Aerospace Engineering BEng

Year 1

Courses provide the fundamentals of materials behaviour as well as how these can be used to develop properties and shapes satisfying the structural requirements of aerospace vehicles. Quantitative description of these requirements will be covered in courses on Mathematics and Mechanics. Electrical engineering will be used to provide a basis for control systems in later years with fluid dynamics and energy transfer accomplishing the same for aerodynamic aspects and fluid dynamics.

• Engineering Mathematics 1 - 20 credits
• Electrical Engineering 1 - 20 credits
• Mechanics 1 - 20 credits
• Fluid Mechanics and Energy Transfer- 20 credits
• Design for Structural Applications - 20 credits
• Fundamentals of Materials Science - 20 credits

The second year represents a deepening in the coverage of the core engineering disciplines involved in aerospace - mechanics, thermodynamics and fluids, mathematics and electrical engineering. The last of these specialises in control, which ties in with the introduction of space systems engineering as the first of the ‘space’ aspects of the course. The property development in materials from year 1 is extended to understand how materials fail under different stressing and environmental conditions – and, more importantly, to reduce the risk of such failure.

• Space System Engineering and Design A - 10 credits
• Space System Engineering and Design B - 10 credits
• Engineering Mathematics 2 - 20 credits
• Electrical Energy Systems and Control A - 10 credits
• Electrical Energy Systems and Control B - 10 credits
• Airframe Design and Flight Dynamics A - 10 credits
• Airframe Design and Flight Dynamics B - 10 credits
• Fracture, Fatigue and Degradation A - 10 credits
• Fracture, Fatigue and Degradation B - 10 credits
• Thermodynamics and Fluids - 20 credits

The concentration in this year is on the extremes of environmental attack – high temperatures for oxidation and creep in aeroengines which ties in with the coverage of high temperature materials and their manufacture along with the advanced characterisation techniques required to assess them. Degradation from ionizing radiation links to the space mission module whilst the group project reinforces the interdisciplinary nature of the subject.

You have the choice of two streams to follow, an engineering stream and a materials stream, both streams cover space mission analysis and design and undertake a group project. The Engineering stream covers the use of finite element software and computational fluid dynamics to simulate complex aerospace structures and aerodynamics.

• Space Mission Analysis and Design - 20 credits
• Group Project - 20 credits
• Aerospace Mechanical Power Transfer - 20 credits
• Computational Fluid Dynamics and Finite Element Analysis (CFD & FEA) - 20 credits

Optional modules - choose 40 credits. Example modules:

• Surface Engineering - 10 credits
• High-Performance Materials and Advanced Manufacturing - 20 credits
• Advanced Failure Analysis and Characterisation - 20 credits

• Space Mission Analysis and Design - 20 credits
• Group Project - 20 credits
• Aerospace Mechanical Power Transfer - 20 credits
• High-Performance Materials and Advanced Manufacturing - 20 credits
• Advanced Failure Analysis and Characterisation - 20 credits

Optional modules - choose 20 credits. Example modules:

• Surface Engineering - 10 credits
• Irradiation Materials Science - 10 credits
• Computational Fluid Dynamics and Finite Element Analysis (CFD & FEA) - 20 credits

Please note: The modules listed on the website for this programme are regularly reviewed to ensure they are up-to-date and informed by the latest research and teaching methods. Unless indicated otherwise, the modules listed for this programme are for students starting in 2020. On rare occasions, we may need to make unexpected changes to core modules; in this event we will contact offer holders as soon as possible to inform or consult them as appropriate.