# Fight Mechanics Modelling

### Project details
**Applicant:** Carmine Varriale
**Faculty:** Aerospace Engineering
**DCC members:** Maurits Kok
**Support period:** April - September 2024
**Repository:** [GitHub Organisation](https://github.com/TUDelft-FPP-Group)
### Research Background
Flight Mechanics research at the Flight Performance and Propulsion group is focused on mainly three topic areas:
- automatic generation of multi-fidelity models for flight simulation.
- simulation-based design optimization for controllability and handling qualities.
- trajectory optimization in realistic operational scenarios.
The research work integrates the inputs provided by aero-propulsive analyses (in the form of synthetic/experimental datasets or methodologies) to produce complete, consistent model- or knowledge-based flight mechanics models that are able to fly in a simulated environment.
### Project Description
The project aims at providing a framework to integrate different component-based models into an aircraft system or sub-system level model which is capable of providing interpretable flight performance metrics. The framework is developed in **MATLAB**, using **Simulink** as the simulation framework.
### Project Results
The support was provided through weekly meetups and hands-on support through prototyping solutions.
- Setup collaborative workflow on GitHub.
- Manage MATLAB dependencies through gitmodules.
- Introduce software testing framework in MATLAB.
- Setup continuous integration with GitHub Actions for documentation and testing within a private repository using the new [MATLAB Batch Licensing Pilot](https://nl.mathworks.com/support/batch-tokens.html).
### Feedback from researchers
> I recommend the DCC service to everyone. Professional approach with a focus on leaving a legacy through knowledge transfer.
### Lessons learned
As newly established research groups often rely on Master students to perform some of the software development tasks, it is important to recognize that their contributions are typically limited to the scope of their thesis projects, and it is unrealistic to expect them to contribute beyond that commitment.