There are many challenges facing the aviation industry. From finding environmentally sustainable methods of propulsion to increasing automation that allows unmanned aircraft to do an ever-increasing range of tasks. This course will prepare you for a career tackling these challenges.

From the first term you will start to study Aircraft Systems, Performance and Design. As well as this you will learn engineering fundamentals such as thermofluids, computing, engineering design, mechanics, materials and structures.

Compulsory modules

The aim of this module is to introduce students to various mathematical techniques used in Aeronautical and Automotive engineering.

The aims of the module are as follows:

  • Introduce the various classes of engineering materials with a focus on their properties, microstructure, and processing.
  • Develop an understanding of the fundamental principles that determine the structure and properties of materials, with special emphasis on how processing influences these characteristics.
  • Introduce basic materials processing techniques and illustrate how processing parameters govern microstructural development and, consequently, material performance.
  • Explore the design and analysis of simple deformable structural components.
  • Introduce the basic concepts, theories and methodologies that are required for the analysis of simple deformable structural components.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand the basic concepts, principles and theoretical approaches of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics and apply them to engineering systems.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand problem solving and to acquire programming skills in the high level language of MATLAB.

The aim of this module is to introduce the student to design processes and manufacturing technology applicable to aeronautical and automotive engineering.

Aims:

  • Develop a fundamental understanding of design activities.
  • Identify the British Standard for Engineering Drawings.
  • Develop Computer-Aided Drawing skills, using Siemens NX.
  • Introduce structural materials, their application and constraints.
  • Identify Engineering Elements relevant to the Aeronautical and Automotive Industry.
  • Explore manufacturing methods.
  • Develop practical skills, with regard to manufacturing and inspection.

The aim of this module is to introduce the student to the aircraft design process and design management concepts to enable the student to:

  • Understand the factors which influence the choice of fixed wing aircraft configuration, as well as how aircraft configuration, structure and aerodynamics affect performance.
  • Understand basic flight mechanics, structures, and systems applicable to fixed wing aircraft and how they influence aircraft systems design and integration.
  • Develop management skills, team working skills, presentation skills, report writing skills and understand academic integrity.
  • Enable students to become aware of and develop their academic, professional, and personal skills.

The aim of this module is for the student to be able to break a structure into rigid, idealised components and explain how the basic laws of engineering mechanics relating to fundamental static and dynamic systems allow yield forces and moments to inform the design process.

Aims:

  • To be able to apply equations of equilibrium to solve engineering statics problems.
  • To cover the mechanical behaviour of simple beams under bending loads (elementary beam theory) and specifically introduce equations used for calculating bending and shear stresses and bending and shear deflections.

You will start to go into more depth in key aeronautical subjects such as Fixed and Rotary Wing Aircraft Performance, Incompressible Aerodynamics and Compressible Flow, Turbomachinery and Propulsion, Control Engineering, Electrotechnology & Structural Design Project.

Compulsory modules

The aims of this module are for the student to have an appreciation of the different philosophies used for manufacturing automotive and aerospace engineering products and components; learn how a computer aided engineering (CAE) environment can be used to facilitate the design of these products. Learn how to select materials based on stiffness, strength and sustainability to undertake the design of a simple aeronautical or automotive structure.

The aim of this module is to cover adequately those mathematical topics which are fundamental to all engineering disciplines. An over-rigorous approach is avoided.

The aim of this module is for the student to build on principles of Engineering Mechanics in TTA001 (Statics and Dynamics) to cover central-force motion, dynamics of systems of particles and two-dimensional dynamics of rigid bodies, and also introduce elements of analytical mechanics and vibration of particles and rigid bodies.

The aim of this module is to give students an understanding of system reliability concepts in the aerospace and automotive industries.

The aims of the module are for the student to be able to describe and apply the physical principles and laws governing the generation of lift and drag on lifting surfaces operating in incompressible flows.

The aims of this module are for students to understand:

  • The fundamentals of aircraft structural loading during flight manoeuvres.
  • The role of airworthiness requirements in the analysis and design of airframe structures.
  • The significance of cyclic loading and fatigue with particular reference to their influence on airframe life.
  • The basic consideration of aeroelasticity and its importance in airframe structural design.

The aim of this module is for the student to build on the Elasticity module TTA104, to cover the mechanical behaviour of simple beams under bending loads (elementary beam theory) and specifically introduce equations used for calculating bending and shear stresses and bending and shear deflections.

The aim of this module is for the student to extend their fundamental knowledge of fluid mechanics in the area of established high speed compressible flow theory. Understanding of the fundamental phenomena particular to high speed flows will be gained and its relevance appreciated by demonstration of its application to aircraft based problems.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand the analysis and design of control systems in aeronautical and automotive engineering applications.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand the basic physical laws and engineering considerations which influence the design and performance of aircraft gas turbine propulsion systems.

The aim of this module is for the student to:

  • Understand the fundamentals of aircraft performance and trim.
  • Evaluate helicopter performance.

The aim of this module is to introduce the fundamental principles and concepts of electric circuits.

Aircraft and Gas Turbine Design modules allow you to start putting theory into practice. You can now start to choose specialist modules such as Sensor Fusion, Spacecraft Engineering and Computational Fluid Dynamics.

Compulsory modules

The aim of this module is for the student to understand:

  • The basic methods used in the analysis of fixed wing aircraft stability.
  • Simple aircraft flight test techniques.

Optional modules

The aim of this module is to present the key elements of spacecraft design, by considering each of the main sub-systems that contribute to fulfilling the particular mission objectives.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand the fundamentals of acoustics and the application to the design of noise control and mitigation in vehicles, with particular application to the luxury market and growth markets, taking into account sustainable design of communities, legal aspects and planning.

The aims of this module are for the students to understand the physical laws and engineering considerations which influence the aerothermal design and performance of aircraft gas turbines, and to develop a preliminary aerothermal design of a turbofan engine.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand basic concepts, fundamental principles and some important issues encountered in the analysis and design of advanced fibre-reinforced composite structures.

The aim of this module is for students to understand the fundamental principles of CFD and to learn the basic methodologies incorporated in modern commercial CFD packages.

The aim of this module is for the students to understand the fundamentals of sensor fusion and their applications to aeronautical and automotive engineering problems.

The aim of this module is to take a simplified aircraft customer requirements document and to consider multiple disciplines in order to achieve a conceptual design.

The aim of this module is for students to understand the processes involved in mechanical aspects of gas turbine design and to develop a preliminary mechanical layout of a turbofan engine.

The aim of this module is for the student:

  • To learn how to derive and employ finite element methods to solve stress-strain, steady-state heat flow and vibrational problems.
  • To implement these methods computationally using Matlab to allow for static analysis of automotive and aerospace structures.
  • To introduce the use of the FEM commercial software, MSC Nastran and Patran.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand the general and fundamental theory of 3-D viscous compressible flow, to learn the basic approach to viscous inviscid interaction methods based on coupling of a panel method and a boundary layer analysis, and to become aware of some practical issues related to experimental and applied aerodynamics.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand the analysis, design and implementation of flight control systems.

The aims of this module are to:

  • Understand the fundamental and principles of machine intelligence.
  • Understand their applications to aeronautical and automotive engineering problems.

The aims of this module are to:

  • Enable the student to understand the principle theories and operation of electrified vehicle and aircraft powertrains with a focus on battery technology.
  • Further aims are to understand the key developments in this field, establish knowledge in electrochemical processes and gain experience in the operation and performance analysis of batteries.

This is a 10 credit module from the University-wide language programme.

You will carry out a major individual project working on a real-world engineering challenge. You will also work as part of a Group Design Project to design an aircraft of the future and can study furthermore specialist topics such as Autonomous Vehicles or Experimental Fluid Mechanics.

Compulsory modules

The aim of this module is to complete the students' education and training in the particular discipline by asking them to tackle a reasonably challenging engineering problem. The problem should involve the student:

  • Carrying out background research, preparatory work, planning and preliminary investigations.
  • Extending their knowledge, demonstrating initiative and communicating the results to the appropriate engineering community.

The aim of this module is for the student to undertake the design of an aerospace system within the framework of a self managed multidisciplinary team.

Optional modules

The aim of this module is for the student to be able to discuss and demonstrate the application of various experimental methods used to measure, characterise and analyse fluid flows.

The aim of this module is for the student to understand and apply advanced simulation methods for ground and air vehicle aerodynamics applications. This module is suitable for both Aero and Auto students. Students with an FYP using CFD may find this module particularly useful.

The aim of this module is to give students an understanding of reliability and availability concepts and their interaction, modelling systems with dependencies, phased mission, and maintainability issues.

The aim of this module is to enable the student to understand the fundamental theory, design and operation of hydrogen fuel cells and fuel cell systems with application to propulsion applications and focus on the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC).

The aims of this module are to provide current understanding and initiate independent research in areas that can or may reduce environmental impacts of aeronautical propulsion systems.

This module aims to provide an introductory overview on fundamental technologies in autonomous vehicles and to familiarise the students with common vehicle control methods, sensor fusion techniques, path planning/following algorithms and example driving-assistance functions.

This is a 10 credit module from the University-wide language programme.

The information above is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study. Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year. Please also see Terms and Conditions of Study for more information.