Publications related to Design of an intake and a thruster for an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system

Lumped Drag Model Identification and Real-Time External Force Detection for Rotary-Wing Micro Aerial Vehicles

This work focuses on understanding and identifying the drag forces applied to a rotary-wing Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV). We propose a lumped drag model that concisely describes the aerodynamical forces the MAV is subject to, with a minimal set of parameters ...

IEEE2024

RE:SLAB — a load bearing system for open-ended component reuse in building structures

Dario Redaelli, Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Jan Friedrich Georg Brütting, Alex-Manuel Muresan, Edisson Xavier Estrella Arcos

The construction industry plays a major role in the high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, resource consumption, and waste generation observed nowadays. Key to the circular economy, structural component reuse arises as a promising solution to divert cons ...

2024

A semantic model-based systems engineering approach for assessing the operational performance of metal forming process

Dimitrios Kyritsis, Jinzhi Lu, Xiaochen Zheng

Metal Forming is a basic and essential industrial process to provide materials for constructing complex products. To design an efficient metal forming process, the functional requirements and operational performance are two important aspects to be consider ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Atmospheric isoprene measurements reveal larger-than-expected Southern Ocean emissions

Julia Schmale, Andrea Baccarini

Isoprene is a key trace component of the atmosphere emitted by vegetation and other organisms. It is highly reactive and can impact atmospheric composition and climate by affecting the greenhouse gases ozone and methane and secondary organic aerosol format ...

Nature Research2024

Method for wind harvesting and wind rejection in flying drones

Dario Floreano, Victor Casas Rochel, Nathan Samuel Müller, Charalampos Vourtsis, William John Stewart

The present invention concerns a method of manoeuvring a vertical take-off and landing, unmanned aerial drone (100) comprising at least an aerodynamic surface (101), wherein, during a flight of the drone, the aerodynamic surface generates lift and/or drag ...

2024

Microstrip patch antennas with broad beamwidth

Ismael Vico Triviño

Microstrip antennas offer a broad set of advantages such as low profile, light weight, easy fabrication and low cost. As these are desirable or even critical for a broad range of applications, there has been a large interest for these antennas in the anten ...

EPFL2023

Experimental modeling of fine sediment routing: SEDMIX device with thrusters

Giovanni De Cesare, Azin Amini, Montana Marshall

Reservoir sedimentation is a key challenge for storage sustainability because it causes volume loss, affecting hydropower production capacity, dam safety, and flood management. A preliminary EPFL study proposed and studied an innovative device (called SEDM ...

CRC Press/Balkema2023

A Reuse-Ready Timber Slab-and-Column System for Modular Building Structures

Corentin Jean Dominique Fivet, Jan Friedrich Georg Brütting, Alex-Manuel Muresan, Jonas Warmuth, Edisson Xavier Estrella Arcos

The construction industry is a significant contributor to resource consumption and waste generation. To address this issue, component reuse has been proposed as a way to prevent valuable building elements from being discarded and avoid producing new ones. ...

Curran Associates, Inc.2023

The effects of kinematics, flexibility, and planform on the vortex formation and aerodynamic performance of flapping wing flight

Alexander Gehrke

In this thesis, the aerodynamic challenges in flapping wing flight are addressed. In particular, the effects of different wing kinematics, flexibilities, and planforms on the the leading edge vortex development and aerodynamic performance are investigated. ...

EPFL2023

Studies on EU-DEMO 3D coils requirements and conceptual design for error field correction and plasma control

Pierluigi Bruzzone, Hartmut Zohm, Leonardo Pigatto

This work presents the initial studies on the requirements for the design of 3D coils on EU-DEMO. The use of 3D coils in present machines includes two main purposes: the first one is the Error Field Correction (EFC). The EFC aims at minimizing the intrinsi ...

Elsevier Science Sa2023

Lessons Learned from Data-Driven Building Control Experiments: Contrasting Gaussian Process-based MPC, Bilevel DeePC, and Deep Reinforcement Learning

Colin Neil Jones, Loris Di Natale, Yingzhao Lian, Emilio Maddalena, Jicheng Shi

This manuscript offers the perspective of experimentalists on a number of modern data-driven techniques: model predictive control relying on Gaussian processes, adaptive data-driven control based on behavioral theory, and deep reinforcement learning. These ...

2023

A 1.5D fluid-Monte Carlo model of a hydrogen helicon plasma

Philippe Frédérique Bruno Guittienne, Alan Howling, Ivo Furno, Rémy Jacquier, Riccardo Agnello

Helicon plasma sources operating with hydrogen or deuterium might be attractive for fusion applications due to their higher power efficiency compared to inductive radiofrequency plasma sources. In recent years, the resonant antenna ion device (RAID) has be ...

2022

Covariant formulation of relativistic mechanics

Miguel Alexandre Ribeiro Correia

Accretion disks surrounding compact objects, and other environmental factors, deviate satellites from geodetic motion. Unfortunately, setting up the equations of motion for such relativistic trajectories is not as simple as in Newtonian mechanics. The prin ...

American Physical Society2022

Biomechanics at the workplace under hypogravity conditions

Tatiana Maillard

The main goal of my research is to establish guidelines for workplace design based on human biomechanics: specifically sitting workplaces and handling areas in 1/6G-1/3G (Moon, Mars) conditions. Such a workplace could be used in long-term space missions in ...

EPFL2022

Flexural-tensegrity snapping tails for bio-inspired propulsion in fluids

Pedro Miguel Nunes Pereira de Almeida Reis, Claudio Boni

Many aquatic animals propel themselves by flapping their tails. Leveraging a recently proposed snapping cantilever beam based on the concept of flexural tensegrity, we propose a bio-inspired propulsion device. The design comprises a segmental beam with hol ...

ELSEVIER2022

Experimental investigation of surface roughness effect on a free-flight sphere in a Ludwieg tube

Seong-Hyeon Park

Understanding the aerodynamic coefficients of meteoroid fragments, deorbiting space debris, or launch vehicle stages through atmospheric reentry is essential for ground risk assessments. In high enthalpy flow, surface roughness is a crucial factor affectin ...

KOREAN SOC MECHANICAL ENGINEERS2022

Design of a Hyperloop System MockUp

Mario Paolone, Malicia Leipold, Tony Govoni, Denis Tudor

The thorough development of the hyperloop system does require the availability of reduced-scale models. They can be used for the fast prototyping of various components, as well as for studying critical phenomena that takes place in this peculiar transporta ...

IEEE2022

Re-entry analysis of critical components and materials for design-for-demise techniques

Pénélope Leyland, Stefano Mischler, Seong-Hyeon Park

The concern caused by the rising population of space debris has increased. One of the recommended mitigation measures is the safe re-entry disposal either in a controlled or uncontrolled manner. Performing a controlled re-entry, where the spacecraft is gui ...

2021

The high-power helicon program at DIII-D: gearing up for first experiments

Alessandro Marinoni

Helicon current drive (CD), also called fast wave CD in the lower hybrid range of frequencies, has long been regarded as a promising CD tool for reactor grade plasmas. A newly installed MW-level system at DIII-D will be the first test of this technology in ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2021

Intensifying space activity calls for increased scrutiny of risks

Romain Buchs

As the pace of space activities accelerates and societies become more reliant on space-based systems, the associated risks deserve more attention. Satellites form a critical infrastructure on which military, civil and commercial entities rely. The services ...

EPFL International Risk Governance Center2021