PhD Position Composition of Multidisciplinary Simulation Workflows for Collaborative Engineering

How do you automatically translate questions from aviation system stakeholders into multidisciplinary computational workflows ready to execute in a collaborative computational environment?

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 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.

You will focus on the challenges associated with the uncertainty under which future sustainable aircraft are designed. A central challenge in integrating multiple modeling components into a digital thread is that the inherent complexity hides the aggregate effects and interactions of component-level parameters and modeling approximations, thereby obscuring the key drivers of computational errors that jeopardize compliance with constraints and requirements.

You will work on the definition of methods for the stochastic modeling approach, implemented non-intrusively in the digital thread of the DASAL project, according to three main pillars:

1. Uncertainty propagation: understanding modeling and design uncertainties at different component levels and how these propagate throughout the aggregate global system, leading to traceable confidence intervals on KPIs.
2. Global sensitivity analysis: identifying components and interactions between them that are responsible for the majority of the effects on the KPIs, allowing weak links in the system model to be identified and mitigated.
3. Inversion and robust design: given target confidence in KPIs, quantifying the accuracy required in system sub-components and parameters needed to achieve that accuracy.

The stochastic MBSE/KBE framework created will be demonstrated on the use case of a next-generation medium-haul hydrogen aircraft.

You will be based at the Aerodynamics group of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, and strongly cooperate with a multidisciplinary team of researchers and PhD candidates from the same Faculty, and researchers from the Dutch Aerospace Laboratory (NLR), dedicated to the realization of the Dutch Aviation Systems Analysis Laboratory.

Job requirements

• Familiar with challenges and benefits of sustainable aviation at aircraft and system level.
• Strong expertise with programming in MATLAB or Python.
• Strong knowledge and expertise in conceptual and preliminary design in aviation.
• Familiar with the different sources of uncertainty and their categorization.
• Familiar with the concepts of uncertainty quantification and propagation.
• Familiar with the methods of global sensitivity analysis.
• A team-oriented mindset, eager to collaborate with researchers and industry experts.
• Excellent spoken and written English communication skills.
• Knowledge of the Dutch language is considered an advantage.

TU Delft

TU Delft, Delft University of Technology, is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It offers an inspiring research environment and delivers world-class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in areas such as energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society.

Faculty Aerospace Engineering

The Faculty of Aerospace Engineering is a leading international community where innovation in aerospace meets global challenges. Staff, PhD candidates, postdocs, and students work together on themes including the energy transition, sustainable aerospace, and safety and security.

When you join, you become part of a diverse, collaborative, and forward-thinking environment where ideas and perspectives are valued, with strong connections to field labs, innovation hubs, other faculties, research institutes, governments, and industry partners, both locally and globally.

Conditions of employment

Doctoral candidates will be offered a 4-year period of employment in principle, in the form of 2 employment contracts. An initial 1.5 year contract includes an official go/no go progress assessment within 15 months, followed by an additional contract for the remaining 2.5 years assuming performance requirements are met.

As a PhD candidate you will be enrolled in the TU Delft Graduate School. The TU Delft Graduate School provides an inspiring research environment with an excellent team of supervisors, academic staff and a mentor. The Doctoral Education Programme is aimed at developing your transferable, discipline-related and research skills.

TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged.