Postgraduate Courses

Introduction to both fundamental and practical knowledge on the microstructure, physical and mechanical behaviors, particularly the fracture behavior and toughening mechanisms, of polymers and composites. Discussions and critiques on related research activities in the literature. Case studies to help students prepare for the industry.

Basic concepts of fluid flows, derivation of governing equations, viscous flow, potential flow, boundary layer, flow instability, transition to turbulence, turbulent boundary layer.

Circulation, Kutta-Joukowski theorem, thin airfoil theory, lifting line theory, wingtip vortices, induced drag, elliptical wings, boundary layers, normal and oblique shocks, bow shocks, Prandtl-Meyer expansion fans, linearized potential flow theory, Prandtl-Glauert transformation, wave drag, transonic flow, swept wings, critical Mach number, supercritical airfoils.

Basic concepts as applied to robotics and robotic systems: Kinematics, Planning, Dynamics, Control, and Vision.

Aircraft structural design, wing structural details, elasticity, maneuver and gust loading, fatigue analysis, vibration theory, static and dynamic aeroelasticity, energy and matrix methods.

Flight mission requirements, aircraft size and layout, airfoil/wing geometry, aerodynamics, engine selection, airframe−engine integration, fuselage design, electrical and hydraulic systems, landing gear arrangement, flight stability and control, structures and materials, avionics and navigation systems, human factors, safety, manufacturing processes, and cost analysis.

Aircraft equations of motion, small disturbance form, stability derivatives, longitudinal motion (phugoid mode, short period oscillation and approximate forms), lateral motion (roll subsidence, dutch roll, spiral mode and approximate forms), static stability of aircraft (longitudinal stability, directional stability, lateral stability), root locus plots and their use in designing feedback control systems, autopilots (pitch and roll angle control, effect on aircraft dynamic response and stability).

Propulsion cycle analysis, with emphasis on gas turbines, basic component performance and function, engine installation effects, aero-thermodynamics of steady isentropic compressible flow, shock waves, diffusers and nozzles, centrifugal compressors, axial flow compressors, combustion chambers, thermoacoustics, fuels and control, turbines, thrust augmentation.

Liquid jet breakup in air, surface tension effects, temporal and spatial instability, rotating flows, Rayleigh's criterion, flow between rotating cylinders (Taylor vortices to chaotic flow), Görtler vortices, relationship to streamwise vortices in boundary layers, shear flow instability, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, the effects of viscosity and transition to turbulence, convection due to surface heating, cellular patterns, flow-induced oscillations of structures; control of oscillations by passive techniques.

This course is designed to provide fundamental understanding of fiber-reinforced composites (FRPs) and emerging nanocomposites technologies. The topics include constituent materials, microstructure-property relationships, fabrication and processing techniques, fundamental mechanics of stress transfer, lamination theory and failure mechanisms and fracture of FRPs in the first part. The topics in the second part include synthesis of nanoscale reinforcements, fabrication and processing techniques of nanocomposites; dispersion and functionalization of nanoreinforcements; interfacial adhesion; mechanical and functional properties of nanocomposites, and their design and applications.

Fundamental knowledge of computational fluid dynamics, specific applications of CFD to industrial and environmental flows, learn how to write a complex two-dimensional solver and some engineering applications.

Classical CFD methods, fundamental turbulence modelling, aeroacoustics, sound sources and radiation, sound source modelling, viscous flow modelling, propagation modelling, linearized methods, numerical methods for CAA, acoustic analogy.

Relationships between microstructure and mechanical behavior in crystalline materials; temperature-dependent deformation in elasticity, viscosity and creep; embrittlement, fatigue and fracture of engineering materials; strengthening mechanisms in crystalline materials.

The Air Transport System is made of several sub systems which are strongly regulated and very competitive. This course will enable student to understand how each system is organized, what its contribution is and how each system contributes to the global performance. This course aims at identifying all major actors of the Air Transport System.

The intent of this module is first to present the context in which the aircraft (and more precisely transport airplane) will have to operate; second, to introduce the development process of an aircraft and its specific features; and third to make a preliminary sizing of an airplane with respect to a given mission specification.

Avionics are today at the very heart of the aircraft, monitoring the flight itself and all the systems that are necessary for a safe and efficient flight. Upon completion of this module, students will be able to present an accurate overview of what is an avionics platform, its roles and functions. A brief history will be proposed as well as a description of the current systems and a look ahead on future trends.

All during its flight, the aircraft is in communication with the Air Traffic Services who is at the heart of the air transportation system. This course will provide students with clear understanding on how the ATM system works at organizational and practical level.

Conventional radio navigation systems and the use of GNSS for Civil Aviation applications, basic radio propagation theory, direction finding, GNSS history and concepts for Civil Aviation, future GNSS signals.

The course covers the fundamental principles involved in the processing of engineering materials, specifically metals, ceramics and polymers, from starting or raw materials through to the final functional forms. The course uses a unified approach that is based on the state of matter most central to the shaping of the material: melt, solid, powder, dispersion and solution, and vapor. With this approach, students learn processing fundamentals and appreciate the similarities and differences between the materials classes, and the resulting properties arising from selected process engineering.

Finite element formulation; variational principles for structural and continuum mechanics; numerical interpolation and integration; plane stress and plane strain analysis; plate bending and three dimensional solids; solution of large systems of algebraic equations.

Selected topics in aeronautical engineering of current interest in emerging areas and not covered by existing courses. May be repeated for credit if different topics are covered.

An independent research project on Aeronautical Engineering carried out under the supervision of a faculty member.