Aerospace Engineering

7 Key excerpts on "Aerospace Engineering"

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  eBook - ePub

  The Handy Engineering Answer Book

  • DeLean Tolbert Smith, Aishwary Pawar, Nicole P. Pitterson, Debra-Ann C. Butler(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Visible Ink Press

    (Publisher)

  Aerospace Engineering

  What is Aerospace Engineering?

  Aerospace Engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the design, development, testing, and production of aircraft, spacecraft, and related systems and equipment. Aerospace engineers design primarily aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. In addition, they test prototypes to make sure that they function according to the design of aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, and other airborne objects. Creating prototypes of these designs and testing them is also a primary responsibility of an aerospace engineer. But aerospace engineers also evaluate designs to see that the products meet engineering principles. Simply put, Aerospace Engineering is the process of designing, developing, testing, manufacturing, and producing anything that flies.

  What are the different branches of Aerospace Engineering?

  Aerospace Engineering has four main branches. This chapter will answer many questions related to the design of flight vehicles. This requires knowledge from many engineering disciplines, and some individuals and companies specialize in addressing these complex design challenges.

  •Aeronautical engineering involves the science and technology of aircraft design and propulsion systems inside of Earth’s atmosphere. In recent times, aeronautical engineers have commonly worked on military, commercial, and passenger jets; helicopters; and drones. In this field, an engineer can plan, design, and conduct wind tunnel tests for various aircraft models or different aircraft components, design and analyze airplane wing structures, and design and test jet engines. Aeronautical engineers use theory and technology and understand the fundamentals of flight to study the aerodynamic performance of materials.

  •Astronautical engineering involves work with science and technology on aircraft or spacecraft that operate outside of Earth’s atmosphere. This requires knowledge of space and the complexities of operating technology in space. Often known as “rocket science,” in this field, an engineer can design and test rocket engines; design, analyze, and optimize orbital trajectories (space routes); and develop control systems for rocket propulsion and space flight.

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  eBook - ePub

  The Aerospace Business

  Management and Technology

  • Wesley Spreen(Author)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  8    

  Aerospace systems engineering and technology management

  Aerospace design is a synthesis of trade-offs among competing priorities: cost, weight, size, performance, safety, power, payload, range, radar signature, noise, reliability, and so on.

  Aerospace design engineers have state-of-the-art knowledge of the diverse technical specialties required to create the extraordinarily complex elements of a modern aircraft. There is no doubt that the industry has command of the technology. A separate question is how this technology is integrated and optimized into a product representing the best trade-offs among the infinite design alternatives, recognizing that each subsystem poses conflicts with every other subsystem, and that they all conflict with constraints of cost, risk, and schedule.

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  Introduction to Engineering Library

  • Paul H. Wright(Author)
  • 2012(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  2.8 INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING 31 2.9 Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Engineering is concerned with all aspects of vehicular flight at all speeds and altitudes. It covers all phases of research, design, and development in this broad area that includes hovercraft designed to operate a few feet above land and water, helicopters that hover and maneuver in all directions, a vari- ety of conventional airplanes, and complex spacecraft for orbiting the earth and exploring the solar system. The term aeronautical engineering is used to refer to the engineering of atmospheric flight, while astronautical engineering deals with space flight. Aerospace engineers commonly work in one of several specialty areas such as aerodynamics, structural design, propulsion systems, and guidance and control. Aerodynamics involves the efficient design of external surfaces of aerospace vehicles. Aerodynamics engineers supervise the performance of wind tunnel tests; measure and predict the forces of lift and drag; and develop and test the- ories of flight performance, stability, and control. In Aerospace Engineering, structural designers seek to design and build air- craft systems that can be operated economically. This usually translates into maximizing the vehicle strength-to-weight ratio. They also study the response of aircraft structures to mechanical vibrations and other dynamic forces and design structures capable of withstanding these forces. Aerospace engineers develop and refine propulsion systems for aircraft and spacecraft. The thrust for all of the many propulsion systems for aerospace craft is produced by accelerating a fluid rearward. In the case of the turbojet, burning fuel produces hot gas that is expanded further by a jet nozzle, provid- ing the thrust. In other systems such as helicopters and small, low-speed air- craft, the propulsion is provided by a propeller driven by an engine that develops its power by compressing, burning, and expanding its fuel.

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  Occupational Outlook Handbook 2014-2015

  • (Author)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Skyhorse

    (Publisher)

  Aeronautical engineers work with aircraft. They are involved primarily in designing aircraft and propulsion systems and in studying the aerodynamic performance of aircraft and construction materials. They work with the theory, technology, and practice of flight within the earth’s atmosphere.

  Astronautical engineers work with the science and technology of spacecraft and how they perform inside and outside the earth’s atmosphere.

  Aeronautical and astronautical engineers face different environmental and operational issues in designing aircraft and spacecraft. However, the two fields overlap a great deal because they both depend on the basic principles of physics.

  Work Environment

  Aerospace engineers held about 83,000 jobs in 2012. They are employed in industries where workers design or build aircraft, missiles, systems for national defense, or spacecraft. Aerospace engineers work primarily for firms that engage in analysis and design, manufacturing, research and development, and for the federal government.

  The industries that employed the most aerospace engineers in 2012 were as follows:

  Aerospace product and parts manufacturing	38%
  Scientific research and development services	16
  Architectural, engineering, and related services	12
  Federal government	12
  Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments manufacturing	6

  Aerospace engineers now spend more of their time in an office environment than they have in the past, because modern aircraft design requires the use of sophisticated computer equipment and software design tools, modeling, and simulations for tests, evaluation, and training.

  Aerospace engineers work with other professionals involved in designing and building aircraft, spacecraft, and their components. Therefore, they must be able to communicate well, divide work into manageable tasks, and work with others toward a common goal.

  Work Schedules

  Aerospace engineers typically work full time. Engineers who direct projects must often work extra hours to monitor progress, to ensure that the design meets requirements, to determine how to measure aircraft performance, to see that production meets design standards, and to ensure that deadlines are met.

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  eBook - PDF

  Engineering Your Future

  An Australasian Guide

  • David Dowling, Roger Hadgraft, Anna Carew, Tim McCarthy, Doug Hargreaves, Caroline Baillie(Authors)
  • 2019(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  They are also responsible for planning aircraft safety and maintenance programs and might develop space and aircraft automatic control and communication systems. The Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority employs aeronautical engineers whose main task is to ensure that aircraft are airworthy. This covers the certification of aircraft and involves the assessment of manufacturers’ data from within Australia and overseas. In this role, they may have to assess mechanical systems, flight characteristics and aircraft performance. This is usually done through test flights, measuring take-off distances, rate of climb, stall speeds, manoeuvrability and landing capacities, and then comparing results with safety standards. Another specialist role that some aerospace engineers carry out is investigating irregularities in the performance of air system components, faulty engines or failures in safety or communications procedures that affect, or have the potential to affect, the safety of air travel, air travellers or aircraft operators (Engineers Australia 2014). SPOTLIGHT Aerospace Engineering and the drone wars Stephen Bornstein, Engineers Australia 2017 Young Professional Engineer of the Year for Queensland, was a capability projects engineer at Airbus Group and founder of Cyborg Dynamics Engineering. His blend of engineering expertise and two years as an Army Reserve Platoon Commander meant Stephen was primed for a role in a project to design the next generation of army drones. Stephen’s contribution to Australia’s defence capability comes from a sustained commitment to tinkering, innovating and challenging himself; all hallmarks of an engineering mindset. Hav- ing developed a passion for engineering as a Lego- mad three-year-old, Stephen graduated with a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Monash University before joining the multinational defence company, BAE Systems where he worked on the Nulka Active Missile Pdf_Folio:11 CHAPTER 1 What is engineering? 11

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  eBook - ePub

  Industrial Engineering in Systems Design

  Guidelines, Practical Examples, Tools, and Techniques

  • Brian Peacock, Adedeji B. Badiru(Authors)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  7 Industrial Engineering in Aerospace Systems Design

  DOI: 10.1201/9781003328445-7

  Introduction

  Industrial engineering (IE) interest in aerospace has been growing rapidly in recent years. The emergence of renewed focus on space-related research, exploration, and development has created new opportunities for IE and its sub-fields, particularly the field of human factors (Peacock, 2019 , 2020 , 2021 ). This chapter focuses specifically on human factors in aerospace, as a core part of the theme of this book, entitled Industrial Engineering in Systems Design. This development is conveyed through Badiru (2022) , which is echoed below.

  As a professional organization, industrial engineers often wonder what is needed to continue to make the profession of IE relevant in a fast-changing world. Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin said it aptly, “We explore, or we expire”. Space exploration and industrialization offer one way of preempting human expiration. IEs can place a role in this regard. The rapid emergence of private space flights will expedite the creation and dissemination of new engineering and technology products that may very well help. Looking back on history, IE has contributed to the development, advancement, and sustainment of industries. Practical case examples of the diverse applicability of IE can still be seen in the auto and aerospace industries. The official definition of IE says it befittingly.

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  The Structure and Performance of the Aerospace Industry

  • Herman O. Stekler(Author)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • University of California Press

    (Publisher)

  2. DEFINITION AND IMPORTANCE OF THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY D E F I N I T I O N Before we evaluate the aerospace industry it is important to define its proper bounds. According to one definition the industry engages in "the research, development and production of manned and unmanned vehicles and supporting equipment for movement above the earth's surface." 1 According to another, the "aerospace industry encompasses all companies or activities from business fly- ing to air transport to military aircraft to space craft." 2 The former definition is too narrow, because it lacks several products that should be included. The latter definition is too broad because the transport companies logically should not be included in the indus- try. Since government data must be used, it is logical to examine the government agencies' official definitions of the industry. The Cen- sus Bureau regularly reports on the aerospace industry; in addition the reports of two other agencies regularly refer to it. The title of the Census Bureau's quarterly report, "Backlog of Orders for Aero- space Companies," 3 was adopted in 1961 when the scope of the 1 Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Aerospace in the Sixties and Beyond (1961), p. 2. The term "aerospace" was defined by the Aerospace Industries Associa- tion to mean "an operationally indivisible medium consisting of the total expanse beyond the earth's surface." 2 Letter from Charles C. Gerusa, Promotion and Marketing Manager of Aviation Week and Space Technology (McGraw-Hill), dated August 1, 1962. 3 U.S., Bureau of the Census, Backlog of Orders for Aerospace Companies, Current Industrial Report Series M37D, April 25, 1963. These reports present data on the sales, new orders, and backlogs of these companies. 25 26 DEFINITION AND IMPORTANCE survey was enlarged in recognition of the expansion of the industry into missile and space projects.

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