Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology
Encyclopedia
The Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Delft University of Technology
in The Netherlands is the merger of two interrelated disciplines, aeronautical engineering and astronautical
engineering. Aeronautical engineering works specifically with aircraft or aeronautics. Astronautical engineering works specifically with spacecraft
or astronautics. At the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, both of the fields are directly addressed along with expansion into fields such as earth observation and wind energy.
. It is the only institute carrying out research and education directly related to aerospace engineering in the Netherlands
.
Through the years, the Faculty has responded to the increasing demands of the aerospace industry by further expanding its facilities and laboratories. Today the Faculty has a student body of approximately 2200 undergraduates and graduates, 142 members of academic staff and 91 PhD
students.
Around 20% of the student population is from outside the Netherlands.
ships, deep-diving vessels for oceanographic research, high-speed rail-type systems and several others. Currently sixteen research chairs are grouped under three major departments:
, hypersonic
and subsonic
wind-tunnels, a high-sensitivity navigation simulator, and a materials testing laboratory. These facilities make it possible to conduct experiments in man-machine
factors, flight control, structures and materials, aerodynamics, simulation, motion and navigation. The faculty owns and makes use of a Cessna Citation
jet aeroplane which is a unique flying laboratory. The Citation is used in research as well as in education. It's modular interior enables the possibility to change quickly between research missions and educational flights with students. "Simona" a flight simulator is one of the most amazing facilities at the faculty. It can be programmed to simulate any known aircraft, but also to mimic characteristics of a new design. The unique light design allows extreme realistic motion. The simulator is used for research, but is also the subject of some M.Sc. thesis projects.
, the Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes
and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research
. Collaborations with numerous international and multinational industries through research groups abroad as well as in the Netherlands ensure that the Faculty remains at the forefront of the latest developments in the aerospace industry.The Faculty is a member of PEGASUS, the European network of prestigious aerospace universities. It also participates in exchanges of students and lecturers through the SOCRATES
/ERASMUS programmes and agreements between several other partner universities. The faculty plays a major role in the IDEA
League (Imperial College, Delft, ETH
, Aachen institutes and universities).
Delft University of Technology
Delft University of Technology , also known as TU Delft, is the largest and oldest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands...
in The Netherlands is the merger of two interrelated disciplines, aeronautical engineering and astronautical
Astronautics
Astronautics, and related astronautical engineering, is the theory and practice of navigation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight....
engineering. Aeronautical engineering works specifically with aircraft or aeronautics. Astronautical engineering works specifically with spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
or astronautics. At the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, both of the fields are directly addressed along with expansion into fields such as earth observation and wind energy.
Description
The Faculty is one of the largest of the eight faculties at TU Delft and one of the largest faculties devoted entirely to aerospace engineering in northern EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It is the only institute carrying out research and education directly related to aerospace engineering in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
Through the years, the Faculty has responded to the increasing demands of the aerospace industry by further expanding its facilities and laboratories. Today the Faculty has a student body of approximately 2200 undergraduates and graduates, 142 members of academic staff and 91 PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
students.
Around 20% of the student population is from outside the Netherlands.
Research
Current topics for research in the university are performance analysis systems for automobiles, hydrofoilHydrofoil
A hydrofoil is a foil which operates in water. They are similar in appearance and purpose to airfoils.Hydrofoils can be artificial, such as the rudder or keel on a boat, the diving planes on a submarine, a surfboard fin, or occur naturally, as with fish fins, the flippers of aquatic mammals, the...
ships, deep-diving vessels for oceanographic research, high-speed rail-type systems and several others. Currently sixteen research chairs are grouped under three major departments:
- Mechanics, Aerospace Structures and Materials
- Aerospace Design, Integration and Operations
- Earth Observation and Space Systems
Facilities
Extensive laboratory and testing facilities are used in research and teaching. The facilities include supersonicSupersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
, hypersonic
Hypersonic
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
and subsonic
Speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds....
wind-tunnels, a high-sensitivity navigation simulator, and a materials testing laboratory. These facilities make it possible to conduct experiments in man-machine
Man-Machine
- Technology :* Human–computer interaction, man-machine interaction * MML , a man-machine language* Cyborg, a cybernetic organism which enhances its abilities by using technology...
factors, flight control, structures and materials, aerodynamics, simulation, motion and navigation. The faculty owns and makes use of a Cessna Citation
Cessna Citation
The Cessna Citation is a marketing name used by Cessna for its line of business jets. Rather than one particular model of aircraft, the name applies to several "families" of turbofan-powered aircraft that have been produced over the years...
jet aeroplane which is a unique flying laboratory. The Citation is used in research as well as in education. It's modular interior enables the possibility to change quickly between research missions and educational flights with students. "Simona" a flight simulator is one of the most amazing facilities at the faculty. It can be programmed to simulate any known aircraft, but also to mimic characteristics of a new design. The unique light design allows extreme realistic motion. The simulator is used for research, but is also the subject of some M.Sc. thesis projects.
National and international cooperation
The Faculty plays a significant role in national organisations such as the National Aerospace LaboratoryNational Aerospace Laboratory
The Nationaal Lucht- en Ruimtevaartlaboratorium is the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands and is one of the Major Technological Institutes of the country. These institutes perform a large part of the applied research in the Netherlands, each within its own specific field of technology...
, the Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes
Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes
The Netherlands Agency for Aerospace Programmes was the official space-exploration agency of the Dutch government until 2009....
and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research
Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek or TNO is a not-for-profit organization in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science. The main office of TNO is located in Delft...
. Collaborations with numerous international and multinational industries through research groups abroad as well as in the Netherlands ensure that the Faculty remains at the forefront of the latest developments in the aerospace industry.The Faculty is a member of PEGASUS, the European network of prestigious aerospace universities. It also participates in exchanges of students and lecturers through the SOCRATES
Socrates programme
The SOCRATES programme was an educational initiative of the European Commission; 31 countries took part. The initial Socrates programme ran from 1994 until 31 December 1999 when it was replaced by the Socrates II programme on 24 January 2000, which ran until 2006...
/ERASMUS programmes and agreements between several other partner universities. The faculty plays a major role in the IDEA
Idea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
League (Imperial College, Delft, ETH
Eth
Eth is a letter used in Old English, Icelandic, Faroese , and Elfdalian. It was also used in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages, but was subsequently replaced with dh and later d. The capital eth resembles a D with a line through the vertical stroke...
, Aachen institutes and universities).