Aerospace Engineering
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering
Beyond imagination The faculty of Aerospace Engineering was established in 1975. The faculty of Aerospace Engineering (AE) is one of the largest faculties devoted entirely to aerospace engineering in Northern Europe. It is the only institute engaged in research and teaching that is directly related to the aerospace engineering sector in the Netherlands. It covers the whole spectrum of aerospace engineering subjects, and explores vital related fields such as wind energy. Future world
the rapid development of Asia, South America
and Africa, this demand will continue to grow
In the course of a century, aviation has
matured from a pioneering technology to an
for decades to come. Aerospace engineering
indispensable part of daily life for more and
is essential to both sustaining our way of life
more people. We are convinced that information
and answering some of our greatest and most
and communications technology will not reduce
fundamental questions.
the demand for air transport in the future. With Scientific and engineering challenges
New knowledge, technology and very
smart engineers are required to reconcile these growing demands with the limited resources of our planet. More than any other sector, the aerospace industry is dependent on fossil fuels. However, not only are they running out, they are also responsible for CO 2 emissions. New materials are being used despite the present lack of knowledge regarding their behaviour and their true
potential. AE aims to take a leading role in Europe in thinking about the aircraft of the future: the post-oil plane. The time lapse between developing a new technology and implementing it in an actual aeroplane typically spans several decades (in the case of GLARE速 this was 30 years). It is therefore important that we think about solutions
Facts & figures
for aircraft now, before oil becomes a very scarce commodity.
Students
To be the best Aerospace
Number of first-year students
Engineering faculty in the
(BSc/MSc)
world with a firm eye on the future, by inspiring students, staff and society through modern educational techniques and ambitious research of the highest quality.
Total number of students
400 2700
Staff numbers Professors 27 Associate professors
18
Assistant professors
42
Postdocs, Researchers
110
PhD candidates
170
Finance Government funding Contract funding from Industry
Million euro
22 8
Research Priorities Sustainability/Green Aircraft The invention of highly efficient, safe, sustainable and quiet aircraft that will not need any fossil fuel is a challenge that inspires both our research and teaching.
Miniaturisation New applications arise along with new technologies, including insect-sized unmanned aircraft, ever-smaller satellites, spacecraft, new materials and perhaps even personal air transport. Small unmanned vehicles are carrying out an increasing share of tasks in the skies as well as in space.
Exploration of our solar system In space, the current generation is likely to witness the discovery by spacecraft of extraterrestrial life forms and maybe even of extraterrestrial environments that we could inhabit.
Research Areas
Our research covers all areas of aerospace engineering:
Head of Department
Prof. H. Bijl
Prof. M. Mulder
Prof. B.A.C. Ambrosius
Prof. R. Benedictus
Science Department
Aerodynamics, Wind Energy, Propulsion and Performance
Control and Operations
Space Engineering
Aerospace Structures and Materials
Research Group
Aerodynamics
Control and Simulation
Astrodynamics and Space Missions
Structural Integrity and Composites
Wind Energy
Air Transport and Operations
Space Systems Engineering
Aerospace Structures and Computational Mechanics
Applied Sustainable Science, Engineering and Technology Flight Performance and Propulsion
Novel Aerospace Materials
Educational philosophy
A new era of aerospace engineering
Educational framework
requires a new type of engineer. The complex
AE is an excellent choice for anyone looking for
multidisciplinary problems and challenges we face
a valuable study programme that offers excellent
in society and in the field of aerospace engineering
prospects for a future career. Between twenty-five
in particular require thorough problem-solvers
to thirty per cent of our Bachelor’s and Master’s
in the fields of science, management and
students come from outside the Netherlands.
engineering, who are also capable of interacting with and understanding specialists from a wide
The faculty offers one three-year Bachelor’s
range of disciplines and functional areas. Industry
degree programme, which focuses on the full
refers to such people as “T-shaped professionals”.
spectrum of aerospace engineering and on
The Bachelor’s degree programme provides a
skills such as designing and integrating multiple
broad academic background with consolidated
disciplines. For the Master’s degree programme,
knowledge of aerospace engineering. Students
we have identified five areas, that together cover
to develop intellectual academic skills needed
the field of aerospace engineering, which are
for analysis, application, synthesis, and design,
referred to as tracks:
including a critical attitude, communication skills,
-
Aerodynamics & Wind Energy
and an awareness of the scientific and societal
-
Flight Performance & Propulsion
context. The AE Master’s degree programme allows
-
Control & Operations
students to develop an expert view on aerospace
-
Space Engineering
engineering and focuses on detailed knowledge of
-
Aerospace Structures & Materials
one discipline, combined with intellectual academic skills and attitudes to modelling, analysing, problem-solving, experimenting and research.
Area A
Area B
Area C
Area D
Area E
Area C-I
Area D-I
Area E-I
Area G
Area H
Area D-II Time
Area D-III Width BSc-phase 3 years
Area D-IV Internship Graduation work
Depth MSc-phase 2 years
Building European partnerships
AE participates in major European programmes
Bringing knowledge within your reach
Our broad knowledge base is one of the
such as CleanSky and SESAR. We are pushing to
reasons for our involvement in two of the four
get long-term goals on the agenda to safeguard
Delft Research Initiatives: Infrastructures &
the future of aerospace engineering in Europe.
Mobility and Energy. The Delft Research Initiatives
The faculty plays an active role in Brussels to
bring the knowledge, engineers and facilities TU
ensure that long-term research gets the place on
Delft has to offer within your reach.
the European agenda that it deserves AE is intensifying its relationship with the number
Turning ideas into reality
two in Europe, ISAE Toulouse, in terms of areas
of research and education. AE is a founding
faculty. Our staff is therefore closely involved
member of Pegasus, the association for academic
in key student initiatives like the student rocket
aerospace education in Europe. Strategic alliances
engineering society DARE and the NUNA solar car.
with our European partners enable us to achieve
And of course we encourage our students and PhD
a truly European Aerospace Academy framework.
researchers to convert their ideas into profit by
On the global level we also cooperate with
starting their own businesses. In fact, some of our
partners and industry in the USA and Asia, having
techno-starters have become successful suppliers
formed strategic partnerships in those areas.
to the aerospace industry themselves.
Valorisation is an important objective for our
Facilities Practical exercises form an essential part of testing and verifying theories. The faculty has a complete range of high-tech facilities at the disposal of students and researchers.
Cessna Citation II jet aircraft The Cessna is equipped as a flying laboratory for students to carry out experiments in the airspace above and around Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam.
SIMONA The super flight simulator SIMONA (International Research Institute for Simulation, Motion and Navigation is used to study man-machine interactions and can simulate the motion of airplanes, helicopters, heavy and light vehicles, and spaceplanes.
Wind tunnels Eight high-speed and low-speed wind tunnels are used to verify aerodynamic theory and observe physical phenomena. Experiments can be performed at speeds ranging from subsonic (as low as 35m/sec) to hypersonic (up to Mach 11).
Structures and Materials Laboratory This laboratory contains a variety of testing equipment, including fatigue-testing machines, low-speed and high-speed impact testers, production equipment (e.g. a filament-winding machine) and a chemistry/ physics section equipped with microscopes and an autoclave. The laboratory is used for several kinds of materials research, including experiments with lightweight structures.
Hangar The faculty hangar contains a collection of aircraft and spacecraft parts, including cockpits, wings, advanced sensors and rocket components. It also houses an F-16 helicopter and a test model of ENVISAT, the largest European satellite to date. In this facility, students gain a greater understanding of design and performance considerations, with the ultimate goal of generating new ideas and solutions.
Clean Room The Clean Room has a variety of equipment for integration and testing. With its low level of environmental pollutants, our Clean Room conforms to ISO class 5: 100,000 particles per m続. Particles, temperature and humidity are monitored continuously (measurements are saved). Pressure is monitored during operations of the low-thrust rocket test stand. The first Dutch satellite built by students, Delfi C3, was created here. Students are currently working on its successor, the Delfi N3xt.
Micro Air Vehicle laboratory (MAV-Lab) The development of MAVs requires knowledge from many areas, including electronics, mechanics, aerodynamics, navigation and control. At TU Delft, this knowledge has been combined in the Micro Air Vehicle laboratory: the MAV-lab. The MAV-lab develops various Micro Air Vehicle platforms and uses them for research that produces advances in state-of-the-art knowledge. The goal is to stimulate the use of the lightweight MAVs in a wide variety of applications.
Additional facilities The faculty also has a unique satellite database and a kite-testing laboratory for experiments on innovative ideas in sustainable aerospace engineering and technology.
Faculty of Aerospace Engineering Kluyverweg 1 P.O. Box 5058 2600 GB Delft The Netherlands News-ae@tudelft.nl www.ae.tudelft.nl
www.facebook.com/TUDelftAerospaceEngineering @AETUDelft
COLOPHON Text Marketing & Communication, Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, July 2012 Graphic Design SD Communicatie Print De Swart