MarsExplore is an innovative gravity mission with the objective of mapping the static and dynamic gravity fields of Mars. It incorporated novel quantum sensing payload instruments in order to perform gravitational measurements to an unprecedented level of accuracy. This Final Report involves the final design of MarsExplore, where Group 10 dives into a detailed design of the mission. ... Read more

This project explores the deployment of a High-Altitude PlatformSystems (HAPS) to deliver seamless, high-speed telecommunications coverage across the European Union (EU). Operating in the stratosphere, HAPS offers a flexible and cost-effective alternative to traditional satellite or terrestrial infrastructure, particularly for underserved or hard-to-reach regions. This project aims to provide 100% European connectivity by deploying a scalable fleet of aerial vehicles. The system is designed to ensure regulatory compliance, offer dynamic responses to different situations and provide a sustainable alternative to traditional infrastructure... ... Read more

With the integration of the Cessna Skymaster into the TU Delft research aircraft fleet, a mathematical model is required to quantify its aerodynamic and propulsion characteristics. Aerodynamic model identification is conducted using the Two Step method applied to 19 decoupled doublet and 3-2-1-1 flight test manoeuvres. The engine model is developed as a digitised representation of coupled engine performance and propeller efficiency maps, providing corrected engine horsepower, thrust, and total pressure gain across the propeller. To support system identification, the aircraft’s centre of gravity and inertial characteristics are determined. In the absence of dedicated flight instrumentation, a method for measuring control surface deflections is devised and tested in flight. The resulting aerodynamic model demonstrates robust performance in prediction of the C_X, C_Z and C_n dimensionless forces and moment, while the C_l moment estimation remains rather weak. The engine model power estimation closely follows software predicted values.
Related dataset 4TU.ResearchData:
https://doi.org/10.4121/a74d4324-ce07-45a9-9e9a-d4177e733a0b ... Read more

Among all the chaos surrounding the impact of general aviation on climate change, there is a small beacon of peace: the sport of gliding. Gliders are nothing new: they were the very first heavier-than-air aircraft capable of transporting people. It should come to no surprise this sport has only taken off in popularity since then. Typically, a glider becomes airborne via winch or aerotow. Out of these, aerotow tends to be preferred due to thermals guiding the glider’s favoured drop-off location. Surprisingly, the increasing awareness of climate change and unpowered nature of the sport have not led to much research into sustainability of the tow craft used for aerotows. As such, the necessity of designing a sustainable glider tow craft is indisputable. The tow craft designed to fulfil this aim is the Motorised Automatic Return Craft Used for Sustainable Towing, or in short, MARCUS-T. Starting from scratch, with only several top-level requirements given, a set of in-depth analyses of the main subsystems will eventually lead to a preliminary design. In the future, this design should be revised for more detailed design. ... Read more

Small satellites are a suitable alternative for large spacecraft for various space missions due to their flexibility, rapid production times, and cost-effectiveness. The development of micro-propulsion systems helps maximise the potential of miniaturised spacecraft. TU Delft contributes by researching novel techniques and developing its own small satellites. This project continued the development of a vaporising liquid micro-resistojet, constructed with commonly accessible materials and machines. The main objective was to implement a new setup to improve the accuracy of thrust measurements. Unfortunately, the nozzle geometry deformed during thruster reassembly due to a degraded sealing surface. This rendered comparison with previously obtained data meaningless. Furthermore, predictions made with an analytical model differed from the experimental results. With alterations made to both the thruster and the test bench, identifying the source of this discrepancy became complex. Recommendations were made to improve both the analytical model and the measurement accuracy of the setup. ... Read more

This study investigates the effect on the principal aerodynamic forces caused by home-built under-wing attachments excluding possible consequences on the aircraft’s control and manoeuvrability. Many other types of wing attachment have already been used and investigated of time. However, none of these attachments match exactly the attachment under investigation in this study.
For aerial display purposes, one of the team members of the Whiskey Formation Team created an under-wing firework launch platform attached to the tie-down points of the aircraft. These tie-down points are fixed to the quarter chord wing spar at about 90% of the half wing span near the wingtip. The launch platforms themselves protrude about a quarter of their own length in front of the wing’s leading edge. The remaining part is attached flush with the wing’s lower skin.
After installing the attachments on the aircraft’s wing, the creator took it upon himself to do some trial high speed taxi runs followed by a standard take-off. A circuit around the field and a full stop landing completed his trial run during which no adverse effects on the aircraft handling or flight safety could be detected.
Next, on the first trial flight as a formation with the launch platforms attached, the team leader claimed he experienced a slight performance increase. Earlier lift-off and sharper turns were among the examples of this performance increase he gave. No claims on the aircraft’s fuel consumption, cruising speed or power-off gliding performance were made. This was not investigated and is deemed not to be relevant to the aerial display.
This report investigates these claims by modelling the aircraft for computational flow simulations, with and without the platforms attached, for both take-off and high G-load turns. For the take-off condition a runway surface is modelled at a wheels-height distance from the aircraft’s wing. Realistic speeds of 50 and 60 knots respectively are chosen together with 10 degrees of geometrical pitch.
The result of these simulations was then validated in real life circumstances to eliminate possible adverse results due to modelling error of the real life aircraft. A number of comparative test flights, 5 in total with 6 take-offs per flight, were performed registering weight and take-off speed for a trimmed stick-free configuration. The results obtained from these test flights are likely to confirm the results obtained from the simulations. For the simulations, a larger lift and lower drag force are noted for the configuration with the launch platform attached for The steep turn case. For the take-off case a drag increase was noted. In the real life test this could be confirmed by the almost identical take-off velocities even though this falls well within the error margin of the experimental setup. The gain in lift, most pronounced for the steep turn case, comes from the blocking of the spanwise flow by the launch platforms hereby likely reducing the lift-induced drag caused by the wing tip vortex. The total drag of the modelled wing is reduced for the steep turn case even though the launch platforms contribute to the friction drag. Moreover, the model’s lift-to-drag ratio, a common measure of aircraft’s performance, is increased.
It can therefore be concluded that for the investigated cases indeed a small effect of the launch platforms on the aircraft’s performance can be found though it is deemed unlikely that this difference is be noticeable. Real life tests only show little promise since the error margin occludes the effects on performance. For flight display purposes a different meaning of the word ’performance’ is meant. The lift force is considered much more important than the drag force, even though the drag force is reduced too. Therefore it can be concluded that the installation of the launch platforms does not adversely affect the aircraft’s performance parameters such as lift and drag. Moreover, it is plausible that they do improve the aircraft’s performance parameters and do improve the performance of the aircraft for aerial display purposes. ... Read more

The use of plasma actuators for active flow control presents an interesting option for the design of an aircraft. Plasma-actuated systems boast the opportunities of having facilitated maintenance, increased operational efficiency, and a decreased noise profile, with minimal impact on general performance. Yet, due to the novelty of the technology, the exact implementation of a 100% plasma-controlled drone is yet to be done. Group 16 was tasked with designing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) which omits conventional mechanically-actuated control surfaces, and instead uses plasma actuators. This report explores the various technical and non-technical design facets of the Plasma-actuated Unmanned Light Surveillance and Eco-friendly Drone (PULSE Drone). Due to the inherent novelty in the design stages, this paper aims to explain the current PULSE Drone design and its approach such that it becomes a benchmark for future development. From the depth of explanations, this paper becomes a relevant source for future projects aiming to incorporate plasma actuators. ... Read more

With climate change is an undeniable reality, hydrogen based energy solutions will become increasingly important for specific aspects of economies. To meet emission targets, Solid Oxide Electrolysers (SOECs) and Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs) will become an increasingly useful part of global energy infrastructure. Identifying the economically advantageous areas where SOECs and SOFCs can be deployed inside a complex economic and energy systems requires the creation of numerical models which are capable of analysing economic and energy markets as well as models which replicate the characteristics of SOEC/SOFC operations. This thesis describes the fundamental physical principals used to create numerical models which describe the steady state behavior of solid oxide cells and
SOEC systems and discusses the results for various operation strategies of SOEC systems. ... Read more

When searching for life we tend to imagine faraway exoplanets, and rarely do we think of our
own solar system. Although a lot of focus is put on Mars, Venus, our closest neighbor, could
currently host life. Temperatures of 475 ℃ and pressures 95 times what we experience on
Earth don’t offer the best conditions for life on the surface. However at high altitudes the
temperature and pressure drop until, in the area between 50 and 70 km, they approach those
of Earth. Here, amongst a thick deck of sulfuric acid clouds, it is speculated that life could
exist, perhaps in the form of bacteria living in suspended water bubbles.
The purpose of our mission is to design a remote sensing platform to perform in-situ
measurements on the atmosphere and soil composition of Venus, in an effort to learn more
about the planet while looking for specific biomarkers that could be attributed to life. ... Read more

Solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are paramount under the current environmental circumstances. With methane and carbon dioxide being the most critical emission gasses, SigmaSat set out to find a way to reduce these emissions and simultaneously fulfill its scientific mission. While executing the scientific mission of designing a small satellite mission to demonstrate the latest advances in artificial intelligence, SigmaSat managed to devise a design that allows players in the energy production industry (such as refineries) to drastically reduce their methane and CO2 emissions. ... Read more

Converting existing aviation internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen could be a way to make aviation more sustainable. This work is in preparation to actual engine tests, and the goal is therefore to investigate the potential challenges of such a conversion and to assess where the opportunities lie in terms of performance optimization. This is done using a CFD model of an internal combustion engine in ANSYS Forte. Using this model, a form of optimized hydrogen injection is found that increases the power output, while decreasing the NOx emissions. Safe engine operation during testing can be ensured by monitoring the pressure inside the combustion chamber and starting off with low equivalence ratios and retarded spark timings. Further recommendations are made, such as installing injectors in the combustion chamber to facilitate direct injection and replacing the spark plugs for cold-rated ones. ... Read more

As part of a project to modify one of the engines of a Cessna Skymaster to operate on hydrogen, a test set-up is designed. A crucial part of this design is the Safety Analysis, for which a risk analysis must be performed. In this thesis, an in depth analysis of the probability of one of the risks involved in engine testing with hydrogen is conducted: the risk of catastrophic engine failure as a result of an increase in pressure and/or temperature inside the cylinders. It is found, that, although a small increase in peak temperature and a significant increase in peak power is found for hydrogen compared to Avgas, the risk of catastrophic failure is probably low. A final numerical simulation is proposed to obtain a definitive answer, and experimental validation experiments are proposed to increase the accuracy of the risk analysis. ... Read more