Educational Activities 2021-2022
AER304: Aerospace Laboratory II
Winter term; UTIAS Advanced Aerospace Structures Lab, lab times scheduled per team
AER 304 provides students with the opportunity to perform two experiments related to solid and structural mechanics using modern equipment and techniques. The goal is to illustrate the behaviour of common materials and structural configurations found in aerospace applications. Teams of four students will each perform two experiments and write laboratory reports summarising their results and analayis.
AER373: Solid and Structural Mechanics
Winter term, Tuesday 9:00 - 11:00 BA 2024; Thursday 12:00 - 2:00 WB 219
AER 373 is focused on providing students with the fundamental tools necessary for the analysis of stress and strain in aerospace structures. Generalized approaches to both stress and strain are developed within a framework of Cartesian tensors. The physical balance laws which ensure the conservation of important physical quantities such as energy, momentum and mass are examined, and their relationship to structural problems discussed. The derivation of the linear elastic constitutive material model will be presented and used to solve structural problems, typically through potential methods. The importance of energy approaches to problems in solid mechanics as the basis for finite element calculations will be emphasised and contrasted with classical elastic methods. Variational calculus will be introduced for this purpose. Finally, a brief overview of a non-linear constitutive law, Hill's theory of plasticity, will conclude the course material.
AER1403: Advanced Aerospace Structures
Fall term, Wednesday 9:00 - 12:00 Online
This course will provide instruction in three areas crucial to aerospace structural design: thin walled structures, fibre composite materials, and finite element methods. All three will be taught in a manner such that their interrelation is made clear. The course will begin with theories for the analysis and design of laminated composites. The connection with thin-walled structures will then be elucidated. Finally, finite element methods of use in modelling thin walled structures and composites will be described. No specific background in any of these three topics is required, but a good knowledge of solid and structural mechanics will be assumed. This course requires programming in MATLAB or another scientific language. Some skill in this area, or a willingness to learn quickly, is essential.
AER1410: Topology Optimization
Winter term, Tuesday 2:00 - 5:00 UTIAS Lecture Theatre
Topology optimization is a relatively new method for the computational design of structures that enables optimal structural design beyond traditional size and shape optimization. Specifically, topology optimization identifies where to put material and where to put holes within the design domain. This course will examine the background to topology optimization, the theory and algorithms necessary to build a topology optimization code, and the two main approaches to topology optimization. At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to program a basic topology optimization code and use a common commercial software package.
AER1604: Air Accident Investigation
Winter term, Tuesday 5:00 - 8:00 UTIAS Lecture Theatre
This course will provide students with an introduction to the methods, processes and technologies of air accident investigation: what happens after there is an incident or accident involving airplanes in Canada. The course will begin by explaining what happens at the site of an air accident, and will then provide a concrete demonstration by creating a mock air accident using real aircraft wreckage. Students will use their observations of the accident site and other information that they acquire or derive to understand and report on what has occurred. The course will take students through the full investigative process and culminate in the production of an accident report using the techniques and information they have been given during the course. This course is instructd by Mr Ewan Tasker, a highly experienced air accident investigator. Warning: Air accidents are inherently dangerous events, and students will be exposed to information, images and material associated with injury or death.