Aerospace Engineering

School of Engineering and Materials ScienceAerospace Engineering

Undergraduate Degree Programmes:• H400 MEng Aerospace Engineering

• HK00 MEng Aerospace Engineering with Industrial Experience

• H421 BEng Aerospace Engineering

• H401 BEng Aerospace Engineering with Industrial Experience

1 Queen Mary University of London

The School of Engineering and Materials ScienceThe School of Engineering and Materials Science (SEMS) has a long standing reputation for excellent teaching andresearch involving international collaboration with industrial,clinical and university partners. Queen Mary has beenteaching aeronautical engineering for over 100 years and was the first university to establish an AeronauticalEngineering degree in 1908. SEMS has a population of over1,000 students and an annual intake of approximately 350students on to a range of engineering and materials science.

SEMS is proud of its teaching and all of our degrees areranked as either the best in London or within the top five(2014 National Student Survey) and Queen Mary itself hasrecently been recognised as one of the top 100 universitiesin the world (2014 QS World Ranking). Furthermore, SEMSis proud and excited to announce that we are investing£25million to develop additional laboratory spaces which will include dedicated teaching areas exclusively for the use of our undergraduate students.

Aerospace Engineering

Queen Mary University of London 2

Aerospace Engineering at Queen Mary Aerospace Engineering can be divided into Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering which relate to vehicles insideand outside of the Earth’s atmosphere, respectively. Suchcomplexity requires our graduates to become highly competentin Mathematics and Physics. These uncommon skills aredecidedly sought by employers and generously rewarded:graduate aerospace engineers command higher salaries thanthe average for new graduates. Indeed, aerospace engineersare employable in a surprisingly wide range of opportunities,ranging from engineering and manufacturing to financialservices and accountancy.

At Queen Mary, our academics provide world-leading teaching in the five pillars of modern Aerospace Engineering:Aerodynamics, Propulsion, Structures, Dynamics/Control and Computing, Information and Communication. This isreflected in the topics you will encounter which include:

• Computational engineering and high performance computing

• Cutting-edge energy research into aerospace structure

• Computational and experimental aerodynamics and flowcontrol

• Efficient design of propulsion systems

• Flight simulation and control

• Spacecraft design and design of space missions

Aerospace Engineering at Queen Mary is ranked 1st in Londonfor student satisfaction and 5th in the UK (2014 NationalStudent Survey). Over 90 per cent of the students on thisdegree said that staff have made the subject interesting (2014National Student Survey). The Aerospace Engineering degreeis accredited by both the Royal Aeronautical Society and theInstitution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), which meansthat students can progress to chartered engineer status.


Degree structure

Aerospace Engineering at Queen Mary is offered as either a three year BEng or a four year MEng and both are available with industrial experience. During the first twoyears of the degree, you will gain a solid foundation in theprinciples of engineering by studying core engineeringmodules alongside two modules which are specialist toAerospace Engineering. In Year 3 and Year 4, you willspecialise in a greater number of modules specific toAerospace Engineering. Year 4 allows you to pick all of the modules you will study which means you can tailor your studies to match your career aspirations. A descriptionof each module, and what it entails, can be found on ourwebsite under 'Structure'.

In order to fully support our first year students, who are newto university study, we have developed a new module called'Transferable Skills for Engineers and Materials'. This moduleis designed to help students adapt to the challenges andrequirements of reading for a degree.


The modules shown in bold are the specialist Aerospace Engineering modules.

Year 1 Exploring Aerospace EngineeringThermodynamics 1Engineering Materials in DesignEngineering Design MethodsMechanics of Fluids 1Mathematical Techniques for EngineersEngineering Design MethodsEngineering Mechanics: StaticsEngineering Mechanics: DynamicsTransferable Skills for Engineers and Materials

Year 2 Aerothermodynamics of Fluid FlowsComposites for Aerospace ApplicationsManagement of DesignDesign for ManufacturingDynamic Models of Engineering SystemsEngineering InstrumentationDesign for ManufacturingSolid MechanicsControl Systems Analysis and Design

Year 3 Individual Aerospace Engineering Research ProjectLow Speed AerodynamicsStability and Control of AircraftComputer Aided Engineering for Solids and FluidsOptions:Aerospace StructuresAircraft DesignAircraft PropulsionHigh Speed AerodynamicsSpacecraft Design: Manoeuvring and Orbital Mechanics

Year 4 Optional Industrial Experience

Year 5 Research and Design Aerospace EngineeringTeam ProjectOptions:Advanced Aircraft DesignAeroelasticityFlight Control and Simulation of Aerospace VehiclesAdvanced High Speed AerodynamicsVehicular CrashworthinessAdvanced Spacecraft Design: Manoeuvring and OrbitalMechanicsComputational EngineeringComputational Fluid DynamicsNumerical Optimisation in Engineering DesignIntroduction to Law for Science and Engineering

How you will learn


A variety of teaching methods are employed in SEMS,including lectures, small tutorials, laboratory practicals,Problem-Based Learning activities and project work.Specialist modules are delivered to small groups ofAerospace Engineering students.

Assessment is continuous throughout your degree, withwritten reports, projects, presentations, group work andexams in the summer semester. You can revise for yourexams using QMplus which is the University's online learningenvironment. QMplus allows you to access videos of yourlectures and any associated handouts.

Research ProjectsIn the third year, you will undertake an individual researchproject which will get you involved with the cutting edgeresearch taking place at SEMS. It is an opportunity for you to apply the skills and techniques learnt from previous years’studies and to focus on your particular area of interest. Youwill work on your own, but will get support, guidance andadvice from your project supervisor, other members of staff,researchers and technicians.

Examples of recent individual research projects include:

• Aerodynamic design of wind turbines

• Computational analysis on wing structure of the Eurofighter

• Design an automatic landing controller for Boeing 747

• Design of a colloid thruster propulsion system for a Cube sat mission to moon from high earth orbit

• Reduction of drag and noise of landing gear of civil aircraft

We aim to produce projects that are of sufficient quality to bepresented at international conferences or published in peer-review journals.


Design Projects In the fourth year, you will undertake a major design project.This offers you a challenging and realistic assignment, helpingyou prepare for the real world in professional engineering. Youwill manage your own project in association with academicsupervisors and industrial contacts.

The following are examples of previous group design projects:

• Design and building a man-powered flying machine

• Experimental and numerical investigation of bird strike on aeroplanes

• Design, manufacture and testing of a solar powered racing car

• Design, build and test of a wind tunnel model for integratingto a flight simulator

This project is not only a stimulating and immensely enjoyablepart of the degree, but is also highly valued by employers.

FacilitiesWe have excellent aerospace engineering experimentalfacilities and computational facilities which include, amongstothers, Supersonic, Transonic and Low Speed Wind Tunnelsas well as a Flight Simulator.

SEMS are excited to be spending £25 million on developinga new undergraduate Experimental and Testing Area which is to be completed in September 2015. The new facilities will encompass four specialist areas and will be fitted withbespoke equipment designed with the needs of our studentsin mind. We are also spending an additional £500,000 onnew apparatus.


Employability

Industrial ExperienceAll our BEng and MEng degrees are available with anIndustrial Experience component in which you will take arelevant industrial placement for one year. Students on thesedegrees will normally spend the year in industry after theirsecond year of a BEng degree or third year of an MEngdegree. The Industrial Experience year is not assessed aspart of your degree but is instead operated on a pass/failbasis where you will receive 120 credits for the year.

There are many benefits to participating in a year ofindustrial experience, not only in the practical experienceyou will gain but also the professional contacts you willmake. The year working in industry will significantly help youto develop your communication, problem solving and teamworking skills. It will also give you invaluable experience touse when applying for professional positions after graduationand the year in industry counts toward the requirements ofapplying to be a chartered engineer. Many employers willautomatically offer a place on their graduate schemes tostudents who participated on year placements with them.

SEMS has excellent links with industry which are essentialfor all of our students who take a year in industry. As astudent, you are not guaranteed an industrial placement and will have to be proactive in finding a suitable placement.However, we have a dedicated member of staff who willprovide support in locating a placement for you with ourextensive industrial links. There is an active IndustrialLiaison Forum, which has a direct impact on our degrees by encouraging employers to sponsor and support ourstudents and to provide real design case studies to engagethe students throughout the curriculum. Recent case studiesthat have been taught and assessed were delivered byBridgestone, DePuy, Apatech, Artis, Corus, BAE, DSTL and Rolls Royce.


CareersCareer prospects are excellent for students graduating with a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Queen Mary,especially as we approach the exciting age of Space Tourismand with airline companies continuously seeking strongerand lighter materials. The thorough grounding in basicengineering coupled with other subjects, will provide youwith considerable employment and career flexibility. As anengineer you will develop numerous transferable skills, suchas problem solving capabilities, which will be of huge valuewhatever career path you choose to take.

The 2014 Destinations Survey confirmed that 85 per cent ofour graduates were in employment and/or study six monthsafter graduation. Queen Mary Aerospace Engineeringgraduates have a strong earning power, with an averagesalary of £24,000 six months after graduation (2014National Student Survey).


Staff teaching on yourdegree

There are over 70 members of academic staff teachingSEMS. Below are the specialist Aerospace Engineering staff:

Dr Eldad AvitalFluid Mechanics and acoustics: Computational Aero-Acoustics,Aerodynamics andHydrodynamics, fluids-structure interaction, bio-fluids

Dr Ettore BarbieriDynamic failure, fracture,computational solidmechanics, mesh freemethods, partial differentialequations solvers

Dr Fabian DuddeckCrashworthiness, NVH, car body design Optimisation,robust design, FEM, BEM

Dr Sergey KarabasovFluid dynamics,computational aeroacousticsand aerodynamics, large-eddy simulations, meso-scale ocean modelling,fluctuating hydrodynamicsfor nano-scale flows

Dr Fariborz MotallebiFlow Control, Aerodynamics of Sport Vehicles, HighSpeed Aerodynamics,Boundary Layer Flows,Instrumentation and OpticalDiagnostics in FlowMeasurements

Professor Ton PeijsPolymer nanotechnology,composite materials,nanocomposites,highperformance fibres,biobased materials.

Mr Raza ShahEngineering design andproduct developmentthrough the application ofengineering and appliedscience and technology.

Professor John StarkElectrospray technology,spacecraft propulsion,Spacecraft Design, Directprinting

Mr Adam SutcliffeDesign, manufacturingprocesses, CAD, future ofdesign, industrial, product and service design solutions.

Dr Ranjan VepaSimulation, controlengineering, aeroelasticity,smart structures, flowcontrol, biomimetic robotics,biomedical control systems

Dr Pihua WenSolid and Fluid mechanics,fracture and damage,computational methods,numerical simulation inmanufacturing andengineering

Professor Vassili ToropovDesign optimisation,computational mechanics,structural optimisation andidentification, stochasticanalysis and optimisation,aerospace applications.


Why Study AerospaceEngineering at Queen Mary?

• The UK's first Aerospace Engineering degree The Aerospace Engineering degree is one of the largest and most wellestablished in the country. In fact Queen Mary was the first Institute inthe United Kingdom which started teaching Aeronautical Engineeringin 1908.

• Accredited DegreeAccreditation by the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and RoyalAeronautical Society enables graduates to progress to CharteredEngineering status.

• Student SatisfactionAll our students are individually nurtured and encouraged to fulfill their true potential. This is reflected in SEMS' excellent ranking in the recent National Student Survey.

• Specialist Aerospace Engineering modulesThe degree offers a broad spectrum of stimulating aerospaceengineering modules throughout the degree.

• Experimental and Computational FacilitiesStudents utilise a range of excellent laboratory facilities forexperimental and computational practicals and project work.

• Research ProjectsIndividual 3rd year research projects provide a fantastic opportunity for students to participate in the internationally leading research takingplace at Queen Mary.

• Design ProjectsThe 4th year group design project enables students to work on a real engineering design problem often in association with industry.

• StaffStudents are taught by enthusiastic, approachable and friendly staff,with internationally recognised expertise in many specialist areas ofaerospace engineering.

• Career ProspectsOur graduates are highly valued by employers providing excitingengineering job opportunities and excellent employment in a range of careers.

• Queen Mary University of LondonQueen Mary has a long standing reputation for academic excellencewith a friendly, diverse and multicultural campus situated in the heartof London and is one of the top 100 universities in the world (2014 QSWorld Rankings).

• Member of the Russell GroupQueen Mary is one of only 24 universities who make up the prestigiousRussell Group. This Group represents the leading universities in theUK. Employers specifically target Russell Group universities because of the calibre of these institutions' graduates.

The information given in this brochure is correct at the time of going to press. QMUL reserves the right to modify or cancel any statement in it and accepts no responsibilityfor the consequences of any such changes.

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For further information contact:School of Engineering and Materials Science Queen Mary University of LondonMile End RoadLondon E1 4NSTel: +44 (0)20 7882 8736email: [email protected]

This brochure is intended as a summaryguide for your reference. Please visit outwebsite for full details on our degrees www.sems.qmul.ac.uk

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Aerospace Engineering