Mechanical Engineering

Prerequisites: ME 370, ME 390. Analysis of aeropropulsion systems: gas turbine, fan jet, ram jet, scram jet, scram-rocket, solid rocket and liquid rocket systems. Introduction to aero-thermodynamics and advanced propellant combustion processes.

Prerequisites: ME 390; PHYS 220A and PHYS 220AL. Atmospheric structure/space environment. Aircraft/spacecraft configurations. Aircraft/missile systems performance, including flight envelope, aerodynamic approximations, available propulsion systems, structural form, take-off, landing, climb and range. Introduction to vehicle stability and control.

Prerequisites: ME 309 and ME 330; Corequisite: ME 386/L. First semester of a two-semester capstone design experience, simulating professional aerospace engineering practice. Emphasis is on the application of engineering fundamentals to a comprehensive design project utilizing computer-aided design and analysis tools. Addresses effective group participation and preparation of written and oral preliminary and critical design …

Prerequisite: AE 486A. Continuation of AE 486A. Students carry out the group design project initiated in AE 486A. Influence of technical, legal, ethical and regulatory constraints are considered. Computer-aided engineering design methods are utilized. Two 3-hour labs per week.

Independent Study

Prerequisites: ME 370 and ME 390, or equivalent background. Flight environment. Mission propulsive requirements, staging and optimization. Chemical rockets. Thrust chamber design, nozzle design, propellant storage and pressurization systems. Liquid propellant combustion and expansion; monopropellant systems. Solid propellant grain design. Combustion instabilities. Multiple phase, reacting nozzle flow. Ram/rocket hybrid engines. Energy limited vs. power limited …

Prerequisite: AE 480. Aircraft conceptual design, focused on industry practice, including discussion of the design process, initial sizing, selection of thrust-to-weight ratio and wing loading, configuration layout, propulsion integration, systems integration, performance optimization and trade-off studies. Students complete an individual aircraft design project. Includes performance analysis via simulated flight testing using a flight simulator.