This course is intended to introduce students to the process, techniques and regulations of aerospace system design. The course considers the configuration design of a complete aerospace vehicle system at the conceptual stage to meet a pre-defined set of requirements. The course covers aerospace design regulations, design requirements, design cycles and the approvals process. It will draw together the background covered in aircraft performance, dynamics and propulsion courses to optimise the design of the aerospace vehicle to meet a set of requirements. The course will consider the integration of other subsystems, the implied requirements on those systems and the effects of subsystem requirements on the aerospace vehicle configuration. The course will provide students with opportunities to apply all of their aeronautical knowledge, to perform effectively in group activities and develop their team participation and management skills through a systems engineering process.

This course introduces students to critical factors that affect the performance, operation and design of aircraft. The course has a strong emphasis on the physical understanding of aircraft performance including take-off speeds, climb rates, turns, cruise, and descent and landing performance. The course covers operational issues including the regulatory environment for aircraft, and addresses economic considerations.

This course develops a detailed understanding of the range of systems typical on complex modern aircraft, including sensors and actuators, flight control, navigation, flight management, engine management, power, communication, display, data bus and other avionics technologies. It takes a systems engineering perspective and addresses the complex interplay, and the design and integration issues between the many subsystems of an aircraft. The course will cover important aspects of reliability, robustness, redundancy, validation and verification in the systems engineering process. The syllabus will contain substantial case studies to reaffirm these lessons with examples from incidents and accidents in aeronautical history. Students will gain experience from group activities involving systems engineering practice.

This course gives a thorough grounding in the essential methods and processes involved in the design, test and dynamic response of aircraft structures. It builds upon background in mechanical design and mechanics of solids and considers how these and more elaborate concepts and methods are applied to the analysis of aircraft structural strength and the design of aircraft structural components. This course will encompass structural design regulations, flight loads analysis, structural design methods, static and dynamic structural analysis, aeroelasticity and aeroelastic stability and response. It further investigates the links between other aircraft systems like propulsion, sensing and control actuation systems, the structural loads they create, and the static and dynamic responses of the structure to them. Aircraft construction techniques are considered as part of the process, as are testing, validation and verification of structural integrity relative to certification requirements. Case studies of incidents and accidents will be used to elucidate important historical lessons regarding aircraft structural dynamics and failure, reparations and redesign. Students will gain experience from group activities involving analysis and design of aircraft structural components and testing of their performance.

Extends the application of the familiar algebraic laws for adding and multiplying numbers, matrices and vectors to other contexts. Depending on just which laws are satisfied, the algebraic structures studied are called groups, rings and fields. These concepts underlie much of modern mathematics, and are essential background for research in any area of pure mathematics.

This course introduces students to the notion of efficiency and computational complexity. The basic data structures encountered in first year, such as lists, trees and graphs, are reviewed in light of their efficiency and common usage scenario. Asymptotic measures of complexity are covered, and recurrence relations are introduced as an analytical tool. Problem-solving techniques such as the greedy strategy, divide-and-conquer, dynamic programming, and graph searching are covered. These techniques are illustrated upon optimization problems chosen for their practical relevance.