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In a hybrid or all-electric aircraft, power electronics is a key component. For example, the power electronics is needed to adapt the voltage level of the sources to the electrical on-board power supply, to generate other on-board voltage levels or to generate the rotating field for electrical machines. Very high gravimetric power densities are necessary to substitute conventional components.

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An aircraft is designed to withstand a variety of load scenarios, including gust loads that exceed several g-loads. These loads influence the design and thickness of the carrying structure of the wing box, with the wing root being the most critical point. By reshaping the wing load distribution, it is possible to reduce the bending moment at the wing root, which can subsequently decrease the thickness of the carrying structure and, therefore, the overall mass of the wing. To effectively reshape the aerodynamic forces, the structure must adapt its flight shape and achieve favorable deformations. The goal is to reduce the angle of attack at the outer wing section, which results from bending and torsion under load. The SE²A Cluster project, HyCoNoS, investigates nonconventional passive load alleviation concepts, particularly the use of large deformations for shape adaptation. However, shape adaptation is limited by the properties of the materials used. At this stage, we are transitioning away from traditional materials and focusing on metamaterials to achieve the desired behavior.

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The solid-state lithium-sulfur battery (SSLSB) is considered one of the promising battery types to meet the requirements of short-range electric aircraft due to its high energy density. However, it shows rapid degradation during operation over repeated cycles, mainly attributed to the polysulfide shuttle effect. Recently, it has been demonstrated that aramid additives can effectively inhibit the polysulfide shuttle and contribute to address this problem. Therefore, this project will investigate the improvement of cycling stability by incorporating aramid additives into the polymer-based binder of sulfur-carbon composite cathodes, based on a high-performance cross-linked polymer electrolyte developed in our group within the first phase of the Cluster of Excellence SE²A.

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Gusts and flight maneuvers cause dynamic loads on aircraft wings that reduce passenger comfort and lead to mechanical deformations of the wings. To counteract these deformations, the wings can either be designed to be stiffer (and thus heavier), or the dynamic loads can be counteracted directly, thereby reducing weight and fuel consumption.

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As aviation advances toward more sustainable solutions, a notable shift of environmental burdens from flight emissions to ground-based airport operations has been observed, especially in hybrid-electric and alternative fuel aircraft systems. This shift highlights the urgent need for airports to implement effective sustainability management practices. In this context, the goal of this project is to develop integrated computational models to apply the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology in order to quantify and identify the potential environmental impacts of the airport operations.

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The project SUMAFly II aims for the sustainability modeling and analysis of future aircraft systems. To this end, life cycle engineering methodologies should be developed that enable the analysis of environmental, economic, and social sustainability and support decision-making in the early stages of aircraft development. The focus will be on analyzing and assessing novel aircraft concepts, including aircraft types and powertrain concepts, along the entire life cycle (cradle-to-grave) and considering all sustainability dimensions. In this context, interdisciplinary research will be conducted with scientists from different disciplines to contribute to the sustainable development of the aviation sector. Overall, the project offers interesting and challenging tasks in fundamental and application-oriented research.

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The project SUMAFly II aims to develop and apply life cycle sustainability assessment methods for future aircraft concepts to analyze environmental, economic, and social sustainability aspects, and to support decision-making in the early stages of aircraft development. The focus of SUMAFly II is the extension of the modeling, assessment, and analysis of powertrain concepts carried out in the original SUMAFly project to the entire aircraft in all life cycle phases.
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A limiting factor to the range of electrically driven airplanes is the energy density of present energy storages. Therefore, enhancing the energy efficiency as well as the robustness and reliability of the electric drive systems is a key point. In this context, multi-phase electric machines as part of a power drive system for aviation propulsion offer two key opportunities: It is possible to reach a high energy efficiency combined with the necessary fail safety.

This project aims at investigating different numbers of phases for permanent magnet synchronous machine designs regarding their energy efficiency and power density only taking into  account the fundamental frequency as a first step. Therefore, machine parameters will be obtained by finite element analysis and used in analytical machine models to calculate the machine’s losses. In order to enhance the results, the loss calculation should take into account the additional losses in the inverter for multi-phase machines and additional harmonic losses. For a valid comparison of different machine designs, the calculations will be performed for a reference flight mission of the SE²A reference airplane displayed adjacent.

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Within this programme, we seek a research intern to carry out the design of a high-lift system for the Cluster’s research aircraft configuration, shown above. The assigned tasks involve the creation of computational meshes, flow simulations with the DLR-TAU code, and analysis of the results. Upon successful completion of the project, and dependent on available positions, we strive to hire the research intern for a full-time PhD researcher position within or outside the SE²A Cluster.

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The Institute of Mechanics and Adaptronics, as part of the Cluster of Excellence for Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation Structures, is focused on developing innovative solutions for laminarising transonic transport aircraft. Our research has shown promising results with micro-perforated carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) sheets, which exhibit high-quality perforations and exceptional mechanical strength while maintaining an extremely lightweight design. However, uncertainty quantification studies on Hybrid Laminar Flow Control (HLFC) technologies have highlighted the critical role of accurate porosity in micro-perforated sheets for successful laminarisation.

Unlike metal sheets, it remains uncertain whether unintended porosity exists in thin, micro-perforated CFRP sheets due to micro-cracks induced by low temperatures at flight altitudes and residual stresses from the manufacturing process. To address this, the Institute of Mechanics and Adaptronics aims to simulate crack growth in CFRP sheets under thermal loading to quantify their impact on sheet porosity.

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In a hybrid or all-electric aircraft, power electronics is a key component. For example, the power electronics is needed to adapt the voltage level of the sources to the electrical on-board power supply, generate other on-board voltage levels, or generate the rotating field for electrical machines. Very high gravimetric power densities are necessary to substitute conventional components. The heat dissipation of power electronic components represents a challenge, which is strongly coupled with the reliability of the power electronics.

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To enhance the power density and operational efficiency of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), which is crucial for their broader commercialization, a deep understanding of the nanostructure dynamics within the cathode catalyst layer (CCL) is essential. The CCL's performance is significantly influenced by the interactions between its components, notably the ionomer and catalysts. This project targets these interactions by examining the binding free energy between different Nafion ionomers and a variety of catalyst materials using Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations. Improved binding energy is hypothesized to enhance catalyst utilization, increase mechanical stability, and superior ionic conductivity.

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