Nachiket Dighe Email & Phone Number

Delft, Zh, Nl

Brunswick, Lower Saxony, Germany

My role entails the continued investigation of permeation and leakage phenomena in composite materials at cryogenic temperatures, for the safe design of lightweight liquid hydrogen tanks.

Delft Aerospace Structures And Materials Laboratory (Dasml)

I am investigating the effect of strain-rate on the energy absorption of Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs). In practice, a large number of different GLARE test coupons are being tested under three-point bending untill complete failure.A future scope of the project may involve generating fully validated numerical models to predict flexural energy absorption of FMLs.Supervisors: Dr. Ir. René Alderliesten, Dr. Ing. Saullo Castro

I am involved in the development of the 'Tanks' section of the launch vehicle. I anticipate contributing to the composite tooling, and in-house machining of key components, as well as leading the prototyping of inter-tank skirts.

Tu Delft | Aerospace Engineering

I worked as a Recovery Engineer in the Parachute Research Group (PRG) of DARE, aiming to develop recovery systems for sounding rockets. I helped improve the technological readiness level of a vast range of decelerators as follows:- Stratos-V: I led the design, manufacturing and wind-tunnel testing of an iso-tensoid Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) "ballute" prototype. - Pufferfish: I led the prototypying process of a cold-gas active inflation system for IADs "ballutes". - Alternative Decelerators and Experimental Parachutes Testing (ADEPT): I participated in the design (incld. literature survey), manufacturing and wind-tunnel testing of high drag ringsail and guide surface parachutes. - Parachute Investigation Platform (PIP)-III: I participated in the machining, and assemblingof an iterated version of a test-bed rocket for novel recovery systems (eg:active reefing). - Supersized Parachute Enabled Atmospheric Reentry (SPEAR)-II: I manufacturedand optimised the design of an actively reefed Disc-Gap Band parachute.- Return to Base (R2B): I participated in the manufacturing of a double-skinned parafoil.

Delft Aerospace Structures And Materials Laboratory (Dasml)

I manufactured a range of flat, curved and stepped pre-preg carbon fibre samples,through hand lay-up on a custom mandrel followed by autoclave curing.I adhesively bonded composites to metal parts, for application in interfacemechnisms of sounding rockets.

Tu Delft | Aerospace Engineering

The Aviation Department/Luchtvaartdispuut (LVD) promotes aviation related activities among students at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering.As the commisioner of lectures, I had the pleasure to coordinate several lunch lectures, thus inviting guest speakers from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Dutch Ministry of Defense.The highlight of my year was the biannual Aviation Symposium: Fuelling the Future- aimed at connecting students with the industry. I was responsible in organising the 'Innovation Floor', featuring about 10 start-ups, student teams and research groups working on disruptive technology and engineering research.

Tu Delft | Aerospace Engineering

I fulfilled the Public Relations function of the Lambach Board. I was responsible for improving outreach by organising events such as design presentations and recruitment drives, as well as creating a presence on our social media platforms.On top of that, I was deeply involved with the day-to-day administration of the society. For example, I was the consituent qualitate qua in engineering projects, most notably the BMFA Payload Weight Challenge 2021-22. Another important responsibility was the maintenance of the society's workshop at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, thus promoting a safe working environment for our members to practice hands-on engineering.Towards the end of my tenure, I coordinated an "Introduction to UAV/RC Aircraft" series of mini-lectures and tutorials. The goal of this educational programme was to transfer technical knowledge to the next generation of newly onboarded engineers. I personally delivered a lecture on manufacturing, and tutorials on foam-cutting/3D printing.

Tu Delft | Aerospace Engineering

I developed the aircraft wing group for multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), specifically performing structural design and analyses of key wing components (ribs, spars, skin). I provided input on wing-fuselage integration too.I contributed to the manufacturing of the UAV prototypes. I learnt and applied common processing techniques used in aero-modelling. These processes include FDM printing, balsa wood construction, foam cutting, and composite production. Overall, I gained confidence in not only practical engineering but also design for manufacturing by spending considerable time on aeromodelling in our workshop.I further gained invaluable experience in wet lay-up, by rapidly prototyping custom carbon fibre spars and delivering fiberglass skin/foam core monocoque wings. I practiced vacuum infusion processing of wing sections on multiple occasions as well.

Tu Delft | Aerospace Engineering

With a team of six motivated engineers, I designed, built and tested a solid rocket that reaches an altitude of 1000m and safely recovers an egg as payload. The rocket was successfully launched and recovered.I was especially involved in the conceptualisation and realisation of the parachute recovery system, as well as Assembly, Integration, Testing (AIT) of the launch vehicle.

Msc Aerospace Structures And Materials

Track: Design and Safety of Structures Relevant Coursework: Design and Analysis of Composites, (Computational) Structural Dynamics.

Bsc, Aerospace Engineering, 8.6/10.0 (Cum Laude)

Final Project: Design of Autonomous Drone for Offshore Wind‑Turbine Inspections using Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

Minor, Computational Sciences And Engineering, 7.8/10.0

Research project: Preconditioning Space-Time discretised Navier-Stokes using Isogeometric Analysis

A* Across 5 A Levels: Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology

Activities and Societies: Head-Boy Club Leader of Engineering Society (incld. CREST Programme Coordinator) Model United Nations (MUN).