Aviation Engineering

Substantially reducing greenhouse gas emissions and material waste while improving maintenance and repair efficiency are critical and significant demands. The aviation industry is facing challenges that can only be met through innovative thinking and applications. New technologies are available; however, there are many obstacles to be overcome before they can be beneficial to the sector; international safety and certification requirements for example. Moreover, there is an efficiency-gap between manufacturing and maintenance in the aviation industry. While the production of aircraft components uses state-of-the-art automation, such as robotic systems and production methods, work in the hangar is often laborious and manual.

Closing the gap

The research group in Aviation Engineering at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences has, as its primary goal, to accelerate innovation in the aviation industry. Researchers are working side by side in the hangar with aviation professionals, developing new tools for current and emerging applications. The ideas and designs this approach delivers allow faster, more-accurate work and, crucially, measurable waste and cost reduction.

The introduction of predictive and condition-based maintenance strategies has the potential to save millions of Euros by eliminating unnecessary repetitive, labour-intensive maintenance interventions. Data-exchange algorithms could enable Federated Learning, and eventually will bring a common benefit to aviation partners that are not currently allowed to share data with each other. Furthermore, promising to make an impact in maintenance implementation are advanced sensor-equipped robots that can accurately and fast identify possible defects in aircraft’s structure and components. Environmentally-friendly, additional manufacturing-type repair technologies such as cold spray aim to significantly extend the life of existing fleets by repairing the currently non-repairable components.

Training innovations, such as the development of a digital cockpit simulator for technicians, also encompass sustainability benefits, as these can do without a physical aircraft and its engines.

Our aviation engineering department is involved at the cutting edge of developments in air transport, as we seek to understand and define the specific service and repair challenges that accompany electrical and hydrogen-powered aircraft.

The professor

Konstantinos Stamoulis holds a PhD in Fatigue of Micromechanical Systems and MSc diplomas in Applied Mechanics and Materials Science and Engineering and has been Professor of Aviation Engineering at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences since 2020. In addition to his AUAS post, Stamoulis is a member of the Executive Committee of the Aerospace Network of the Institution of Engineering & Technology (IET) and serves as member of journal editorial boards and scientific committees. ‘It makes me very excited when the research we are doing contributes to innovation in the aviation industry,’ says Stamoulis.

Education

The Department of Aviation Engineering regularly involves students in their research, for example through graduation internships. Together with the lecturer-researchers, they are building a solid knowledge base for sustainable innovation in the aviation industry. The research group also contributes to education through lectures and tutorials in the curriculum of Mathematics & Modelling, Aircraft Performance, Structure & Materials, Maintenance and LCM and Human Factors and Safety, as well as the Aviation Bachelor. The department also regularly supervises Master internships supported by the Erasmus Exchange programme.

Collaboration

As a valued partner to the aviation sector, the department works closely with academia, knowledge institutions and other universities of applied sciences. They are a part of the Bright Sky Project , which aims to allow Dutch aviation to play a leading role in Europe emphasizing in sustainability, digitization and social innovation, and in several European research projects.