Dear EUROAVIAns,
Our Local Group is set for a fantastic experience this August! Team Hydromania will proudly represent EUROAVIA Bucharest at the Airbus Sloshing Rocket Competition 2025 in Forlì, Italy, from August 25 to August 31. Although our Local Group has participated in this event three times, this year seems new and different because Hydromania has undergone a complete rebranding and has attracted a determined group of enthusiastic new members ready to put their ideas into action.
It hasn’t been easy getting here. The team successfully completed two online qualification stages: a Final Design Review (FDR) that included comprehensive simulations, analysis, and testing, and a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) where they presented their original technical concept. As a result of their hard work, Hydromania was chosen as one of the top five European finalists and sent to the competition’s final round.
There is a technical and exciting task ahead. The team will construct and launch their water-powered aircraft in Forlì, which is intended to transport a tank impacted by the intricate sloshing phenomenon. Since sloshing can destabilize a rocket in flight, Hydromania engineered an innovative sloshing tank with four semicircular baffles, validated through experimental tests at COMOTI (shaker test) and CFD simulations in ANSYS Fluent. The propulsion system was effectively evaluated at COMOTI while sustaining pressures of as much as 8 bar. The aircraft’s aerodynamic design was meticulously refined in the meantime with XFLR5 and MATLAB, and this was subsequently confirmed through several actual launches. Their ultimate design, featuring an airplane-like setup, seeks to optimize glide duration and enhance their likelihood of achieving a high flight assessment score.
However, what distinguishes Hydromania goes beyond its engineering. The group is made up of six committed students, each providing specialized expertise in various subsystems, including sloshing, aerodynamics, propulsion, and launch. They have used professional tools, acquired skills to collaborate across fields, developed strong relationships with their colleagues, and gained practical engineering experience.
Hydromania aims to establish a solid base for EUROAVIA Bucharest’s future participation in international competitions, providing a path for upcoming student generations to keep developing, exploring, and gaining knowledge.
We are proud of Hydromania and look forward to their success in Forlì!