24-04-2023
Newsletter
April - Testing
The past few weeks, the whole team was busy assembling our boat; Aurora.
Hull and Body
During the assembly phase, the Hull and Body department helped the other departments assemble parts into the boat. Slowly, our Aurora was filled with parts; a weird sight to get used to and satisfactory at the same time. After Hull and Body laminated the deck onto the boat, they could also add all the parts to the exterior of the boat.
Besides the hull, the Hull & Body Department worked a lot on connecting all the hydrogen systems. Between the high-pressure system of the tank and the low-pressure system of the fuel cell, they had to bend and connect several tubes. They checked all connections by pressure testing with nitrogen. After a successful test, we were able to fill the system with hydrogen for the first time and test the fuel cell.
The Hull and Body department also dealt with the logistics for the test phase. Because we are testing with the team at an external location, we have to move our entire workshop; quite a logistically challenging operation. Furthermore, during the test phase, the roles within the team change. We will be working in a different composition than we were used to earlier this year.
Embedded Systems
During the past few weeks, the Embedded Systems department worked really hard on getting the complete electrical system to work in the boat. Having working PCB's and sensors is nice, but connecting them together brings new problems. They tested the complete electrical system contained within watertight boxes outside the boat on a table, but after mounting it in the boat they still had to troubleshoot. At first the cooling pumps were not working reliably, but the Embedded Systems department was able to identify the problem and design a new PCB for it. Now they are working great. They wrote a lot of code for the start-up sequence of the boat, and to make the boat safe. They also had trouble with getting the motor spinning reliably, but after redesigning the cable structure and configuring the motor controller, they got it working.
The Embedded Systems department will be very busy during testing. They will write, implement and test new code functions. Besides that they will gather and analyse data to optimise the boat. Besides that, two of the Embedded System engineers will pilot the boat during testing, and the Embedded Systems department will be closely involved as co-pilots and strategists. When testing the foil actuation, Darwin will be busy with getting the system working correctly. Meanwhile in the Dream Hall, spare PCB's will be soldered by other people so that they are ready if they need to be swapped in.
Vehicle Dynamics
Last month everything was prepared for testing. This means that all the systems had to be installed in the boat. For the Vehicle Dynamics department, it started with installing the cooling system. This system consists of 4 closed loops and 2 open loops. The open loop systems pump (sea)water through heat exchangers. Every closed loop flows through a heat exchanger to transfer its heat to the (sea)water. Next to the cooling system, the steering system was installed as well. This system is designed to be as lightweight as possible and therefore we are using Dyneema cables, supplied by FibrXL. Furthermore the Vehicle Dynamics department assembled the driveline in the rear strut. This is a precise job, because everything has to fit securely but with tight tolerances. Luckily this went well and they were able to dry test it in the Dreamhall. They also completed the height control system. The spindles, which were lathed by Jense Machine Service, were the last parts before it could be tested. With the help of Servo motors, supplied by Maxon, this system will actuate the foils and therefore enable us to get the boat out of the water!
Testing on the water
Last week we went to our test location for the first time! We test in the harbour in Drimmelen. The harbour gives the perfect opportunity to get the boat in the water for test and get the boat out of the water to make the necessary improvements.
We will test in Drimmelen until we depart to Monaco for the Energy Boat Challenge in July. The first week we did the last few (successful) dry tests before going on the water! We tested if our boat floated and of course Aurora did. After that, we sailed on the water with power supplied by the buffer.
Before we can test the hydrogen system on the water we need to do some more dry tests. We need to test the whole electrical system and the whole hydrogen system. For the hydrogen system we need to test the high and low pressure system to make sure there are no leaks, and we'll test the hydrogen sensors to make sure that if there is a leak we will know immediately. Lastly, we need to test the fuel cell to make sure it works as it should. When all these tests are successful we can start testing the whole hydrogen system with the boat on the water.
While we are busy with testing, the team is also busy with dotting the i's and crossing the t's for the Boat Reveal. The Boat Reveal will take place on the 8th of May in the Onderzeebootloods in Rotterdam. Here we will reveal and christen our boat! Do you want to join us on the 8th of May? Register here: http://eventbrite.com/e/
Newsletter
For the coming weeks we will be working on the assembly of the last parts we need for the boat and we will dry test different systems in the boat. The next newsletter will be out in a month! Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl
See you next month!
22-03-2023
Newsletter
March - Assembly
The past few weeks, the Vehicle Dynamics department worked in Vollenhove at Rondal to produce our hydrofoils. The hull arrived at the Dreamhall, which was amazing for the whole team and especially for the Hull and Body department. Now that the hull is in Delft, the team has been busy with assembling the boat.
Hull and Body
The Hull and Body department worked on the hull for the past few months and on Wednesday, the 22nd of February, the moment was there to unload the boat from the mould. Because they worked towards this moment for the past two months, there was a healthy tension in the department. For the unloading itself, the Hull and Body department had to take ample of time because our boat has a difficult shape. In the end, the department unloaded the boat by running water between the mould and the hull. When the boat floated in the mould, they carefully lifted the hull out of the mould. The boat came out of the mould like a mirror; you can see each individual carbon fibre. It is great to see the result after two months of hard work, a big milestone for Hull and Body!
After the boat was unloaded, the team welcomed the boat to the Dreamhall. Now that the hull is in Delft the team could start placing parts in the boat. Hull and Body worked mostly on assembly and slowly the boat filled up more and more. Once all the major components were put in the boat, the Hull and Body department went back to Contest Yachts to attach the deck to the boat. After two days of hard work, the hull is now finished. Now that the deck is on the boat, the Hull and Body department will connect the hardware of the hydrogen system and they'll put other small components in the boat.
Embedded Systems
In the last few weeks, the Embedded Systems department worked a lot on their design, production and assembly. They have designed and soldered all our PCB’s (Printed Circuit Boards), wrote a lot of code to program the chips on the PCB’s, produced battery modules for the buffer battery and performed big tests where they integrated all our systems together. The Embedded Systems department has made some big achievements: The newly produced buffer battery is working, the Brightloop step-down converter is converting the high voltage to lower voltage, the Maxon actuator motors for the foils are reacting to inputs from our sensors and most importantly; the electro motor, which will be used for the propulsion, is spinning when given inputs from the steer.
The Embedded Systems department works in an iterative process, when they discover things that need to change during assembly, they go back to their laptop to rewrite the code and to design and produce new PCB's. At the moment, the Embedded Systems department is working hard at Van der Leun to put all components in watertight boxes from Phoenix Mecano. Afterwards, they will connect all systems together with cables from Phoenix Contact. In the coming weeks, all the systems will be dry tested before testing the boat in water.
Vehicle Dynamics
For the Vehicle Dynamics department, the month March is all about producing hydrofoils. The foils are made of carbon fibre and a stainless steel made insert. The carbon fibre is laminated layer by layer into MDF moulds. When all the layers are on, the mould + carbon is put into a big oven which hardens the resin and thus cures the foil.
Next to building the foils, a lot of work on other subsystems was done by the Vehicle Dynamics department. The rear strut is finished as well as all the parts for the foil actuation system. To help ease the production of those parts, Dormer Pramet provided milling and lathing tools.
Furthermore, the cooling system has been assembled completely outside of the boat to see if nothing was missing. After that, the cooling parts, like the pump from Xylem and the heat exchanger from Bowman, were assembled in the boat. For the Vehicle Dynamics department, only a lot of smaller parts are left for production and assembly now. They will proceed with these smaller parts after they finish the hydrofoils which will be at the end of March.
Dry Testing
Now that the boat is almost fully assembled, it is time to dry test the boat. In the coming weeks we will dry test all the different systems in the boat to make sure they work as expected. Some systems have already been tested outside the boat but we also need to test the integration of all the systems. After all the dry testing we can prepare the boat and the testing location for the wet testing; testing with the boat in the water. The team is really excited that we will dry test the different systems in our boat in the coming weeks and we are all looking forward to the wet testing in one month from now.
Another exciting moment is coming up; wrapping the hull. The bottom side of the hull is already wrapped but for the top of the hull we needed to laminate the deck first. Now that the deck is laminated the wrap will be put on the hull by Omber Reclame. Curious about the design of the wrap? The wrap will be revealed at our Boat Reveal in May!
Newsletter
For the coming weeks we will be working on the assembly of the last parts we need for the boat and we will dry test different systems in the boat. The next newsletter will be out in a month! Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl
See you next month!
21-02-2023
Newsletter
February - Production
We have been busy with production the last month, with the Hull and Body department in Medemblik at Contest Yachts and the rest of the team working hard at the Dreamhall. A lot of parts have been produced and the whole team is excited to see our design come to life!
Vehicle Dynamics
The Vehicle Dynamics department has been busy with producing a lot of parts the last couple of weeks. The front struts have been produced by a Dreamhall employee; Salim. Vehicle Dynamics was able to fit the push rods early because of the rapid delivery of those by Van Leeuwen Precisie. The push rods will move up and down in the strut to actuate the foils. Furthermore the foil inserts are produced by Mark on the CNC. These are made of stainless steel and will be laminated into the foils to provide a strong connection to the strut. Moreover, the Vehicle Dynamics department visited our Hull and Body department in Medemblik at Contest to laminate the sleeves and tube assembly into the hull. The sleeves and the tube assembly connect the hull of the boat to the struts. The laminating had to be done neatly since the connection must withstand the full weight of the boat plus the propulsion and wave forces.
The next couple of weeks Vehicle Dynamics will prepare the foil production by designing all the layers and creating digital drawings so that they can use the digital cutter at Rondal where the foils will be produced. Furthermore, Vehicle Dynamics will produce the parts for the height control system and the rear strut will be completed. Next to producing their own parts, the push pull cable arrived from DCS International and the linear technology for the height control from LM Systems will arrive soon as well.
Hull & Body
The past month the Hull & Body department was working on the hull of the boat in Medemblik. In the beginning of January they built the bulkheads and prepared the mould of the hull. The mould was spray painted and waxed to ensure that the hull can be released from the mould properly. After the preparation of the mould, the layers of carbon and core material could be layed. To make the hull ready for infusion, a vacuum bag was built over the mould. The infusion of the hull, the process where the vinyl esther is pulled through the carbon laminate with the use of vacuum, was an exciting moment Hull and Body worked towards these past weeks.
After they infused the hull in the end of January, Hull and Body could start aligning and laminating the bulkheads in the hull. Step by step the hull is coming to life and the engineers can start recognizing the compartments which will soon contain their sub-systems they designed. The coming week, the department is finishing the last parts to prepare to lift the hull out of the mould. A big milestone for the Hull & Body Department!
Embedded Systems
In the last month the Embedded Systems department has been focussing on
getting as many on-board systems working as possible. This meant for example that they calibrated the Emrax electromotor, configured the Brightloop DC/DC converter and updated the Horizon fuel cell. Furthermore, the LiFePO4 battery cells have been wirebonded by Accelonix. This means that it will not take long before the buffer battery is finished.
Embedded Systems worked hard to create and optimise the designs of the Printed Circuit Boards in Altium. These designs were then manufactured by Eurocircuits. Using the components of Würth Electronics, ST Microelectronics and Farnell, Embedded Systems is able to assemble reliable PCBs. They made seven different designs for a total of eleven PCB's that will be used in the boat.
After debugging and testing their PCBs, Embedded Systems will build the internals of the Phoenix Mecano boxes at the workplace of Van der Leun. Van der Leun also helps with the installation of high voltage cabling and they assist Embedded Systems with their knowledge of high voltage systems. The department has also made great progress in their height control system. For the height control they use Maxon motors. The motors respond to control software, which Embedded Systems has developed with consultation by Flying Fish. An ultrasonic height sensor from Senix and an inertial measurement sensor from Xsense will be used to acquire accurate data to control these motors in the proper way.
Recruitment
While the engineering departments are busy with producing different parts of our boat, Operations and Management are also focused on recruitment. Even though we are in the middle of a fantastic year we are already recruiting for the new team that starts in August. In the coming weeks there will be a few different interest moments for those who would like to join the new team. Upcoming interest moments will be on the 21st of February, the 27th of February and the 3rd of March. Do you know someone who might be interested? Let them know they can be part of an ambitious and motivated team to put their knowledge into practice to work on a more sustainable future. The latest details about the application are on our website; www.hydromotionteam.nl
The application deadline is March 6th 23.59. To apply you'll need to hand in your CV and letter of motivation through our website.
Newsletter
For the coming weeks we will be working on the production of the different parts we need for the boat. The next newsletter will be out in a month! Do you know someone who is not yet receiving this newsletter but would like to? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp's email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl
See you next month!
Newsletter
January
Taking the next step
First of all I would like to wish you a Happy New Year on behalf of the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team. Before the holidays, we had an amazing Design Presentation where we could finally share our design with all of you. Let’s look back briefly on this wonderful night!
Over the last 17 years we have built amazing boats that sail on sustainable energy sources, inspiring the maritime industry to move to a more sustainable future. But now it is time to take action; with our design, it is time to turn the tide.
This year we want to win the Monaco Open Sea Class in July 2023 with our foiling hydrogen-powered boat. With this in mind, we researched the possibilities to reach our goal and we started designing our boat. After making hard choices and working long days we finished our detailed design phase.
The hydrofoils are an important part of our boat because they enable the boat to “fly” above the water, which is called foiling. When the boat is foiling the drag becomes significantly less and therefore we can sail faster with less fuel. With this mechanism we can win the World Championship in Monaco.
Foiling is important to win the Monaco Open Sea Class 2023, because it allows us to reach a similar speed as our competitors who sail on batteries. In order to foil, the boat needs to reach 25 km/h. At this speed, the hydrofoils create enough lift to raise the 1400 kg boat out of the water. Because the competition takes place on the open sea, the boat has to withstand waves that can make the boat unstable. At the same time, the boat also needs to be lightweight to foil. In order to get this done we made some improvements compared to last year.
Hull and Body
The Hull & Body Department has focused on a lighter and more efficient hull shape. The boat has become more efficient by adding the chine, the horizontal ledge, where the bottom transitions to the side. In addition, the bow has been rounded and the boat is optimised for our hydrogen system. This year we’ll have a dead man’s switch, which means we’ll only need two pilots compared to three pilots last year. Because of this, the position of the fuel cell has moved forward and the tanks are placed more to the middle instead of the side of the boat. This allows the boat to be more compact and thus lighter. Ultimately, the weight of the boat affects its foiling characteristics.
Embedded Systems
This year the focus of the Embedded Systems department is to make the electrical system robust and reliable, while keeping it as simple as possible. The department will reuse many components of last year’s boat, such as the fuel cell and the motor controller. However, they will also produce and use many new and innovative components. The department will receive a new, stronger and more efficient motor from Emrax. Besides this, they will make use of a new step-down converter from Brightloop to create the lower voltages needed for all auxiliary systems. The auxiliary systems consist of all systems required in addition to the power system, such as the bilge pumps and display.
We are also designing and producing a new buffer this year, which will have a lower mass and will be safer to use. Lastly, the system architecture and height control system will have a completely new design. The cable tree is redesigned, new Printed Circuit Boards are designed, and the height control system will be designed in such a way that it will be more reliable and responsive.
Vehicle Dynamics
The Vehicle Dynamics department has been really busy designing parts in CATIA for the last 2 months. CATIA is a 3D digital modelling program developed by Dassault Systems. They not only designed the cooling, steering and foil actuation system, but also the driveline, struts and foils. It was a very busy period in which they used a lot of knowledge of our partners and alumni. The Vehicle Dynamics department has been working hard on optimising the height control system. This is the system that will enable us to foil in a stable manner. It consists of the actuation system, sensors and control system. The latter is the custom programmed PID controller, which is a way of optimising the flight characteristics.
Operations department
The Operations department was busy with organising the Design Presentation before the holidays. Not only the content of the presentation needed to be written, but also the music, light, and countdown had to be prepared for the presentation. The department worked hard on organising the drinks and questions afterwards. Besides organising the presentation, Operations actively worked on our social media and press releases, and External Relations worked on staying in touch with our partners.
Did you miss the Design Presentation?
You can see our design on our website: https://hydromotionteam.nl/project-3/
The after movie is out now as well!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE6uny99XO8
Do you want to see the whole presentation?
Recorded livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ka29Rcal9s
Production
Now that the design phase is finished, we have started the production phase. Everything we designed will be produced, which is really exciting! From now on we will slowly see our design come to life.
Hull and Body
The Hull and Body department has already started production of the hull at Contest Yachts in Medemblik. During production, the department puts a lot of focus on their personal health and safety. They are wearing proper personal protective equipment which is needed when working with carbon fibre. They are building the hull in a direct mould of about 8 by 3 metres and, despite this size, they were able to set the mould down with a precision of 1 mm. This shows that the department works meticulously to minimise the weight of the boat. The Hull and Body department is now 3.5 weeks into production and they plan to build the hull within 7 weeks.
Embedded Systems
During the coming weeks the Embedded Systems department will be designing, producing and testing all components of the electrical system. There are a lot of different systems, which all have to be controlled by software. The department will design and solder PCB’s, which are debugged and tested thoroughly. After that they will put most of the components in watertight boxes from Phoenix Mecano so that the electronics can be put safely in the boat. We will then connect everything together with cables from Phoenix Contact and Van der Leun so that the data and power can be transferred between the systems. After that everything will be dry tested thoroughly, so that we are sure that everything is working correctly when we test the boat in the water.
Vehicle Dynamics
The coming weeks the Vehicle Dynamics department will produce a lot of parts. Those include parts for the steering and foil actuation, but most importantly: the custom designed foils. The department is going to produce these at Rondal in February. Next to that, the struts are being produced in the Dreamhall with the help of Salim, the CNC programmer of the Dreamhall. Furthermore, the sleeves, which connect the struts with the hull, are also produced in-house. In week 6 we will install those in the boat, which will then still be at Contest in Medemblik, together with the tube assembly (connection between the rear strut and hull).
Operations department
The coming weeks, Operations will be busy with designing the wrap of the boat. Designing the wrap will be done in collaboration with the team through brainstorming sessions and by giving the team the opportunity to voice their opinion about the different concepts of the wrap.
Even though we’ve just had our Design Presentation, Operations is already working on the next event. The Christening of the boat will take place in spring and the department will work on preparing this event in the coming weeks as well.
Newsletter
For the coming weeks we will be working hard on the production of the different parts we need for the boat. The next newsletter will be out in a month! Do you want to receive this newsletter in your inbox? Send an email to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an email address and will be asked to confirm via Mailchimp’s email. Feel free to send any comments or questions to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl
See you next month!
Newsletter
December
A new year, a new team, a new boat
Each year there is a whole new team that is eagerly waiting to take over the project of last year’s team. Before I’m going to introduce us I will first look back on the previous team and their performance in Monaco.
Last July, the team of 2022 traveled all the way to Monaco, facing an extreme challenge. They managed to become second in the Monaco Open Sea Class 2022. A huge achievement. There was strong competition in the maneuverability race, nevertheless the team managed to secure an excellent second place. This good start unfortunately could not be continued to the speed section, during the race, the boat suffered from technical defects, which prevented it from completing the race. Despite this being a huge disappointment, the team put in an excellent performance in the final section; the endurance race. With 17 laps, they sailed convincingly to first place after the competitors were far behind. Because the competitors still work with batteries, this also showed the power of hydrogen and its advantages for long distances.
With these results, the team then finished 2nd in the world championship. The entire team is extremely proud that they managed to design, build and race a hydrogen-powered boat in just one year.
To enjoy these moments one more time, the after movie is out now!
Watch the after movie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_bzSerYCvk
Meet the team
Now a new year has arrived with a new team, a new goal and a new boat. Last August, the next generation of the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team started. We spent the last three months studying last year’s boat and designing the 2023 boat with the accumulated knowledge. Our aim is to demonstrate the applicability of new technologies by taking the next step in bridging the gap between the ‘technology of the future’ and the current norm. Within one year, we are creating an innovative boat powered by green energy to demonstrate the potential of sustainable solutions in the maritime industry.
Our goal this year is to win the Monaco Open Sea Class 2023 and become world champions with a foiling hydrogen-powered boat.
To get acquainted with the new team, the team reveal video is out now, which can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dty9lFvbfeY
Newsletter
This was the first newsletter of the year and there will be one newsletter every month. Do you want to receive this newsletter in your inbox? Send an e-mail to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl or click on the link below. Via the link, you can enter an e-mail address and then it is needed to confirm via Mailchimp’s e-mail. In addition, comments or questions can always be emailed to exposure@hydromotionteam.nl
See you next month!
We were at the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference!
On the 29th and 30th of November we were present at the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference in the RAI Amsterdam. We were excited to be present and we enjoyed walking around. We had a stand at the Hydrogen Area and we brought the 2022 hydrogen-powered boat. If you missed us at the event you can see a small interview with our Operations manager and our Chief of Hull and Body here: https://vimeo.com/776222559
We had a lovely time at the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference and we already look forward to Offshore Energy 2023! We enjoyed seeing everyone so enthusiastic to make a change in the Offshore Energy and Maritime sector. Our event director was interviewed on The Stage together with the Team managers of Forze and Green team. Our event director spoke about our goals this year and why we want to build a hydrogen-powered boat. If you’re curious you can watch it here: https://vimeo.com/776593480
The Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference is the event where the energy transition takes place. It is Europe’s leading event for the entire offshore energy industry and an opportunity to show our solution to business leaders, highly qualified experts and professionals across global markets.
For a sustainable maritime industry we need to phase out fossil fuels and invest in greener innovations within the maritime but also the offshore industry. The developments in the maritime and offshore industry are driven by the changes in the energy sector and the necessity to work together to achieve a more sustainable future. The Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference on the energy transition and sustainable solutions in the maritime and offshore energy industry. There is a spotlight on important drivers of change which are hydrogen, floating wind and CCS. There is attention for other offshore renewables as well like wind, wave and solar energy. The Offshore Energy events aims to show the path to a sustainable world trough renewables in the maritime and fossil energy industry. We as the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team are here to show which part hydrogen can play in a brighter tomorrow.
02-12-2022
TU Delft Hydro Motion Team at the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference
We are excited to be present at the Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference on the 29th and 30th of November in the RAI Amsterdam.
The Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference is the event where the energy transition takes place. It is Europe’s leading event for the entire offshore energy industry and an opportunity to show our solution to business leaders, highly qualified experts and professionals across global markets.
For a sustainable maritime industry we need to phase out fossil fuels and invest in greener innovations within the maritime but also the offshore industry. The developments in the maritime and offshore industry are driven by the changes in the energy sector and the necessity to work together to achieve a more sustainable future. The Offshore Energy Exhibition and Conference focuses on the energy transition and sustainable solutions in the maritime and offshore energy industry. On the event there is a spotlight on important drivers of change which are hydrogen, floating wind and CCS. There will be attention for other offshore renewables as well like wind, wave and solar energy. The Offshore Energy events aims to show the path to a sustainable world trough renewables in the maritime and fossil energy industry. We as the TU Delft Hydro Motion Team want to show which part hydrogen can play in a brighter tomorrow.
Curious about how we build a hydrogen powered boat in one year? Come visit us at stand 1.150 in the RAI Amsterdam.
Interested in seeing a finished hydrogen-powered boat with your own eyes? At the Offshore Energy we will exhibit the 2022 boat in front of the stage!
Register here: https://www.offshore-energy.biz/offshore-energy-2022/register/
28-11-2022