When our intern Yvet started her internship at Femto Engineering we asked her about her first few weeks in this article. Couple of months later, we’re glad to report she graduated! In this interview she shares the results of her hydrofoils study.

What is the background of your assignment?

Femto Engineering is CAE technology partner of the TU Delft Solar Boat Team. One way they support the team is to allocate dedicated research time to them. I have been taking an in-depth look at the hydrofoils of the TU Delft Solar Boat Team. When the hydrofoils perform better, the boat can go faster which gives them a competitive advantage during races.

The assignment that I got was to find out what the influence of the hydrofoils and struts geometry is on the lift and drag of the solar boat.

The way I approached this assignment, was to do a lot of CFD simulations. Every simulation, I changed 1 parameter of the geometry. By comparing all the results of the simulations, the effect of a single parameter could be identified.

What did your study reveal?

Some parameters did not have any influence, while other parameters had a big effect on the performance of the boat. Therefore, one of the conclusions drawn from my study is the unpredictable nature of the parameter effects. What surprised me the most was that some parameters had (almost) no influence at all on the performance of the hydrofoils.

For the TU Delft Solar Boat Team, I have created a reference book in which all the parameters (and their effects) are explained. This knowledge will benefit future teams when they want to change certain geometry parameters.

If I would have had more time, I could have accomplished more. Like more detailed simulations or changing multiple parameters at the same time or involving the hull and waves in the simulations as well. Enough interesting topics left for future studies.

What tools did you use?

All the simulations were done using Simcenter STAR-CCM+. It was my first experience with the software. I can say I have learned a lot from it. The experience comes in handy since the software is also used in my upcoming master. I would recommend Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to everybody who is interested in CFD. Just get familiar with the features and interface by setting up a model. You will get used to the software quite quickly. The software opens a lot of possibilities.

How was your time at Femto Engineering?

I have learned a lot, especially from my company mentor Martijn van Dijk. I used my graduation internship to investigate if I wanted to further specialize in CFD. Since I will be doing my master in CFD, the answer is yes.