Drought as the perfect storm for salt intrusion research

Read more Drought as the perfect storm for salt intrusion research

Knit to find the perfect fit

Read more Knit to find the perfect fit

Balancing water, food and energy to drive sustainable development

Read more Balancing water, food and energy to drive sustainable development

Thick as a brick? How small cracks can cause big problems

Read more Thick as a brick? How small cracks can cause big problems

Putting public transport on the right track

Read more Putting public transport on the right track

Keeping our feet dry with the help of technology, nature and people

Read more Keeping our feet dry with the help of technology, nature and people

Putting the urban mobility jigsaw together, piece by piece

Read more Putting the urban mobility jigsaw together, piece by piece

Tracing waves to find phantom plastic

Read more Tracing waves to find phantom plastic

The battle of the Amsterdam quayside bulge

Read more The battle of the Amsterdam quayside bulge

A geothermal research well on TU Delft's premises

Read more A geothermal research well on TU Delft's premises

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Stories of Science

 

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| Highlighted story

Understanding complex coral reef coasts

Fringing coral reefs provide a sheltered habitat for many sea animals and are a snorkelers’ paradise. But they also form a natural barrier which protects the shoreline and the area further inland.  Experiments using 3D printed replicas of a coral are helping Marion Tissier gain an insight into how coral reefs influence and dampen wave energy. This knowledge will ultimately help designing coral restoration programmes that efficiently contribute to the protection of these vulnerable coasts.

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Reading time: 7 min

Drought as the perfect storm for salt intrusion research

River water is becoming saltier and that is not good news for our drinking water. To find solutions, researchers are working hard to understand when and how salt intrusion happens. Hydraulic engineering PhD candidate Tess Wegman is fascinated by the behaviour of saltwater and freshwater flows taking place beneath the surface of the water.

Reading time: 7 min

Knit to find the perfect fit

The bearing structure of a building made out of knitted material? Assistant Professor of Parametric Structural Design and Digital Fabrication shows that unusual building structures can be created more efficiently and more sustainably using 3D knitted textiles. She hopes her innovative approach will inspire new generations of designers and engineers to think outside the box.

Reading time: 10 min

Balancing water, food and energy to drive sustainable development

Water, for drinking, sanitation, irrigation and clean energy, plays a crucial role in the transition to a more sustainable world. In the EPIC Africa project, assistant professor in Water & Control Edo Abraham explores how data collection, mathematical models and a closer cooperation between countries and sectors can improve water management and the planning of energy systems. The aim is to achieve an optimal and fairer utilisation of increasingly scarce water and land in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Reading time: 7 min

Thick as a brick? How small cracks can cause big problems

Will those cracked walls hold up? Is it safe to walk on that quay? To find the answer to these questions assistant professor of Applied Mechanics Rita Esposito studies brick masonry, often using actual pieces of damaged houses and centuries-old bridges.

Reading time: 10 min

Putting public transport on the right track

For as long as public transport has existed, Dutch people have complained about it. There are leaves on the tracks, trains are overcrowded or buses show up late. Yet our public transport is well organised in many areas, according to researcher Niels van Oort. Especially when observed from an international perspective. But there is enough room for improvement. For example with regard to inclusiveness, communication, reliability, and the integration of public transport with bicycle use and shared mobility. In his Smart Public Transport Lab, Van Oort works with partners from the public transport sector on solutions for a public transport system that is optimized for travellers and society.

Reading time: 10 min

Keeping our feet dry with the help of technology, nature and people

The floods that hit Limburg in 2021 showed that despite a raft of measures the Netherlands remains at risk from rising water. Professor of Hydraulic Engineering Bas Jonkman carries out flood risk assessments in this country and abroad and tries to come up with solutions which, apart from dams and dykes, also involve nature and people.

Reading time: 10 min

The battle of the Amsterdam quayside bulge

The canals and quaysides in historic cities such as Amsterdam, Delft and Utrecht make a pretty picture. In order for these often busy cities to remain safe, the quay walls, some over 300 years old and built on wooden piles, need to be well maintained.

Reading time: 10 min

Tracing waves to find phantom plastic

Ridding the oceans of plastic waste is a huge undertaking which would be significantly helped if the location of the plastic waste could be ascertained with some accuracy. Wave expert Ton van den Bremer is using waves and satellites to track down the ‘phantom’ plastic that is polluting our oceans.

Leestijd: 9 min

A geothermal research well on TU Delft’s premises

Years ago a group of TU Delft students got the idea of realising a geothermal well at the university campus. What at first seemed like a wild plan was set into motion when it became clear the campus grounds were in fact an ideal location. Now, for theme leader Phil Vardon things are almost about to get real. After years of measuring, liaising and researching, detailed preparations to make it a reality are in full flow now. “This geothermal source on our campus will become one of the world’s biggest hotspots for research into geothermal energy.”

Reading time: 7 min

The landslide forecast coming to you from space

Catching the breeze may bring you gold but sail too close to the wind and you’ll miss the boat. Combined with a sailor’s intuition meteorologist Sukanta Basu’s highly detailed wind forecast may well help the Dutch sailing team secure a win at the Olympics this year.

Reading time: 7 min

Meltwater from the Austrian Alps

An imposing, compelling and urgent social problem, that is what Master student Sarah Hanus wanted for her final project. She found it high up in the Austrian Alps where climate change is altering river runoff patterns. Using a model she developed herself, Hanus is able to come up with long-term projections of what these patterns will look like in future. Her work earned her the title of Best Graduate of the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Sciences.

Reading time: 6 min

Climate technology you hope you’ll never need

Could clouds be modified to slow global warming? Cloud expert Herman Russchenberg is investigating climate intervention but hopes his theories will never be put to the test.

Reading time: 4 min

Digital water

Overstroomde riolen, plastic afval, lekkages van waterleidingen… Ook onder de grond kent Nederland grote wateruitdagingen. Met menselijke kracht alleen kunnen we dat niet oplossen, zegt professor Zoran Kapelan. Daarom schakelt hij de hulp in van kunstmatige intelligentie en machine learning.

Reading time: 7 min

The wind app which puts the wind in your sails

Catching the breeze may bring you gold but sail too close to the wind and you’ll miss the boat. Combined with a sailor’s intuition meteorologist Sukanta Basu’s highly detailed wind forecast may well help the Dutch sailing team secure a win at the Olympics this year.

Reading time: 10 min

Putting the urban mobility jigsaw together: piece by piece

Having your own car, bike or moped may be convenient but it’s also clogging up our city centres. Shared mobility can make cities easier to navigate and improve air quality. But adopting it efficiently is easier said than done. Maaike Snelder is helping local authorities to piece together the urban mobility jigsaw.

Reading time: 7 min

Sand on the horizon

It’s a decade since the creation of the Sand Motor, an artificial sand bank off the North Sea coast. What happens to a natural system following human intervention on such a large scale? That question has been the focus of professor of Coastal Engineering Stefan Aarninkhof’s research for the last ten years. The results, he hopes, will pave the way to a full-scale experimental climate lab.

Reading time: 3 min

Safety in numbers in times of Corona? There can be.

When did we last dance at a pop festival, cheer on our favourite football team or get together with friends for a meal at a restaurant? It all seems an eternity ago. Dorine Duives misses the crowds as well, and not just for the atmosphere. As a TU Delft researcher Duives studies pedestrian crowd behaviour and the arrival of coronavirus and the 1.5 metre society has made her expertise more relevant than ever. As the crisis developed, the focus of her research became firmly centred on safe ways of opening up society again.

Reading time: 4 minutes

Sweet solutions to a salty problem

Fringing coral reefs provide a sheltered habitat for many sea animals and are a snorkelers’ paradise. But they also form a natural barrier which protects the shoreline and the area further inland. Experiments using 3D printed replicas of a coral are helping Marion Tissier gain an insight into how coral reefs influence and dampen wave energy.

Reading time: 5 min

Getting it straight: bridges are becoming circular

A large number of bridges in the Netherlands are scheduled for large-scale maintenance work or replacement. In order to minimise the effect on the environment and bring down costs researcher Wenjun Cao is working on a model to assess the potential for circularity of these bridges. This will help the Netherlands to achieve its aim of a fully Circular Economy (CE) by 2050.

Reading time: 5 min

Good vibrations? Not for bridges

Due to poor monitoring, many structures are not maintained properly or on time. This results in safety risks and high costs for overdue maintenance. Researcher Alice Cicirello is working on better design and monitoring tools to ensure the secure construction of structures to extend their service life.

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