variable stiffness laminates (VSL) are used...

Contrail Mitigation by means of 4D Aircraft Trajectory Optimisation

Aviation has a significant impact on the global atmosphere. Next to particle and gas emissions, the increase of cloud cover might increasingly contribute to aviation induced climate change. Water contained in the exhaust of jet engines locally raises the relative humidity levels sufficiently for contrail formation to occur. These contrails can...

Application of the Spherical Shaping Method to a Low-Thrust Multiple Asteroid Rendezvous Mission: Implementation, limitations and solutions

Since the development of the exponential sinusoid for low-thrust trajectory design by Petropoulos and Longuski [2004], more shape-based methods have emerged that ease up the work of a mission analyst. These methods are the ideal tool to generate a quick and almost complete overview of a large search space and are useful for producing first...

Medium Fidelity Aeroelastic Wingbox Optimisation

In aeroelastic research the interaction between the structural wing and the aerodynamics is investigated. Currently the wingbox structures, as other components, are manufactured out of composite materials to replace the metallic airplanes. Composites have the ability to be designed by defining the orientation and thickness of a laminate. This...

Design of a Combinatorial Tool for Preliminary Space Mission Analysis, applied to the GTOC2 Problem

In recent years, space missions to asteroids have been a focus of research. This type of mission has introduced a new challenge in space mission analysis: target selection. Indeed, given the large number of small Solar System bodies and their various orbital and physical characteristics, selecting a specific target is a rather complex task. This...

Engineering an Optimal Wind Farm

The project covers creation of a framework for optimisation of wind farm layouts. The optimisation is done with an objective of maximising the Net Present Value of the farm. With that aim, both power production and the fatigue driven component degradation are considered. The work is split in two main parts. First, in order to circumvent the use...

Aerodynamic optimisation and thermal loss modelling of a radial micro turbine

Micro turbines are miniaturised gas turbines and have the potential to be effectively used in combined heat and power (CHP) applications due to their advantages over reciprocating engines. Micro Turbine Technology B.V. is developing a 3kW recuperated micro turbine for a micro-CHP application and is currently looking for ways to improve the...