Sustainable Aircraft Design: The Challenges of Electric Aircraft

Delft University of Technology via edX Professional Certificate

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Provider

edX Professional Certificate
Pricing

$477.00
Languages

English
Certificate

Certificate Available
Level

Intermediate

Found in

Overview

This program offers you three MOOCs in the field of aerospace engineering and the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from these courses to critically analyze the conceptual design of a future electric aircraft.

Although electric aircraft hold great promise, their design presents one of the biggest challenges in aviation—primarily due to the integration of batteries, which significantly impact aircraft performance and structural integrity.

By following this program, you will explore the following MOOCs:

Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering
Introduction to Aerospace Structures and Materials
Sustainable Aviation: The Route to Climate-Neutral Aviation

Finally, through a case study-based assignment, you will apply the knowledge acquired in these courses to evaluate the design and performance of a conceptual electric aircraft. This challenge requires making critical decisions on wing redesign, material selection, and propulsion system integration. You will also assess whether the fuel and emission savings achieved through battery propulsion impose limitations on performance requirements and certification.

Syllabus

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Introduction to Aeronautical Engineering

Come discover the fascinating world of flying through the exploration of aeronautics, aerodynamics and flight mechanics!

Course 2: Introduction to Aerospace Structures and Materials

Explore the structural and material design of aircraft and spacecraft from the viewpoint of an aerospace engineer.

Course 3: Sustainable Aviation: The Route to Climate-Neutral Aviation

To reduce the environmental footprint of the aviation sector we need to start a clean sky revolution. Discover the latest developments in this field – from airplane design, energy carriers, operations – and learn how you can play a role.

Courses

0 reviews
8 weeks, 6-8 hours a week, 6-8 hours a week
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How do you design an aircraft or spacecraft? And in doing so, how do you keep the risk of failure minimal while bearing in mind that they will eventually fail?

In this course you will be taken on a journey through the structural and material design of aircraft. You will see and understand how aircraft and spacecraft are manufactured, and learn how safety is enshrined at every stage.

Experts from the Aerospace Structures and Materials Department of Delft University of Technology will help you explore and analyze the mechanical properties of materials; learning about manufacturing techniques, fatigue, loads and stresses, design considerations and more - all the scientific and engineering principles that structural and materials engineers face on a daily basis. By the end of the course, you will have learned to think like they do!

Join us for an exciting learning experience that includes experiments; some of which you can do by yourself at home, online lectures, quizzes, and design assignments.
3 reviews
6 weeks, 4-5 hours a week, 4-5 hours a week
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Sustainable aviation is a key area for climate action. In this course, we will introduce you to various aircraft technologies, and recent innovations and promising future developments in the field of aviation. All necessary mathematical and engineering concepts will explained.

We will start from the basics of how aircraft fly and how they impact the environment. You will gain present-day knowledge of technical solutions and possibilities of modern engineering to make aviation more sustainable.

Next, we will discuss solutions. you will learn about alternative propulsion methods, energy carriers (batteries, fuel cells) and novel aircraft designs (including the Flying V project at TU Delft, a new design for a highly energy-efficient and long-distance commercial aircraft.) We will also bust some common myths about the topics along the way, like why it is a very unpractical thought to simply cover up the entire aircraft with solar cells.

But the solutions presented will not cover just the technical aspects. You will discover the importance of the ecosystem surrounding aviation for its sustainability, including manufacturing and operations. The course will stimulate critical and creative thought about the future of aviation and how you can be part of those solutions.

With its long history of research of aircraft design, operations and climate effects, the world-class experts from the The Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft will guide you through this journey to sustainable aviation. The course will also include guest lectures from industry professionals from leading aviation companies such as Airbus.

“We need climate-neutral aviation. The challenges are enormous, but solutions must and will be found. Through this MOOC we want to share what we know, so that all of you can be part of this ‘clean sky revolution’.” – Henri Werij, Dean Faculty of Aerospace Engineering at TU Delft

Parts of the lecture materials in this course build upon outputs from the research projects AHEAD (Advanced Hybrid Engines for Aircraft Development), funded by the European Union within the FP7-TRANSPORT Research Program (grant agreement ID: 284636); and PARSIFAL (Prandtlplane Architecture for the Sustainable Improvement of Future Airplanes) funded by the European Union within the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (Grant Agreement n.723149).

Taught by

Maurice Hoogreef, Henri Werij, Katharina Ertman, Gillian Saunders-Smits, René Alderliesten, Jos Sinke, Julie Teuwen, Irene Fernandez Villegas, Arvind Gangoli Rao, Bruno Santos, Roelof Vos, Calvin Rans, Irene Dedoussi, Carmine Varriale and Joris Melkert