JOB DESCRIPTION

This PhD position is part of the Dutch Aviation Systems Analysis Lab (DASAL project, a flagship collaboration between TU Delft and Royal NLR, funded through the Dutch national growth fund under the ‘Luchtvaart in Transitie’ programme. DASAL serves as a living lab for developing integrated models and simulations to support innovation throughout the Dutch aviation sector and public policy. Within this unique ecosystem, you will join a diverse and interdisciplinary team of PhD candidates and postdocs from across the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, collaborating closely with experts at NLR and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management to analyse the complex interactions between sustainability, economics, and societal impact in aviation.
To achieve the ambitious goals of climate neutrality by 2050, the aviation sector is actively investing in the development of new disruptive technology, infrastructures, and operational concepts. Electric, hybrid-electric, and hydrogen-powered aircraft are considered to be key enablers of the drive towards sustainable aviation. The existing equipment manufacturers and multiple startups have announced plans to put on the market a range of these zero emission aircraft in the coming decades. However, considerable efforts are still to be made to prepare the aviation ecosystem, airports in particular, to the arrival of these new aircraft. It is expected that in the future zero emission aircraft with different propulsion systems will operate next to each other, and airports would need to provide the necessary infrastructure, and ensure safe and efficient handling of these aircraft. Furthermore, in the coming transition period, zero emission aircraft need to be integrated with the operations of the existing conventional aircraft.
Your unique challenge as a PhD candidate at TU Delft is to develop concepts, optimisation and simulation models, and tools to facilitate integration of electric, hybrid-electric, and hydrogen-powered aircraft into airport operations and infrastructure. Requirements related to the airport infrastructure and aircraft ground handling differ depending on the type of energy carrier and the propulsion system of the aircraft. In particular, for electric aircraft, battery charging infrastructure and related operations need to be addressed, whereas for hydrogen-powered aircraft, hydrogen storage, distribution, and refuelling need to be considered. Furthermore, zero emission aircraft will require additional safety measures, which may have an effect on other performance areas of airport operations. Would you like to help airports achieve safe and reliable, but at the same time flexible and efficient zero emission aircraft operations?
This PhD project continues the research line on sustainable airport operations at the Operations and Environment section at TU Delft. This existing research in modelling and optimisation of airport operations for conventional, electric, and hydrogen-powered aircraft will be a significant stepping stone for this PhD project.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• MSc Degree in Aerospace Engineering, Aeronautical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Operations Research or another relevant subject
• Strong background in mathematics, ideally knowledge in optimisation and simulation techniques
• Strong background in coding, preferably Python
• Ability to learn independently and passion for research
• Strong communication skills in English
• Team player, open to discussion and constructive criticism
• Previous involvement in scientific research is a plus

Please refer the Job description for details