Aerospace and Ocean Engineering

University Exemplary Department

B. Grossman, Head
W.L. Neu, Assistant Head

Jack E. Cowling Professor: R. L. Simpson

J. Byron Maupin Professor: J. A. Schetz

Reynolds Metals Professor: E. M. Cliff

Professors: R. W. Barnwell¹; A. J. Brown; W. J. Devenport; B. Grossman; Z. Gurdal¹; O. F. Hughes; E. R. Johnson; R. K. Kapania; F. H. Lutze; J. F. Marchman III; W. H. Mason

Associate Professors: W. C. Durham; C. D. Hall; W. L. Neu; J. J. Wang

Assistant Professors: M. J. Allen; C. A. Woolsey

Adjunct Professors: W. H. Hallauer; R. W. Walters

Professors Emeritus: A. K. Jakubowski; C. L. Yates

AE Career Advisor: J. F. Marchman

OE Career Advisor: W. L. Neu

¹ Joint with Engineering Science and Mechanics

The aerospace and ocean engineering department offers two bachelor of science degree programs which share a broad range of common interests. Students in the department may major in either aerospace engineering or in ocean engineering. The two curricula share many course requirements because of their common interests. Both programs offer a wide range of technical electives. Students with an interest in both majors may enroll in a dual degree program.

The objectives of both of the department's programs include the preparation of students for entry-level positions and graduate study in the fields of aerospace engineering and ocean vehicle engineering. The department seeks to provide students with a strong background in fundamentals, including theoretical, experimental, and computational aspects of science and engineering which will facilitate lifelong learning and the ability to pursue advanced study. It also seeks to provide students with a broad education in the aerospace and ocean vehicle fields with coverage of the areas of fluid dynamics, vehicle dynamics and control, propulsion, and structures, including an emphasis on design and synthesis in a team environment.

The department's curricula are both vehicle oriented, with an emphasis on aircraft and spacecraft in the aerospace program and on ships of all types in the ocean engineering program. The department's systems engineering approach to these technologies makes then increasingly applicable to other fields such as the automobile industry, high speed train design, and other transportation related areas. Departmental graduates find positions in these fields, as well as with the aerospace industry, NASA, the Department of Defense, the ship-building industry, and maritime agencies. Employers range from large, multinational corporations to small consulting firms.

Classroom studies utilize the students' personal computers and departmental computers. Laboratory classes use the department's outstanding experimental facilities, which include a large research quality subsonic wind tunnel with a 24' long 6'x6' cross section test area and state-of-the-art automated control and data collection systems, a 100' long towing tank, a Mach 4 supersonic wind tunnel, a Mach 7 hypersonic wind tunnel, a water tunnel, a full-scale U.S. Navy A-6 flight simulator, and several other facilities.

The department participates in the Cooperative Education Program which gives qualified students valuable industrial experience while working toward their engineering degrees. The department's required design courses often include multidisciplinary, and even international, team projects which include travel to universities in other parts of the world.

The department also offers programs of study leading to the M. Engr., M.S., and Ph.D. (see Graduate Catalog).

Students in AE or OE are required to earn a minimum grade of C-minus in AOE 3104 or AOE 3204, respectively, before proceeding with higher level AOE courses. A total of 136 credits are required for the B.S. in both majors. AOE students must meet all university Core Curriculum requirements and only certain "free" electives and courses designated as "P/F only" may be taken on a pass/fail basis. Lists of approved electives including technical, mathematics, Core, and other electives are available in the department office.

Aerospace Engineering Program

Ocean Engineering Program

* Electives include 6 credits each from Core Areas 2 and 3, 1 credit from Core Area 6, and 3 credits from Core area 7 (the Area 7 course may double count with a course in Areas 2 or 3). The AOE Department requires that one of the Area 3 courses be Econ 2005. These elective credits must also include a 1 - 3 credit computer programing course in C++ or Fortran selected from CS 1044, EF 1574, EF 2314, EF 2324.

** Students must earn a minimum grade of C- in this course in order to take other 3000 or 4000 level AOE courses.

*** AE students must take Math 4574 or Math/AOE 4404 or Stat 4604.

+ AE students may select either Aircraft Design or Spacecraft Design

++ AOE students must take 9 credits of technical electives of which 6 credits must be an AOE course and the remaining 3 may be selected from a list of 3000 and higher level approved courses. Technical electives must be taken on an A/F basis.

Note: WI refers to Writing Intensive courses as required by the Core Curriculum.

136 credits are required for the AE or the OE degree.

Undergraduate Courses (AOE)

2074 (ESM 2074): COMPUTATIONAL METHODS

Solving engineering problems using numerical methods and software, truncation and round-off error, root finding, linear and polynomial regression, interpolation, splines, numerical integration, numerical differentiation, solution of linear simultaneous equations, numerical solutions of ordinary differential equations. Co: MATH 2224. (3H,3C).

2104: Introduction to Aerospace Engineering

An overview of aerospace engineering from a design perspective; introductory aerodynamics, lift, drag, and the standard atmosphere; aircraft performance, stability, and control; propulsion; structures; rocket and spacecraft trajectories and orbits. Pre: EF 1016, PHYS 2305. (3H,3C).

2204: INTRODUCTION TO OCEAN ENGINEERING

An overview of ocean engineering from a design perspective. Ship types and geometry; stages of ship design; introductory hydrostatics and stability; hydrodynamics; resistance and propulsion; oceanography and waves; loads on ships; ship structural analysis. Pre: EF 1016, PHYS 2305. (3H,3C).

2974: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Variable credit course.

2984: SPECIAL STUDY

Variable credit course.

2994: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

Variable credit course.

3014: AERO/HYDRODYNAMICS

Two-dimensional potential flow, stream function, velocity potential, flow superposition, circulation and lift, airfoil characteristics. Two-
dimensional airfoil theory and panel methods. Three-dimensional lifting line theory and vortex lattice solutions for finite wings. Pre: 3104 or 3204. (3H,3C) I.

3024: THIN-WALLED STRUCTURES

Review of mechanics of materials. Stresses in stiffened shell beams. Deformation analysis by energy methods. Multicell beams. Introduction to the matrix stiffness method including truss and beam elements. Pre: ESM 2204. (3H,3C) I.

3034: VEHICLE VIBRATION & CONTROL

Free and forced motions of first order system. Free and forced motions of second order systems both undamped and damped. Frequency and time response. Introduction to control, transfer functions, block diagrams, and closed loop system characteristics. Higher order systems. Pre: ESM 2304. (3H,3C) I.

3044: BOUNDARY LAYER & HEAT TRANSFER

Concepts of viscous flows and physical properties equations of laminar motion with heat and mass transfer; exact and approximate solutions; finite-difference methods; transition to turbulence; analysis in turbulent flows. Conduction and convective heat transfer. Pre: 3014, MATH 4564, ME 3134. (3H,3C) I.

3054: AOE EXPERIMENTAL METHODS

Principles of measurement and measurement systems; standards, accuracy, uncertainty and statistical concepts. Practical electronics, detectors, transducers and instruments for aerospace and ocean engineering. Signal conditioning systems and readout devices; digital data acquisition, structures, structural dynamics, fluid dynamics, materials and wind tunnel testing. Pre: 3014, 3024, 3034. (1H,6L,3C) II.

3094 (MSE 3094): MATERIALS & MANUFACTURING FOR AERO & OCEAN ENGINEERS

This course introduces the student of aerospace and/or ocean engineering to the fundamental properties of materials typically required for structural design. The performance characteristics of metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites are presented and contrasted. Foundation principles underlying materials manufacturing are also presented with the goal of providing an understanding of how processing affects material properties and performance. Pre: CHEM 1074. Co: ESM 2204, PHYS 2305. (3H,3C).

3104: AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE

Performance of aircraft. Analysis of fluid statics and dynamics affecting aircraft performance. Hydrostatics of the standard atmosphere and development of basic equations of fluid dynamics. Lift and drag. Aircraft static performance. Rates of climb, endurance, range, take off and landing, and turn performance. Co: ESM 2304. (3H,3C) II.

3114: COMPRESSIBLE AERODYNAMICS

Inviscid, compressible gas dynamics. Continuity, momentum and energy equations, shock waves, Prandtl-Meyer expansions. One-dimensional steady and unsteady flow, Rayleigh line, Fanno line, Shock Tubes. Method of Characteristics, supersonic thin airfoil theory and conical flow. Pre: 3014, ME 3134. (3H,3C) II.

3124: AEROSPACE STRUCTURES

Aspects of structural analysis pertinent to the design of flight vehicles: aeroelastic divergence, environmental loads, aerospace materials, buckling of thinwalled compression members, and introduction to matrix structural dynamics. Pre: 3024. (3H,3C) II.

3134: STABILITY & CONTROL

Equations of vehicle motion. Linearized analysis. Estimation of stability derivatives, longitudinal and lateral-directional static stability, and control requirements. Dynamic characteristics including stability and mode shapes. Pre: 3034. (3H,3C) II.

3204: NAVAL ARCHITECTURE

Buoyancy of ocean vehicles. Hull geometry, line drawings, coefficients of form. Hydrostatic calculations, development of a computer program for hydrostatic analysis. Review and calculations. Intact and damaged stability of ocean vehicles. Large angle stability. Stability criteria. Viscosity. Stress in a fluid. Basic laws of fluid dynamics. Pre: MATH 2224. Co: ESM 2304. (3H,3C).

3224: OCEAN STRUCTURES

Overview of surface ship, submarine and offshore structural systems, materials and loadings. Application of beam and plate bending and buckling theories. Frame and finite element structural analysis. Pre: 3024. (3H,3C) II.

3234: SHIP DYNAMICS

Analysis of motions of rigid body vehicles in water, including influence of added mass and buoyancy. Horizontal and vertical plane maneuvering, stability and turn performance, including influence of controls, for linear systems. Seakeeping motion responses in waves, wave-induced structural loads, random response analysis via spectral analysis. Experimental methods, model testing, and data analysis. Pre: 3014, 3034, GEOL 4104, MATH 4564. (3H,3C) II.

3264: RESISTANCE & PROPULSION OF SHIPS

Methods of estimating ship resistance; propulsion devices and their efficiencies; Resistance components; Froude scaling of model test data; Methodical series; Planing hulls; Propellers; Waterjets; Propeller design; Computer methods; Advanced marine vehicles. Pre: 3204, 3014. (3H,3C).

4004: COMPUTER-AIDED CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN

Computer-aided design and analysis of control systems for high-order linear systems. Stability and performance design criteria. Root locus, PID, lead/lag, and pole-placement design methods. Introduction to modern state-space modeling methods. Design problems involving aircraft, ship, space, and ground-vehicle systems. Pre: 3034. (3H,3C).

4024 (ESM 4734): AN INTRODUCTION TO THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD

The finite element method is introduced as a numerical method of solving the ordinary and partial differential equations arising in fluid flow, heat transfer, and solid and structural mechanics. The classes of problems considered include those described by the second-order and fourth-order ordinary differential equations and second-order partial differential equations. Both theory and applications of the method to problems in various fields of engineering and applied sciences will be studied. Pre: 2074, MATH 2224. (3H,3C) I,II.

4034: COMPUTATIONAL STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS

Static and vibratory response of framed structures. The matrix eigenvalue problem for buckling and free vibrations. Static response of laminated composite plates by the finite element method. Pre: 3124 or 3224. (3H,3C) II.

4054 (CEE 4444) (ESM 4444): STABILITY OF STRUCTURES

Introduction to the methods of static structural stability analysis and their applications. Buckling of columns and frames. Energy method and approximate solutions. Elastic and inelastic behavior. Torsional and lateral buckling. Use of stability as a structural design criterion. Pre: 3024, CEE 3404. (3H,3C) I,II.

4064 (CEE 4364): FLUID FLOWS IN NATURE

Course designed to build upon and broaden a basic traditional engineering knowledge of fluid flows into areas concerning a variety of natural occurrences and phenomena that involve fluid motions in important ways. Drag of sessil systems and motile animals, gliding and soaring, flying and swimming, internal flows in organisms, low Reynolds number flows, fluid-fluid interfaces, unsteady flows in nature and wind engineering. Pre: 3104 or CEE 3304 or ESM 3024 or ME 3404. (3H,3C).

4065-4066: DESIGN

Analysis and design of various space, aeronautical and marine vehicles and systems. Senior standing required. (2H,3L,3C) I,II.

4084 (ESM 4084): ENGINEERING DESIGN OPTIMIZATION

Use of mathematical programming methods for engineering design optimization including linear programming, penalty function methods, and gradient projection methods. Applications to minimum weight design, open-loop optimum control, machine design, and appropriate design problems from other engineering disciplines. Pre: MATH 2224. (3H,3C) II.

4114: APPLIED COMPUTATIONAL AERODYNAMICS

Development of computational methods for application to wing aerodynamic problems. Incompressible airfoil codes. Panel methods and vortex lattice methods. Finite difference techniques. Transonic and supersonic applications. Pre: 3044, 3114. (3H,3C) II.

4124: CONFIGURATION AERODYNAMICS

Aerodynamic design of flight vehicles, with emphasis on nonlinear flowfields and configuration concepts. Aerodynamic analysis and design for transonic, supersonic, hypersonic flows, and low speed high alpha flight. Includes case studies of classic configurations and aerodynamic design papers. Pre: 3014, 3114. (3H,3C).

4134: ASTROMECHANICS

Application of Newton's Laws to the dynamics of spaceflight. Two-body problem, Kepler's Laws, energy and time relations, orbit specification and determination. Orbital maneuver and transfer, patched conic approximations, relative motion, and elements of optimal maneuvering. Pre: ESM 2304. (3H,3C) I.

4140: SPACECRAFT DYNAMICS & CONTROL

Space missions and the way pointing requirements affect attitude control systems. Rotational kinematics and attitude determination algorithms. Modeling and analysis of the attitude dynamics of space vehicles. Rigid body dynamics, effects of energy dissipation. Gravity gradient, spin, and dual spin stabilization. Rotational maneuvers. Environmental torques. Impacts of attitude stabilization techniques on mission performance. Pre: 4134, 3034. (3H,3C).

4144: AIRCRAFT AUTOMATIC FLIGHT CONTROL

Introduction and history of aircraft automatic flight control. Mathematical models of linear systems elements. Bode amplitude and phase plots of longitudinal and lateral control system analysis. Inputs and system performance assessment. Multiloop flight control systems. Applications to representative aircraft. Pre: 3134, MATH 4564. (3H,3C) II.

4154: AEROSPACE ENGINEERING LABORATORY

Wind tunnel laboratory experiments related to subsonic and supersonic aerodynamics. Continuation of AOE 3054 for Aerospace Engineering students. Writing of technical laboratory reports; design of experiments. Pre: 3054, 3114, 3124, 3134. (3L,1C) I.

4164: SPECIAL TOPICS IN VEHICLE PERFORMANCE

Three-dimensional point-mass equations of motion over flat and spherical Earth. Aerodynamic and propulsive modeling. Numerical integration of equations of motion. Analytic approximations and solutions. Energy state models. Advanced topics. Pre: 3104, 3134. (3H,3C).

4184 (ESM 4184): DESIGN & OPTIMIZATION OF COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

Design aspects of laminate constitutive relations, coupling and decoupling of in-plane and out-of-plane elastic response. Tailoring of laminated composite materials to meet design requirements on stiffness and strength through the use of graphical and numerical optimization techniques. Introduction to integer programming: branch-and-bound method and genetic algorithms. Stacking sequence design of laminated composite beams and plates via integer programming. Pre: 3024, CEE 3404 or ESM 3084. (3H,3C) II.

4204: OCEAN ACOUSTICS

Basic problems and techniques of underwater acoustics; sonar equations, sound propagation in the ocean, generation and detection of underwater sound, background and self noise, reverberation, target strength, applications. Pre: MATH 4564. (3H,3C).

4214: OCEAN WAVE MECHANICS

Introduction to theory of wave motion in different water depth regions, including wave generation and propagation. Description of wave statistics and spectral representation for realistic ocean conditions. Wave forces on stationary structures. Nonlinear waves, wave properties, and methods of analysis. Pre: 3014, MATH 4564. (3H,3C) I.

4224: PROBABILISTIC ANALYSIS OF OCEAN SYSTEMS

Representation of random phenomena for ocean systems (waves, vehicle motions, wave-induced loads). Concepts of correlation (for vector processes), power spectra, probability density, envelope processes. Responses of linear dynamic systems, statistics of responses, exceedance probability, extremes. Extension to nonlinear systems. Pre: 3234, MATH 4564. (3H,3C). I.

4234 (ME 4234): AEROSPACE PROPULSION SYSTEMS

Design principles and performance analysis of atmospheric and space propulsion engines and systems. Application of thermodynamics, compressible fluid flow and combustion fundamentals to the design of gas turbine and rocket engines and components, including inlets, turbomachines, combustors, and nozzles. Matching of propulsion system to vehicle requirements. Pre: (3114, ME 3134) or (ME 3404, ME 3124). (3H,3C) I.

4244 (ME 4244): MARINE ENGINEERING

Analysis of major ship propulsion devices (propellers, water jets). Integration with propulsion plant and machinery. Characteristics of marine steam turbines, nuclear power plants, marine diesels, and marine gas turbines. Shafting system, bearings, and vibration problems. Pre: ME 3134. (3H,3C) I.

4254: OCEAN ENGINEERING LABORATORY

Continuation of AOE 3054 for Ocean Engineering students using facilities and instrumentation pertinent to ocean engineering. Writing of technical laboratory reports; design of experiments. Pre: 3054. (1H,2L,1C) I.

4274: COMPUTER BASED DESIGN OF OCEAN STRUCTURES

Computer-based structural models for combined finite element analysis, limit state analysis and optimization. Torsion of thin-walled structures. Buckling of stiffened panels and cylinders. Eigenvalue methods for buckling and vibration. Incremental plastic collapse; other progressive collapse. Ultimate strength of large structural modules. Pre: 3224. (3H,3C). II.

4404 (MATH 4404): APPLIED NUMERICAL METHODS

Interpolation and approximation, numerical integration, solution of equations, matrices and eigenvalues, systems of equations, approximate solution of ordinary and partial differential equations. Applications to physical problems. Partially duplicates 4554 and 3414. Mathematics majors or minors cannot take both 4404 and 3414. X-grade allowed. Pre: ESM 2074, MATH 4564. (3H,3C).

4974: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Variable credit course.

4984: SPECIAL STUDY

Variable credit course.

4994: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH

Variable credit course.

Please see the Graduate Catalog for graduate course listings.

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Virginia Tech -- Undergraduate Catalog, 2002-2004
Last update: August 2002

URL: http://www.vt.edu/academics/ugcat/ucdAOE.html