Functie

Assignment

The rotorcraft industry is rapidly advancing, particularly with the development of new advanced concepts like the Future Vertical Lift program. As these new rotorcraft concepts emerge, the early design phase necessitates a careful consideration of control system design and handling qualities.

The goal of this thesis assignment is to develop a high-level control law architecture for future fast rotorcraft concepts. That’s right, you will be working on exciting projects during the early development phase of new fast helicopters! This is your opportunity to learn more about the initial design of advanced rotorcraft.

Your high-level control system will need to interact with the NLR fast rotorcraft performance models to be able to perform an initial handling quality assessment during the early design phase.  The control strategy shall exploit the use of the redundant controls often found on these type of rotorcraft to boost performance. The work will include the following tasks:

• Get familiar with the NLR fast rotorcraft performance models defined in our rotorcraft modelling and simulation tools
• Make a trade-off of the different control strategies suitable for the fast rotorcraft concepts

Identify applicable handling quality assessment criteria (ex. based on ADS33) to consider during early design of these rotorcraft types

Result

The following outcome of the assignment is expected:

• To broaden your knowledge about the exciting world of helicopters and understand the technology trends of future rotorcraft programs.
• The development of a high-level control system to virtually fly the NLR fast rotorcraft performance models.
• A technical report describing the motivation behind the control system strategy, including the use of redundant controls, the selection of handling quality assessment criteria, and a description of the control system scripts, including the interfaces with the NLR performance models.
• Our team is eager to learn from your experiences and understand how you envision the way forward.

Duration

From 6 to 9 months, starting from September 2023

Profiel

What do we expect from you?

• Master student Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Control Engineering…
• Preferably background in flight control and simulation
• Experience with MATLAB Simulink for control system applications (or similar software)
• Experience with rotorcraft (helicopters, tiltrotors or drones) and simulation tools is a plus
• Assertive and self-motivated, able to be part of the project team and also proceed individually

Arbeidsvoorwaarden

What we offer

• Enthusiastic colleagues who are experts in their field
• A flexible working space
• An environment where you have the opportunity to develop your skills and learn new ones
• A challenging assignment in a high-tech, result orientated work environment
• A thesis assignment allowance
• An informal corporate culture where your opinion counts!

Informatie

About NLR

For more than 100 years, Royal NLR has been the ambitious knowledge organization with the will to keep innovating. From that motivation, we make the world of transportation safer, more sustainable, more efficient and more effective. We are on the threshold of ground-breaking innovations. Plans and ideas get moving when they are well fed with the right energy. Over 700 passionate professionals work on research and innovation. From aircraft engineers to psychologists and from mathematicians to application experts.

Our colleagues would love to tell you what it’s like to work at NLR.

The Vertical Flight & Aeroacoustics Department, AVVA, is a young, market-oriented and growing department that invests in its own development and the development and acquisition of leading research and testing facilities, enhancing societal and market relevance. We identify, research, develop, deliver and disseminate high-quality knowledge, technology, simulation tools and services for the benefit of the aerospace industry. State-of-the-art testing facilities, such as the drone center, two aeroacoustic tunnels and advanced rotorcraft simulation tools, support us in achieving our results. In performing aerodynamic and aeroacoustic tests and developing measurement techniques, we work closely with the German Dutch Wind Tunnels DNW.

Solliciteren

Want to know more about your future thesis assignment?

For more information about the assignment contact Laurent Declerck, 088-511 3373, laurent.declerck@nlr.nl. In addition to our website, visit our NLRmedia channel on YouTube where you can get a good idea of the organization.

Is this something for you?

Great! We are looking forward to hearing from you! Send your motivation and CV to Laurent Declerck laurent.declerck@nlr.nl and we will contact you as soon as possible!