Use for teaching
As part of the exercise for the lecture Mechatronic System Technology (master’s course), test drives are made with the institute’s own test vehicle at the August Euler airfield in Griesheim. The knowledge learned within the lecture, in particular concerning the transmission and engine functionalities and the control unit system is ishown in a practical example of a mechatronic system (the test vehicle) in a driving test and demonstrated in real operation.
Use for research
Driving maneuvers are carried out on the airfield and the vehicle operation condition is recorded using appropriate measuring systems. During the vehicle operation, algorithms for the state estimation as well as for the control of drive train vibrations are tested in order to evaluate the potential for optimizing vehicle dynamics on the basis of mathematical models.
New approaches to so-called software-based lightweight construction for vehicle components are also being investigated at the airfield. Part of the approaches is the highly dynamic load reconstruction using only the sensors of the series vehicle and the real-time and online calculation of usage profiles and damage states. To validate the methods, the algorithms are implemented on rapid prototyping systems and compared with sensors that are built into the test vehicle for this purpose.
The following four departments and three university groups use the airfield: Biology (FB 10), Civil and Environmental Engineering (FB 13), Mechanical Engineering (FB 16), Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (FB 18)
The university groups Akaflieg Darmstadt e.V., TU Darmstadt Racing Team e.V. and the Academic Motorsport Group Darmstadt e.V. also use the August Euler airfield.
In addition, the two seminar rooms in the tower building and the preparation zone (hall area) can be used for events to a limited extent.