People

Current PhD Researchers

Muhammad Arslan Munee (visiting PhD from University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli")

Nationality: PakistanTopic: Design for bird-strike crashworthinessPromotor: Aniello Riccio

Ioana Ciobotia (TU Delft)

Nationality: RomaniaTopic: Crashworthiness in preliminary design and optimization of hydrogen-powered aircraftPromotor: Christos Kassapoglou

Cheng Angelo Yan (visiting PhD from Politecnico di Milano)

Nationality: ItalyTopic: Vibration-correlation technique in the post-buckled regimePromotor: Riccardo Vescovini

Ioan Bîrgăoanu-Acăei (TU Delft)

Nationality: RomaniaTopic: Modelling of thermoplastic composites for advanced manufacturingPromotor: Clemens Dransfeld

Hauke Maathuis (TU Delft)

Nationality: GermanyTopic: Aeroelastic tailoringPromotor: Roeland de Breuker
Hauke F. Maathuis, Roeland de Breuker, Saullo G. P. Castro. "High-Dimensional Bayesian Optimisation with Large-Scale Constraints - An Application to Aeroelastic Tailoring". AIAA Scitech 2024 Forum. 10.48550/arXiv.2312.08891 

Alex Pereira do Prado (TU Delft)

Nationality: BrazilTopic: Aeroelastic tailoringPromotor: Roeland de Breuker

Mohamed El-Alfy (TU Delft)

Nationality: EgyptTopic: Postbuckling in low-fidelity aeroelastic tailoringPromotor: Roeland de Breuker

Shreyas Anand (TU Delft)

Nationality: IndiaTopic: Design for CrashworthinessPromotor: René Alderliesten
Shreyas Anand, René Alderliesten, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Crashworthiness in preliminary design: Mean crushing force prediction for closed-section thin-walled metallic structures". International Journal of Impact Engineering, 2024. 10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2024.104946 Shreyas Anand, René Alderliesten, Saullo G. P. Castro. (2024). Dataset for Crashworthiness in preliminary design: Mean crushing force prediction for closed-section thin-walled metallic structures [Data set]. Zenodo. 10.5281/zenodo.10522974.Shreyas Anand, René Alderliesten, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Low-fidelity crashworthiness assessment of unconventional aircraft: Modelling of plastic bending". AIAA Scitech 2024 Forum. 10.2514/6.2024-0833. View/DownloadShreyas Anand, René Alderliesten, Saullo G. P. Castro. "A review of analytical models for determining the behavior of metallic tubular structures submitted to axial crushing". Proceedings of the ASME 2023 Aerospace Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Conference. San Diego, California, USA. June 19 - 21, 2023. 10.1115/SSDM2023-108398. View/Download 

Arne Schiller (TU Delft)

Nationality: GermanyTopic: Analytical formulation of more sustainable jointsPromotor: Chiara Bisagni

Hammad Rahman (TU Delft)

Nationality: PakistanTopic: Simultaneous layout and sizing optimization of wing structuresPromotor: Roeland de Breuker
Hammad Rahman, Roeland De Breuker, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Simultaneous Layout, Sizing and Topology Optimization of Stiffened Panels using CAD-based Parameterization". AIAA Scitech 2023 Forum. 10.2514/6.2023-1090 . View/Download   Watch PresentationHammad Rahman, Roeland De Breuker, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Optimal design of stiffened panels under buckling constraints: a design methodology considering CAD-based parameterization with simultaneous layout and sizing optimization". Conference: 33rd Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical SciencesAt: Stockholm, Sweden, 2022. View/Download

Eva Smeets (TU Delft)

Nationality: BelgiumTopic: Modelling and design of ultrasonically spot-welded jointsPromotor: René AlderliestenCo-promotors: Calvin Rans, Irene Fernandez Villegas
Eva T. B. Smeets, Calvin D. Rans, Saullo G. P. Castro, Irene F. Villegas. "To measure is to know: Evaluating indirect measurement techniques for observing the damage tolerance behaviour of spot welded thermoplastic composites". Journal of Advanced Joining Processes 2023, 8, 100152. 10.1016/j.jajp.2023.100152 Eva Smeets, Calvin Rans, René Alderliesten, Saullo G. P. Castro, Irene F. Villegas. "Measurement of damage growth in ultrasonic spot welded joints". ECCM 2022 - Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Composite Materials. View/Download

Current Master Students


Digna Jonikaitė (with Wydo van de Waerdt from GKN Fokker)

Nationality: LithuaniaTopic: Bird strike analysis and model validation

Hikke Kempering (with René Alderliesten and Elysian Aircraft)

Nationality: NetherlandsTopic: Design of wings for large electric aircraft

Aranshu Modi (with Daniël Peeters)

Nationality: IndiaTopic: Design and analysis of hybrid composites

Thanos Giotas (with Daniël Peeters from TU Delft and Jaap Dekker from Airborne Aerospace)

Nationality: GreeceTopic: Design and analysis of composites

Tejas Iyer (with Hauke Maathuis)

Nationality: CanadaTopic: Design of structures, machine learning

Shreyasi Mitra (with Shreyas Anand)

Nationality: IndiaTopic: Reduced-order models for crashworthiness of composite structural elements

Koen Zandbergen (with Wydo van de Waerdt from GKN Fokker)

Nationality: NetherlandsTopic: Design for crashworthiness, bird strike

Bruno Ilves (with Hauke Maathuis)

Nationality: EstoniaTopic: Machine learning to predict geometric imperfections of shells

Current Honours Students

Marek Gryszka

Nationality: PolandTopic: Design of truss-based wings for large electric aircraft

Alfonso Medina Marrero

Nationality: SpainTopic: Effect of crashworthiness on the design of hydrogen-powered aircraft

Former PhD Researchers

Yanwei Zhang (visiting PhD from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China)

Nationality: ChinaTopic: Reliability-based design and optimization of flapping wings

Yanwei Zhang, Zhonglai Wang, Saullo G. P. Castro. Bionic simulation of double clap-and-fling wing mechanism with SPH FSI method. EngXriv Preprint, 2022. 10.31224/2652Yanwei Zhang, Zhonglai Wang, Saullo G. P. Castro. Dataset for bionic simulation of double clap-and-fling wing mechanism with SPH FSI method [Data set]. Zenodo, 2022. 10.5281/zenodo.7256436 

Higor Luis Silva (visiting PhD from the University of Uberlândia)

Nationality: BrazilTopic: Aeroelastic analysis and optimization of advanced composite structures
Higor Luis Silva, Thiago A. M. Guimarães, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Design and aeroelastic analysis of truss-based modular wing structures". AIAA Scitech 2023 Forum. 10.2514/6.2023-1677. View/Download Watch PresentationSILVA, Higor Luis. Structural and aeroelastic design and optimization of truss-based modular wing structures. 2022. 179 f. Tese (Doutorado em Engenharia Mecânica) - Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, 2022. DOI http://doi.org/10.14393/ufu.te.2022.345.

Zhihua Wang (visiting PhD from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China)

Nationality: ChinaTopic: Reliability-based design and optimization of advanced composite structures
Zhihua Wang, José Humberto S. Almeida Jr., Luc St-Pierre, Zhonglai Wang, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Reliability-based buckling optimization with an accelerated Kriging metamodel for filament-wound variable angle tow composite cylinders". Composite Structures, Vol. 254, 2020. 10.1016/j.compstruct.2020.112821Castro, S. G. P., Almeida, J. H. S., Jr., St-Pierre, L., & Wang, Z. "Measuring geometric imperfections of variable-angle filament-wound cylinders with a simple digital image correlation setup". Composite Structures, 2021. 10.1016/j.compstruct.2021.114497José Humberto S. Almeida Jr., Luc St-Pierre, Zhihua Wang, Marcelo L. Ribeiro, Volnei Tita, Sandro C. Amico, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Design, modeling, optimization, manufacturing and testing of variable-angle filament-wound cylinders". Composites Part B, 2021. 10.1016/j.compositesb.2021.109224 Zhihua Wang, José Humberto S. Almeida Jr., Aravind Ashok, Zhonglai Wang, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Lightweight design of variable-angle filament-wound cylinders combining Kriging-based metamodels with particle swarm optimization". Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 2022. 10.1007/s00158-022-03227-8

Former Master Students

Simão Martins (with Alexander van Zuijlen)

Nationality: PortugalMSc thesis: Hydrogen-air detonation: multiphysics analysis of blast loads and aircraft structural responseSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Alexander van ZuijlenDefense: 17/December/2024

Anna Biancotto (TU Delft, with NLR)

Nationality: ItalyMSc thesis: Design and Analysis of LH2 tank structures for aircraft retrofit applicationsSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, John-Alan Pascoe, Albert de Wit (NLR)Defense: 4/October/2024

Nathan D'Souza (TU Delft, with GKN Fokker)

Nationality: IndiaMSc thesis: Multi-Domain Semi-Analytical Cohesive Zone ApproachSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Bas Tijs (GKN Fokker)Defense: 30/September/2024

Ayush Prasad (TU Delft, with GKN Fokker)

Nationality: IndiaMSc thesis: Post buckling of curved skin-stiffened metal panels under shear loadingSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Bas Tijs (GKN Fokker), Silviu Rogozea (GKN Fokker)Defense: 29/August/2024

László Czél (TU Delft)

Nationality: HungaryMSc thesis: Enhanced characterization of tow gaps in fiber steered laminatesSupervisors: Daniël Peeters, Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 16/July/2024

Yi-Hsiu Wu (TU Delft)

Nationality: TaiwanMSc thesis: Crashworthy Hydrogen-Powered Aircraft Retrofit Preliminary DesignSupervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 04/July/2024

Floris de Vries (TU Delft, with GKN Fokker)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: Optimizing Square Plates with Symmetrically Reinforced Circular Cutouts for Shear Buckling: A Bayesian Approach to Minimum Weight DesignSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Tim Janssen (GKN Fokker)Defense: 26/June/2024

Jonas Bertholdt (TU Delft)

Nationality: GermanyMSc thesis: Methodology to identify and quantify flight path dependent bird strike scenarios over aircraftSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Wydo van de WaerdtDefense: 31/May/2024

Aslan Bagirov (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: Crashworthiness Design with Bending Optimization in the Hybrid Cellular Automata FrameworkSupervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 27/May/2024

Tiago Ferreira da Costa (TU Delft)

Nationality: PortugalMSc thesis: Crashworthiness Assessment of the Flying-V Under Complex Crash Scenarios with Partially Detailed StructuresSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Calvin RansDefense: 17/April/2024

Panagiotis Koronaios (TU Delft, with the Kopter Group AG)

Nationality: GreeceMSc thesis: Prediction of Crashworthiness Performance Using Multi-Fidelity Machine Learning TechniquesSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Hauke MaathuisDefense: 11/April/2024

Rowan Koenderink (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: Design Methodology for Unconventional Engine Mounting Structures, Including Crashworthiness AssessmentSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, René AlderliestenDefense: 28/February/2024

Rafael Pereira da Silva (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: Composite plate optimization combining semi-analytical model, lamination parameter and a gradient-based optimizerSupervisors: Flávio Luiz Bussamra, Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 20/February/2024

Melvin Post (TU Delft, with GKN Fokker)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: Model validation for bird strike crashworthinessSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Wydo van de WaerdtDefense: 16/February/2024

Kübra Almaz (TU Delft)

Nationality: Netherlands and TurkeyMSc thesis: Post-buckling analysis of composite stiffened panels: A systematic analysis on the influence of imperfectionsSupervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 19/January/2024

Ioana Ciobotia (TU Delft, with GKN Fokker)

Nationality: RomaniaMSc thesis: Incorporating Bird Strike Crashworthiness Requirements within an MDO FrameworkSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Daniël Peeters, Ton van der Laan (GKN Fokker)Defense: 12/January/2024
Ioana made a great video sharing her experience as an MSc student in our department of aerospace structures and materials, please check it below:

Rolijne Pietersma (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: Including Imperfections within the Displacement-based Koiter MethodologySupervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroCo-supervisor: Eelco JansenDefense: 19/September/2023

Michał Skarka (TU Delft, with Airbus)

Nationality: PolandMSc thesis: Development of a quasi-static simulation methodology for a damage tolerance assessment of impact damage in bonded CFRP structuresSupervisors: Sofia Teixeira de Freitas, Saullo G. P. Castro, Ronny Sachse (Airbus), Marco Hoffmann (Airbus)Defense: 11/July/2023

Akshay Kulkarni (TU Delft, with Airbus)

Nationality: IndiaMSc thesis: Design methodology and optimization of kick stage main structuresSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Richard Degenhardt, Robert MeitznerDefense: 27/March/2023

Sankalp Bangera (TU Delft)

Nationality: IndiaMSc thesis: Global optimization using a deflation-based method for the design of composite structuresSupervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 27/March/2023

Marco Desiderio (TU Delft)

Nationality: ItalyMSc thesis: Flying-V Crashworthiness: a Preliminary AssessmentSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, René Alderliesten, Michiel SchuurmanDefense: 20/March/2023
Marco Desiderio, Michiel Schuurman, René Alderliesten, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Crashworthiness of the Flying-V aircraft concept with vertical drop test simulations". Aerospace Structural Impact Dynamics International Conference - ASIDIC 2023. Wichita, KA, USA, June 20 - 23. 10.31224/3034. View/DownloadMarco Desiderio. Dataset: Fokker F-28 Fellowship typical fuselage surface model for crashworthiness. Zenodo, 2023. 10.5281/zenodo.7702918.

Marloes Nanninga (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis:  High-Fidelity Structural Sizing Method for Weight Estimation of a Flying-VSupervisors: Roelof Vos, Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 11/January/2023

Rutger Voeten (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: A design methodology for unconventional engine mounting structures applied to the Flying-VSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Roelof VosDefense: 18/October/2022

Ioan Bîrgăoanu-Acăei (TU Delft)

Nationality: RomaniaMSc thesis: Digital Image Correlation For Fatigue Life Characterization Of Ultrasonically Welded Lap Shear JointsSupervisors: Calvin Rans, Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 07/September/2022

Paolo Minigher (TU Delft, with DLR)

Nationality: ItalyMSc thesis: Shape Sensing and Load Reconstruction for Static and Dynamic ApplicationsSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Janto Gundlach (DLR)Defense: 05/August/2022
Paolo Minigher, Janto Gundlach, Saullo G. P. Castro, Yves Govers. "Shape Sensing with Sparse Strain Information for Aerospace Applications". Preprint, 2022.  10.31224/2546 Dataset:Paolo Minigher, Janto Gundlach, Saullo G. P. Castro. ISTAR Demo Wing Abaqus Model [Data set]. Zenodo, 2022. 10.5281/zenodo.7030874

Sam van Elsloo (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: Proposal and Validation of an Immersed Interface Method applied to the Lattice-Boltzmann MethodSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Alexander van ZuilenDefense: 27/June/2022

Irene Solbes Ferri (TU Delft, with DLR)

Nationality: SpainMSc thesis: Dynamic continuous fiber optical strain sensing for damage diagnosis on beam-like composite structuresSupervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Roger Groves, Johannes Knebusch (DLR)Defense: 10/February/2022

Thom Dotman (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: "A structural sizing methodology for the wing-fuselage of the Flying-V"Supervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, René AlderliestenDefense: 16/December/2021

Aravind Ashok (TU Delft)

Nationality: IndiaMSc thesis: "Bayesian Optimization for Lightweight Design of Variable Stiffness Composite Cylinder"Supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 22/October/2021
Code repositories:
Zhihua Wang, José Humberto S. Almeida Jr., Aravind Ashok, Zhonglai Wang, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Lightweight design of variable-angle filament-wound cylinders combining Kriging-based metamodels with particle swarm optimization". Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization, 2022. 10.1007/s00158-022-03227-8

Harshavardhan Vijaya Kumar (TU Delft, with SAFRAN)

Nationality: IndiaMSc thesis: "Modularization of topology optimized structures: An image moment approach"Supervisors: Sergio Turteltaub, Saullo G. P. Castro, Ad Eijkelenboom (SAFRAN)Defense: 28/September/2021

Deacon Foulds (TU Delft)

Nationality: CanadaMSc thesis: "Validation of Breathing Modes in Wind Turbine Blade Finite Element Models"Supervisors: Saullo G. P. Castro, Janto Gundlach (DLR), Johannes Knebusch (DLR)Defense: 20/August/2021
Dataset: Deacon Foulds, Johannes Knebusch, Janto Gundlach, Saullo G. P. Castro, Yves Govers. SmartBlades 2.0 Rotor Blade Nastran Models (Version 2021-11-26) [Data set]. Zenodo, 2021. 10.5281/zenodo.5729717.

Tulio Gomes de Paula Machado (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: "Design and optimization of wing stiffened panels using variable stiffness laminates with coupled variable thickness"Supervisors: José Antônio Hernandes, Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 31/March/2020 
Machado, T. G., Hernandes, J. A., Capacia, V., and Castro, S. G., 2021, “Design of Compressed Variable Stiffness Panels with Steering-Thickness Coupling,” AIAA Scitech 2021 Forum, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Reston, Virginia. View/Download Watch Presentation Rogério Rodrigues dos Santos, Tulio Gomes de Paula Machado, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Support Vector Machine Applied to the Optimal Design of Composite Wing Panels". Aerospace, 2021. 10.3390/aerospace8110328 

Thomas Janssens (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsMSc thesis: “Semi-analytical modelling of VAT laminates with cut-outs: Behaviour of discontinuous variable stiffness laminates using Enriched Rayleigh-Ritz method”Supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 07/February/2020
Janssens, T. A., and Castro, S. G., 2021, “Semi-Analytical Modelling of Variable Stiffness Laminates with Cut-Outs,” AIAA Scitech 2021 Forum, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Reston, Virginia. View/Download Watch Presentation 

Lander Vertonghen (TU Delft)

Nationality: BelgiumMSc thesis: “Semi-Analytical Buckling and Optimisation of Variable Stiffness, Variable Thickness Laminates”Supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 13/December/2019
Lander Vertonghen, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Modelling of fibre steered plates with coupled thickness variation from overlapping continuous tows". Composite Structures, 2021. View/Download

Victor Capacia (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: “Optimization of post-buckling composite wings using lamination parameters in Lagrange mapped domains”Supervisors: José Antônio Hernandes, Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 22/May/2018 
Capacia, Vi., Almeida, S. F., and Castro, S. G., 2021, “Circumferential and Radial Lamina Application for Natural Frequencies Problems,” AIAA Scitech 2021 Forum, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Reston, Virginia. View/Download Watch Presentation Victor N. Capacia, José A. Hernandes, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Composite panel optimization using lamination parameters and inverse distance weighting interpolation". Proceedings of the 25th ABCM International Congress of Mechanical Engineering (COBEM 2019). Brazil, Uberlândia-MG. DOI: 10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2019.COB2019-1745, 2019. View/Download

Dalton Assumpção Leite (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: “Estabilidade aeroelástica de painéis laminados de material compósito sujeitos a cargas de cisalhamento”Supervisor: Maurício Vicente DonadonCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 28/February/2018

Marcelo de Lima Marcolin (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: “Fatigue analysis for frequency response with multiple loads and events”Supervisor: Maurício Vicente DonadonCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 27/February/2018

Raul Baston Olympio (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: “Nonlinear Finite Element Formulation for Composites Morphing Beams with Embedded Piezoelectric Layers”Supervisor: Maurício Vicente DonadonCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 11/October/2017
Raul Olympio, Mauricio V. Donadon, Saullo G. P. Castro. "An active-passive nonlinear finite element model for electromechanical composite morphing beams". 31st Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, ICAS 2018 (2018). Belo Horizonte, Brazil. View/Download 

Odeny Dias de Matos Júnior (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: “Aeroelastic Behavior of Stiffened Composite Laminated Panel with Embedded SMA Wire Using the Hierarchical Finite Element Method”Supervisor: Maurício Vicente DonadonCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 23/February/2017
Odeny Dias de Matos Junior, Mauricio V. Donadon, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Aeroelastic Behavior of Stiffened Composite Laminated Panel with Embedded SMA Wire using the Hierarchical Rayleigh–Ritz Method". Composite Structures, Vol. 181, Pages 26-45, December, 2017. 10.1016/j.compstruct.2017.08.060 

Diego Daroz Ayusso (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: “The Effects of Stiffener Imposed Warping Constraints on the Aeroelastic Behaviour of Reinforced Composite Panels”Supervisor: Maurício Vicente DonadonCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 21/March/2016

Guilherme Pedroso Pires Abreu (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: “Local Buckling Optimization of Composite Wing Panels with Advanced Constraints via Nastran’s SOL 200 with a Structure and Finite Element Model Manager Tool”Supervisor: José Antônio HernandesCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 21/March/2016
Guilherme P. P. Abreu, Saullo G. P. Castro, José A. Hernandes. "A tool for local buckling optimization of composite panels using NASTRAN® SOL 200", Proceedings of the 24th ABCM International Congress of Mechanical Engineering (COBEM 2017). Brazil, Curitiba-PR. doi://10.26678/ABCM.COBEM2017.COB17-2396, 2017. View/Download 

Alexandre Moreto Massoca (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: "Otimização de uma asa multi-longarinas em compósito com restrições de manufatura"Supervisor: José Antônio HernandesCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 14/January/2014 

Vinicius Leite Lemos (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: "A two-step approach for structural optimization of blended composite wing-box""Supervisor: José Antônio HernandesCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 02/December/2013
Vinicius L. Lemos, Saullo G. P. Castro, José A. Hernandes. "Integrating automatic zone modeling with GA in a two-step approach for structural optimization of a composite wing". Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Engineering Optimization (ENGOPT), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. July 1 - 5, 2012. View/Download Poster View/Download 

Vinicius Magalhaes Cunha (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: "Envelope de cargas em interiores de aeronaves"Supervisor: Flávio Luiz de Silva BussamraCo-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 04/March/2013

Johannes Solaß (Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany)

Nationality: GermanyMSc thesis: "Investigation of buckling behavior of carbon fiber reinforced composite shell structures with respect to imperfections"Advisor: Carsten KönkeCo-advisor: Richard DegenhardtDaily-supervisor: Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 29/November/2012

Annemarie Herrmann (Bauhaus-University Weimar, Germany)

Nationality: GermanyMSc thesis: "Investigation of buckling behavior of carbon fiber-reinforced composite shell structures with openings"Advisor: Carsten KönkeCo-advisor: Richard DegenhardtDaily-supervisor: Saullo G. P. Castro, Mariano ArbeloDefense: 29/November/2012
Mariano A. Arbelo, Annemarie Herrmann, Saullo G. P. Castro, Regina Khakimova, Rolf Zimmermann, Richard Degenhardt. "Investigation of buckling behavior of composite shell structures with cutouts". Applied Composite Materials, November, 2014. 10.1007/s10443-014-9428-x

Thiago Augusto Machado Guimarães (ITA - Aeronautics Institute of Technology, Brazil)

Nationality: BrazilMSc thesis: "Modelagem de zonas de laminação e otimização da sequência de empilhamento em estruturas de materiais compostos "Supervisor: Prof. Dr. José Antônio HernandesCo-supervisor: Dr.-Ing. Saullo G. P. CastroDefense: 04/August/2010
Thiago A. M. Guimaraes, José A. Hernandes, Saullo G. P. Castro. "A two-step approach to multi spar composite vertical empennage structure optimization". Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Engineering Optimization (ENGOPT), Lisbon, Portugal. September 6 - 9, 2010. View/DownloadThiago A. M. Guimaraes, José A. Hernandes, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Multi spar composite vertical empennage structure optimization". Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Engineering Optimization (ENGOPT), Lisbon, Portugal. September 6 - 9, 2010. View/DownloadSaullo G. P. Castro, Thiago A. M. Guimaraes, José A. Hernandes. "Comparison of free stacking sequence approach (T-THETA) versus a predefined 0/+45/-45/90 sequence in a typical aircraft wing optimization". Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Engineering Optimization (ENGOPT), Lisbon, Portugal. September 6 - 9, 2010. View/Download   Poster View/DownloadSaullo G. P. Castro, Thiago A. M. Guimaraes, José A. Hernandes. "Composite optimization performance comparison between Genesis's BIGDOT and modeFRONTIER's MOGA II algorithms". Proceedings of the VI Congresso Nacional de Engenharia Mecânica (CONEM), Campina Grande-PB, Brazil. August 18 - 21, 2010. View/Download   Poster View/Download

Former Honours Students

Mustafa Tayil (Zewail City of Science and Technology, with Mohamed El-Alfy)

Nationality: EgyptHonours topic: Cross-sectional modelling of thin-walled composite beams

Alex Nedelcu (TU Delft, with Daniël Peeters)

Nationality: RomaniaHonours topic: Experimental investigation and modeling of steering-induced tow pull-up defects in automated fiber placement
Alex Nedelcu, André Mendes Florindo, Sungi Han, Jaap Dekker, Maarten de Vlieger, Saullo G.P. Castro, Daniël Peeters. "The influence of tow tackiness on tow pull-up during the manufacturing of a composite pressure vessel". Manufacturing Letters, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mfglet.2024.03.011 

Damien Keijzer (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsHonours topic: Reliability Based Design Optimization of a Long-Range eVTOL Aircraft under Uncertain Mission Parameters
Damien Keijzer, Carmelo Simon Soria, Jorick Arends, Barkin Sarigol, Fulvio Scarano, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Design of a Hydrogen-Powered Crashworthy eVTOL Using Multidisciplinary Analysis and Design Optimization". AIAA Scitech 2024 Forum. 10.2514/6.2024-2474. View/DownloadDamien Keijzer, et al. (2023). Aetheria eVTOL multi-disciplinary analysis Python package. Zenodo, 2023. 10.5281/zenodo.10222536.
Code repositories:https://github.com/dmkeijzer/AetheriaPackage: Used in our AIAA SciTech 2024 Forum paper, and in the DSE 2023 project Aetheria.https://github.com/saullocastro/tuduam: Integrates the resources from the Wigeon and Aetheria projects, into a common Python module that is used as the backend for our TU Delft course on Urban Air Mobility.

Raphael Ummels (TU Delft)

Nationality: NetherlandsHonours topic: Design and optimization of advanced composite structuresRaphael Ummels, Saullo G. P. Castro. "Overlap-stiffened panels for optimized buckling performance under minimum steering radius constraints". Composites Part C, 2021. 10.1016/j.jcomc.2021.100174