Sustainable, virtual, economical – new approaches in aerospace research Aeronautics Research Centre Niedersachsen awards science prizes

New approaches in the fields of morphing wing structures, fleet management of sustainable aircraft and virtual cockpits – three research projects in different areas of aerospace research are contributing to these topics. They were all awarded the Hermann Blenk Research Prize at the Research Day of the Aeronautics Research Centre Niedersachsen (NFL) on 28 November. In addition, the Karl Doetsch Young Talent Prize and the VDI Aerospace Prize were awarded for the best student work in the field of  aerospace engineering.

Hermann Blenk Research Prize

Dr. Anilkumar Parapparambil Muraleedharan Nair, Dr. Alexander Barke and Dr.-Ing. Johannes Maria Ernst

Dr. Anilkumar Parapparambil Muraleedharan Nair, from the Institute of Statics and Dynamics at University of Hannover, investigated a new approach to controlling morphing wing structures using piezoelectric actuators in composite laminates. So far, most work has considered the possibility of triggering snap-through using large-scale piezoelectric macro-fibre composite actuators (MFCs) attached to the centre of the bistable laminate. However, bonding large MFCs in the centre of the plate flattens the central portion of the laminate, which can cause a loss of bistability. Dr Nair’s study presents an alternative approach in which smaller MFCs are attached over the entire surface of the laminate, and the resulting stable shapes and change in breakdown voltages are analysed. The results of the proposed semi-analytical model were successfully verified with a corresponding finite element model. In recognition, Dr Nair’s journal article was awarded this year’s Hermann Blenk Research Prize for the best journal publication, accompanied by a cash prize of 5,000 euros.

Hermann Blenk Prize for the best dissertation

Dr Alexander Barke and Dr Johannes Maria Ernst

In his dissertation at the Institute of Automotive Economics and Industrial Production at TU Braunschweig, Dr Alexander Barke examined the environmental and socio-economic impacts of innovative aircraft propulsion concepts and the required energy sources throughout the entire life cycle. The focus is on identifying suitable combinations of propulsion concepts and energy source variants that will improve the environmental compatibility of the aviation sector in terms of reducing emissions, while at the same time being economically advantageous. Dr Barke’s research combines life cycle assessment and operations research methods to identify potentially suitable propulsion concepts at an early stage and provide recommendations for further research and development. With these findings, Dr Barke supports specific projects in the SE²A Cluster of Excellence that deal with the development and design of propulsion concepts and can also identify transformation paths with regard to the fleet development of airlines with innovative aircraft propulsion concepts.

In his dissertation at the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance, Dr.-Ing. Johannes Maria Ernst examined how modern display devices, such as head-mounted displays, can overcome the limitations of existing display solutions and thus improve the situational awareness of pilots and increase flight safety. What distinguishes this work from previous research is the explicit consideration of opaque displays. Based on an extensive study of current technologies and modern aircraft vision systems, the thesis develops a conceptual framework for future cockpit generations: the Virtual Cockpit Continuum. It describes various levels of cockpit virtualisation – from a conventional cockpit through several virtual variants to a fully virtual cockpit.

Karl Doetsch Young Researcher Awards

Ole Scholz and Benedikt Schulten

Ole Scholz’s student research project at GAIA Aerospace and the Institute of Space Systems at TU Braunschweig made a significant contribution to the performance of rocket engines in small launch vehicles. As part of this work, he investigated the performance potential of electric expander cycle engines. This propulsion cycle uses battery-powered electric motors in addition to cold gas turbines to drive the fuel pumps. This reduces the required battery mass of the launch system and thus increases the maximum payload capacity.

As well as exploring the potential of designs already in the public domain, Ole Scholz has also contributed his own ideas and concepts. One of these ideas is the use of an additional cycle process to drive the fuel pumps, which represents an unprecedented combination of high specific impulse without propellant loss and at the same time saving on battery mass. For this work, Ole Scholz received the Karl Doetsch Young Researcher Award with a cash prize of 1,000 euros. He is currently working on his master’s thesis in aerospace engineering at TU Braunschweig.

Benedikt Schulten’s master’s thesis made a significant contribution to improving the analysis of aircraft engine blade geometry. In his thesis, he further developed and evaluated a method for analysing the geometric deviations of engine blades. The aim of this evaluation was to quantify the deviations resulting from the automatic processing of scanned blades and their parameterisation, and to assess their relevance for the interpretation of the analysis results. To this end, Benedikt Schulten developed test methods to determine the uncertainty introduced by the process. He paid particular attention to the influence of the quality of the input data on the process results and their significance. The suitability of the process was assessed by comparing the test results with the variances of real blades determined in previous investigations. Benedikt Schulten showed that the method is well suited to adequately capture the geometry variations that occur, but that process uncertainties still need to be taken into account. He has now been awarded the Karl Doetsch Young Researcher Prize for this work. Benedikt Schulten completed his studies at TU Braunschweig with a master’s degree in aerospace engineering in August 2023 and is now a research assistant at the Institute of Flight Propulsion and Turbomachinery.

VDI Aerospace Award for Jonas Withelm

Jonas Withelm’s master’s thesis dealt with the modelling, simulation and control of multicopters with attached loads. He investigated various operating concepts for multicopters and developed a controller for an attached load. The multicopter is operated with a cascaded Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (INDI) controller, which is extremely robust to disturbances from the load. For the model-based design, he developed a simulation model in Simulink that takes into account a wide range of effects of a real system. The model is based on a spring-damper coupling between the multicopter and the payload and can be calculated in real time. A concept for a simplified point mass model was developed for the position control of the payload. This concept was then transferred to the rigid body. For a real flight test, he set up a test system and parameterised a digital twin in Simulink.

Using the digital twin, simulation calculations and an initial test flight were successfully carried out. Jonas Withelm is therefore a worthy winner of this year’s VDI Aerospace Prize, which is also endowed with 1,000 euros. Jonas Withelm completed his master’s degree in aerospace engineering at TU Braunschweig in 2023.