Are you ready to fly? Modified water sports equipment for student projects
E-foiling is a water sport in which the participant glides over the water on an electrically powered foilboard. At the Institute of Flight Propulsion and Turbomachinery (IFAS) at TU Braunschweig, such a foilboard is being further developed as part of project work in the bachelor’s programme and by students – for example with a self-developed propeller to achieve a gliding flight. In the IFAS E-Foil Lab, students can realise their own ideas and test their knowledge in application-oriented research.
At the free trial at the Blauer See lake in Garbsen. Photo credits: Jan Göing
The special thing about an E-foil is that the foil board is powered by an electric propulsion system. This propulsion system consists mainly of a turbomachine, the propeller, which drives the board. The foil board itself has one or more hydrofoils attached to the underside of the board. These hydrofoils create buoyancy that lifts the board out of the water.
The E-Foil Lab
Testing the drive in the E-Foil Lab. Photo credits: Jan Göing
The IFAS E-Foil Lab is a laboratory for measuring the performance specific parameters of an E-Foilboard with a drive unit. The E-Foil is integrated into a 13 cubic metre water tank. The measurements are then carried out: Of interest are parameters such as thrust, flow rate, power and speed of the jet engine. On the basis of these measurements, optimised drives are produced in the institute’s own 3D printer.
The RAPID software developed in the SE²A Cluster of Excellence can be used to design the turbomachine. As part of the E-Foil Lab, students gain experience in various engineering disciplines. These include hydrodynamics, strength theory, metrology and manufacturing processes. A special feature of this lab is the close integration of theory and practice, which allows students to gain practical experience and responsibility.
E-Foilboard system successfully tested
IFAS propeller from the 3D printer. Photo credits: Jan Göing
The E-Foil was tested under controlled laboratory conditions as well as in a field test at the Blauer See lake in Garbsen. In addition, the first IFAS propeller was developed as part of a master’s thesis and compared with a reference propeller. The IFAS propeller achieved a thrust of 640 N and significantly outperformed the OEM propeller under test bench conditions.
The combination of electric propulsion and hydrofoils enables high speeds (up to 45 km/h) and considerable lift, allowing the board to hover above the water.
The E-foil is a particularly outstanding combination of the fundamentals of fluid mechanics, water sports, electromobility and technical innovation. This combination makes it an ideal test object, which is why IFAS has an E-foil for student work.
Free trial on the Blauer See lake in Garbsen. Photo credits: Jan Göing
