Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering

Facilities

We offer undergraduate, postgraduate, research students and staff an excellent environment in which to study and work. Our 360° virtual tours below allow you to see inside some of our state-of-the-art laboratories and teaching facilities.

Vehicle testing at MIRA Technology Institute

Unique to the Automotive Engineering course at Loughborough, our students take part in a week-long vehicle testing course at the Motor Industry Research Association (MIRA) proving ground. Helping to gain a more rounded understanding of the subject, students get the opportunity to test their theoretical understanding in a series of practical tests on production vehicles, including: straight-line performance, braking, noise and vibration, and a vehicle aerodynamic study.

Major laboratory facilities

Our laboratory facilities include:

Acoustics and Vibration Laboratory

With full anechoic chamber and reverberation room: the building incorporates a specialised suspension system to isolate the facility from external ground vibration.

Aeronautical Propulsion Test Cells 

Two test cells for high pressure (up to 8 bar) nozzle experiments, and the running of small-scale gas-turbine engines.

Automotive Powertrains Laboratory

Comprising eight engine test cells and a chassis dynamometer; this includes various optical engines and optical diagnostics equipment, new transient engine dynamometer, CVS sampling and HORIBA emissions analysis equipment. The laboratory is run jointly with the Wolfson School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering.

Autonomous Systems Laboratory

Including indoor flight test environments with the support of Vicon optical tracking systems, fully instrumented ground vehicles, small scale helicopters, and fixed wing aircraft, and autopilot development environment.

Display and Demonstration area 

Adjacent to the main department entrance, this incorporates various hardware exhibits of aeronautical and automotive systems technology, including the full-scale Hawk 200 Aircraft.

Dynamics and Control Laboratory 

With new fully instrumented 6-axis flight/car simulator, four-poster vehicle road simulator, and small-scale servo-hydraulics rigs.

Electronics Workshops

Fuel Cells Laboratory

Lift bay 

For vehicle set-up and instrumentation

Mechanical Workshops

PC Computer Laboratories 

With 79 individual workstations available running a range of specialist engineering software.

Rolls-Royce UTC Laboratory

Comprising four purpose-built test cells for isothermal measurements on complex combustion chamber geometries and other gas-turbine engine components. Instrumentation comprises a range of advanced probe, hot wire and optical instrumentation used for flow-field surveys.

Structures Laboratory

Including facilities for composite structures manufacture, dynamic drop testing and ultrasonic analysis.

Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory 

For small-scale manufacture and testing of structures, design and make projects, and dynamics and control undergraduate experiments.

Wind-Tunnel Laboratory

Incorporating a new low-speed aeronautical/automotive tunnel, plus two smaller subsonic tunnels and a smoke visualisation tunnel.

Water tunnel laboratory 

With LDA/PIV systems for flow measurement and visualisation.

Wood and Plastics Workshop