Aerospace Undergraduate Course Objectives

At its May 15, 2006 meeting, the aerospace faculty voted to establish official objectives for each undergraduate course. As these are developed, they will be posted here. Students will be asked at the end of a course how well the objectives were met (this is part of the ongoing assessment process required for our accreditation). Courses are assessed (including surveys of students) according to the schedule listed below.

Undergraduate Course Assessment Schedule
2007-08, 2009-10, etc.	2006-07, 2008-09, etc.
required courses	technical electives

 

AERSP 204H/404H FLIGHT VEHICLE DESIGN AND FABRICATION

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. complete the preliminary design for an aircraft such that it satisfies assigned specifications;
2. design a system, component, or process that meets given requirements in aircraft systems;
3. identify , formulate, and solve engineering problems;
4. function on multi-disciplinary teams;
5. communicate and present effectively the results and consequences of their technical efforts; and
6. determine what the ethical responsibilities are to themselves, to employers, and to society.

AERSP 301 AEROSPACE STRUCTURES

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. identify design features of aerospace structures, and calculate load factors and margins of safety;
2. analyze the behavior of thin-walled beams subjected to combined loads, including bending, torsion, and shear;
3. analyze the stability of structural elements and determine critical buckling loads; and
4. develop structural finite element models and use them to predict structural deformations and stresses under external loads.

AERSP 304 DYNAMICS AND CONTROL OF AEROSPACE SYSTEMS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. develop equations of motion for single and multiple degree of freedom mechanical systems;
2. analyze the time domain response of these systems;
3. analyze the frequency domain response of these systems; and
4. analyze the stability and response of simple linear feedback control systems.

AERSP 305W AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY LABORATORY

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. conduct laboratory experiments with appropriate attention to objectives, procedures, and measurement accuracy;
2. process, analyze and interpret experimental data;
3. design an experiment; and
4. write a technical report that documents an experiment.

AERSP 306 AERONAUTICS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. perform basic computations of aerodynamic forces and moments acting on an aircraft in flight;
2. perform basic computations of propulsive forces and performance;
3. perform basic stability and control computations; and
4. perform basic performance calculations for the overall air vehicle.

AERSP 309 ASTRONAUTICS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. use three-dimensional kinematics to describe relative orientations of different coordinate systems and their rates of change, and apply these to problems in aerospace vehicle motion;
2. apply basic principles of three-dimensional dynamics to solve problems in orbital mechanics, rigid body motion, and satellite attitude dynamics;
3. apply the rocket equation to estimate propellant masses needed for orbital maneuvers and transfers;
4. apply principles of radiative heat transfer to estimate the internal temperature of a satellite; and
5. demonstrate a rudimentary working knowledge of the space environment and its interactions with spacecraft.

AERSP 311 AERODYNAMICS I

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. apply mass, momentum and energy conservation principles to fluid dynamics problems;
2. distinguish between Lagrangian and Eulerian reference frames;
3. use control volume analysis and the conservation laws to solve specific fluid flow problems;
4. work with simplified forms of the Navier-Stokes equations to obtain analytic solutions to fluid flow problems; and
5. use potential flow methods, including superposition of basic singularity solutions to obtain flow-field solutions relevant to aerospace engineering applications.

AERSP 312 AERODYNAMICS II

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. beginning with the governing equations, derive simplified equations for specific viscous incompressible flow fields;
2. use boundary layer theory to characterize the viscous flow over simple geometries;
3. use quasi one-dimensional theory to analyze compressible flow problems; and
4. analyze compressible flow problems including Prandtl-Meyer expansions, normal oblique shocks and heat addition to compressible flow problems.

AERSP 313 AEROSPACE ANALYSIS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. use complex variables in relevant aerospace engineering analyses;
2. apply numerical integration and differentiation in aerospace applications;
3. apply analytical and/or numerical methods to solve ordinary differential equations; and
4. demonstrate a fundamental understanding of the classification and characterization of standard partial differential equations and their analytical and numerical solutions.

AERSP 401A SPACECRAFT DESIGN--PRELIMINARY

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. develop a conceptual design of a spacecraft, following methods used in government and industry, and working in teams;
2. begin a preliminary design of a spacecraft (working in teams);
3. work in a multidisciplinary environment, requiring them to integrate engineering practices in such subjects as structures, dynamics, electrical and thermal systems, propulsion, controls, and information systems;
4. write comprehensive reports of a preliminary design (working in teams);
5. give short and detailed verbal status reports on the progress of their team’s work and of their individual contributions; and
6. apply guidelines for ethical thinking to various aspects of the design process and to other situations encountered in the workplace.

AERSP 401B SPACECRAFT DESIGN--DETAILED

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. complete the design from AERSP 401A to a level of detail sufficient to demonstrate its feasibility with respect to the specified requirements and constraints;
2. apply basic concepts of telecommunications to a spacecraft design;
3. apply basic concepts of space mission cost analysis;
4. finalize a spacecraft design while working in a team environment;
5. give brief extemporaneous technical presentations; and
6. write a comprehensive final design report (working in teams)

AERSP 402A AIRCRAFT DESIGN--PRELIMINARY

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. initiate the preliminary design of an aircraft to satisfy mission specifications;
2. initiate the design of a system, component, or process to meet requirements for aircraft systems;
3. work in a multidisciplinary environment involving the integration of engineering practices in such subjects as aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and flight mechanics;
4. communicate and present effectively, through both written and oral reporting, the results and consequences of their technical efforts; and
5. apply guidelines for determining ethical responsibilities to themselves, employers, and society.

AERSP 402B AIRCRAFT DESIGN--DETAILED

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. complete the preliminary design of an aircraft to a level of sufficient detail to demonstrate that it satisfies given mission specifications;
2. design a system, component or process to meet requirements for aircraft systems;
3. function on multi-disciplinary teams;
4. apply a basic costing analysis to the manufacture of aircraft; and
5. communicate and present effectively, through both written and oral reporting, the results and consequences of their technical efforts.

AERSP 407 AERODYNAMICS OF V/STOL AIRCRAFT

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. Analyze rotor hover performance using momentum and blade element-momentum theory ;
2. Demonstrate knowledge of rotor performance in forward flight ;
3. Verify through computation the optimum twist and planform design for a hovering rotor;
4. Demonstrate an understanding of helicopter performance in hover, vertical flight, and forward flight;
5. Demonstrate an understanding of helicopter rotor control and trim; and
6. Demonstrate an understanding of the key aspects of helicopter conceptual design.

AERSP 410 AEROSPACE PROPULSION

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. link and utilize their existing knowledge in fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, gas dynamics, chemistry, applied mathematics and computer programming in aerospace propulsion design;
2. predict the performance and conduct preliminary design of aerospace propulsion systems and their components;
3. demonstrate their knowledge about the specific design aspects of rocket propulsion systems and air breathing propulsion systems such as turbo-jets, turbo-fan engines, ramjets and scramjets;
4. verify the static and flight performance of aerospace propulsion systems; and
5. integrate various aerospace propulsion systems into present and future flight vehicle systems.

AERSP 412 TURBULENT FLOW

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. apply dimensional analysis to understand order of magnitude effects of turbulence on the world around them;
2. manipulate the Navier-Stokes and continuity equations to derive statistical equations for the transport of energy and vorticity in turbulent flows;
3. apply scaling arguments to infer turbulence physics from the governing equations;
4. demonstrate a working knowledge of turbulence physics and its extensions to contemporary turbulence modeling and research; and
5. recognize how profoundly turbulence affects their everyday lives.

AERSP 413 STABILITY AND CONTROL OF AIRCRAFT

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. calculate aircraft trim and static stability characteristics;
2. perform preliminary design computations to meet static stability and trim requirements;
3. analyze dynamic flight conditions using the non-linear equations of motion;
4. determine if an aircraft is stable (and relative stability) from the linearized equations of motion; and
5. identify the lateral and longitudinal modes and relate the important physical influences of aircraft properties on these modes.

AERSP 420 PRINCIPLES OF FLIGHT TESTING

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. collect flight-test data;
2. analyze flight-test data by applying knowledge of aeronautics; and
3. demonstrate understanding of flight-test methods through preparation of flight-test reports.

AERSP 423 INTRO. TO NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUID DYNAMICS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. demonstrate an understanding of the partial differential equations relevant to fluid dynamics;
2. discretize the partial differential equations and analyze the stability of the resulting discretized system;
3. demonstrate through analysis and computation how numerical algorithms must be compatible with the type of governing equation;
4. verify through computation the numerical characteristics (dissipation and dispersion) of several basic CFD algorithms; and
5. estimate the computational requirements of a particular CFD algorithm.

AERSP 424 ADVANCED COMPUTER PROGRAMMING

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. apply and develop object oriented code;
2. develop software for a variety of architectures (e.g. Windows, Unix, and Linux);
3. choose an appropriate computer language (e.g. C++, Java, Ada) for a given project;
4. demonstrate basic knowledge of parallel programming concepts; and
5. demonstrate basic knowledge of software engineering concepts. 

AERSP 425 THEORY OF FLIGHT

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. apply classical theoretical methods to the analysis and design of airfoils and wings;
2. use methods based on complex analytic functions, along with boundary-layer theory, to predict forces and moments on aerodynamic bodies; and
3. approach aerodynamic design problems and use theoretical and computational tools to work toward an optimum solution.

AERSP 430 SPACE PROPULSION AND POWER SYSTEMS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. apply fundamental principles to solve problems in chemical and electric rocket propulsion systems;
2. predict the performance of rocket propulsion systems; and
3. conduct preliminary design of rocket propulsion systems.

AERSP 440 INTRO TO SOFTWARE ENGINEERING FOR AEROSPACE ENGINEERS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. explain the importance of safety-, mission-, business-, and security-critical systems;
2. demonstrate knowledge of the importance of good software engineering practices for critical systems;
3. describe and explain the terminology, accepted practices, and procedures used in software engineering;
4. explain the differences among software engineering, computer science and systems engineering;
5. decide which computer languages are well suited to modern critical systems (and explain why);
6. explain a variety of life-cycle models;
7. read and demonstrate an understanding of the software engineering literature; and
8. demonstrate a basic understanding of the existing standards (e.g. FAA and IEEE) applicable to software systems.

AERSP 450 ORBIT AND ATTITUDE CONTROL OF SPACECRAFT

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. analyze Keplerian motion using classical orbital elements;
2. analyze perturbation effects on a spacecraft’s orbit;
3. conduct accurate numerical studies of perturbation effects;
4. determine optimum impulsive maneuvers and orbit transfers to meet specified criteria;
5. analyze satellite rendezvous problems using the Hill-Clohessy-Wiltshire equations;
6. analyze and simulate simple preliminary orbit determination techniques;
7. analyze the free and forced rotational dynamics of rigid bodies;
8. apply rigid body dynamic equations to orbiting rigid spacecraft;
9. analyze attitude librations and determine attitude stability of orbiting spacecraft;
10. demonstrate knowledge of passive and active methods of attitude stabilization and control; and
11. analyze and simulate simple attitude maneuvers of controlled spacecraft.

AERSP 460 AEROSPACE CONTROL SYSTEMS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. derive models of dynamic systems and obtain transfer functions;
2. analyze stability of linear time-invariant systems;
3. perform time domain analysis and design a controller to meet time-domain specifications;
4. apply the root locus method to the analysis of systems and design of controllers;
5. apply frequency response methods to the analysis of systems and design of controllers; and
6. analyze simple modern multiple-input multiple output systems using state-space methods.

AERSP 497E UAV PROPULSION AND POWER

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. design, build, test, and develop propulsion systems unique to uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs);
2. demonstrate their knowledge about the specific design aspects of turbo-jet, turbo-shaft, by-pass engines, propeller, and ducted fan designs, the implementation of internal combustion engines into UAVs, and electric motor & battery driven UAV systems;
3. integrate various types of propulsion systems into future UAVs;
4. perform experimental studies to verify performance of UAV propulsion systems; and
5. assess specific issues related to future UAV propulsion systems that use advanced cycles, supersonic/hypersonic propulsion systems, fuel cells, advanced battery systems, and controllers.

AERSP 497I SPACECRAFT/ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. demonstrate knowledge of the theoretical and practical aspects of spacecraft aerodynamics and interactions of the chemically reacting, rarefied space environment;
2. demonstrate an understanding of simple aspects of gas kinetics related to Maxwellian distributions, characteristics of rarefied, hypersonic flows, thermal (i.e., translational, vibrational, rotational) and chemical nonequilibrium;
3. quantify and explain the ambient space conditions for LEO and GEO orbits, including the similarities and differences in the neutral and ion species number densities and energies and their dependencies on the earth-sun system;
4. estimate and model simple materials interactions and onboard sensor optical backgrounds caused by spacecraft neutral interactions, chemical reactions of materials with ambient atomic oxygen and spacecraft glow;
5. analyze the impact of these materials interactions on spacecraft thermal environments.
6. predict spacecraft shielding requirements due to plasma interactions, the space radiation environment  and spacecraft-particulate interactions, i.e., meteoroid collisions and space debris models; and
7. use the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method and run simple cases to calculate spacecraft drag and lift.

AERSP 497K AEROSPACE ENGINEERING PROJECTS

Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:

1. design, construct, and test aerospace hardware and/or software;
2. plan, monitor, and report on the progress of an engineering project; and
3. work effectively as part of a team to achieve project goals, completing individual tasks within schedule and cost constraints.

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Approved by subject-area committees 8/23/06: 204H/404H, 407, 412, 424, 425 and 460.

Approved by subject-area committees 5/22/07: 301, 304, 305W, 306, 309, 311, 312, 313, 401A/B, 410, 413, 420, 423, 430, 450, 497E, 497I and 497K.

Approved by subject-area committees 6/5/07: 402A/B and 440.