Multidisciplinary Design Analysis and Optimisation of Inflatable Stacked Toroid Decelerators: A Novel Framework Advancing Mars Exploration

Future Mars exploration missions require safe and controlled landing on the planet’s surface. Conventional entry, descent and landing (EDL) technologies, such as parachutes and rigid aeroshells, face limitations in meeting increasing demands for heavier payloads, harsher entry conditions, and desired landing locations due to their limited...

Live Transitioning of two Series-Parallel-Output Dual Active Bridge Converters

The transportation sector is moving towards a green future with a rapidly growing EV market and consequently, the demand for EV chargers is rising too. With the increased interest in 800V batteries and the current presence of 400V and 600V batteries, the voltage range for EV chargers is wide (150V-1000V). In this thesis, a wide-output EV charger...

Comparative life cycle assessment of thermoplastic and thermosetting CFRP in aerospace applications

This work quantifies and compares the environmental impact of a thermoset CFRP aircraft skin panel to that of a thermoplastic CFRP panel. This comparison is done using a cradle to gate life cycle assessment including impacts from raw material extraction, manufacturing and end of life. In addition, a hotspot analysis was performed to identify...

External Flow Effects in the Engine/Airframe Integration Testing Technique: A New Thrust/Drag Bookkeeping Approach at the German-Dutch Wind Tunnels

The integration of the engine with the airframe is investigated in the German-Dutch Wind tunnels (DNW) using special scale engines called Turbofan Powered Simulators (TPS). The bookkeeping of thrust and drag must be clear. The TPS thrust is determined under static conditions in a calibration facility, and then subtracted in the wind tunnel test...