Bachelor of Science [B.Sc] Aerospace Engineering

at Khalifa University

To be recommended for graduation with a BSc in Aerospace Engineering, students must satisfactorily complete the courses in the specified curriculum categories. These categories cover the University General Education Requirements (GER, 47 credits), College of Engineering Requirements (CER, 22 credits), as well as the Aerospace Engineering Core and Technical Electives requirements. The length of the program is 140 credits.
 

Additional Math/Sciences Requirements (12 credits)
 

To satisfy the College of Engineering requirements, the BSc in Aerospace Engineering curriculum requires the following four Math courses in addition to the Math/Sciences required in GER: CHEM115, PHYS121, PHYS122, MATH111, and MATH112.
 

Aerospace Engineering Major Requirements (65 credits)

Aerospace Engineering Technical Elective Courses (6 credits)
 

The following is a sample list of courses that will satisfy the technical electives in the Aerospace Engineering program. The student must select a total of six credits from this list. At most three credits of the technical electives may be at 300-level and at most three credits may be independent study. In addition, courses from the list below may be taken to satisfy the free electives requirement. Additional courses may be approved by the department as technical electives.
 

Free Electives (3 credits)

Students must complete 3 credits of free electives which are intended to provide students with flexibility to support their career paths and individual interests.
 

AERO 200                            Statics (3-0-3)

*(Cross listed with CIVE 200; MEEN 200)

Prerequisite:      PHYS 121

A vector treatment of force systems and their resultants: equilibrium of trusses, beams, frames, and machines, including internal forces and three-dimensional configurations, static friction, properties of areas, and distributed loads and hydrostatics.

AERO 201                            Engineering Dynamics (3-0-3)

*(Cross listed with CIVE 201; MEEN 201)

Prerequisite:      AERO 200

Co-requisites:    MATH 204; MATH 206

This course introduces rectilinear and curvilinear motion of particles and rigid bodies, kinematics and kinetics of particles and rigid bodies, rotational and translational motion of rigid bodies, principle of work and energy, and principle of impulse and momentum in particles and rigid body dynamics.

AERO 215                           Introduction to Aerospace Engineering (2-3-3)

Prerequisite:      ENGR 111

Co-requisite:      AERO 200

Introduction to the field of aerospace engineering, basic aerospace systems and disciplines, and a working vocabulary of the field; demonstration of conceptual design through examples.

AERO 225                            Mechanics of Solids (3-3-4)

*(Cross listed with MEEN 325 and CIVE 225)

Prerequisite:      AERO 200

The course is an introduction to the mechanics of deformable solids applied to basic engineering structures. It covers the concepts of stress and strain at a point; deformation of axial members; symmetric and unsymmetric bending of elastic and elastic-perfectly plastic beams; torsion of open and closed section; beam deflection; stress and strain transformations, and elastic buckling of columns.

AERO 240                            Thermodynamics (3-2-4)

Prerequisite:      PHYS 121, CHEM 115

Introduction to the concept of energy and the laws governing the transfers and transformations of energy. Emphasis on thermodynamic properties of pure substance, the first law analysis of closed and open systems, the concept of entropy, and the second law of thermodynamics. Integration of these concepts into the analysis of basic power and refrigeration cycles.

AERO 320                            Aerospace Materials (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      PHYS 121

Materials (metals, alloys, polymers) in engineering service; relationship of inter-atomic bonding, crystal structure and defect structure (vacancies, dislocations) to material properties; polymers, ceramics, composites, phase diagrams and alloys; microstructure control (heat treatment) and mechanical properties; material failure; corrosion.

AERO 321                            Aerospace Structures (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 225

Basic concept of the design/failure criteria for aerospace structures, advanced strength of materials analysis of elastic structures, materials selection, structural assemblies, vibration and bending of plates and beams and analysis of aircraft skin structures.

AERO 335                            Aerodynamics I (3-3-4)

Prerequisites:    MATH 231; AERO 215   

Introduction to aerodynamics; conservation equations (integral and differential forms) for mass, momentum, and energy; potential flow; irrotational versus rotational flow; airfoil and wing analysis; boundary layers on plates and airfoils.

AERO 336                            Aerodynamics II (3-0-3)

Prerequisites:    AERO 240; AERO 335

Introduction to compressible flows. Compressibility effects on airfoil and wing aerodynamics. Normal Shock Waves. Oblique Shock and Expansion Waves. Compressible Flow through Nozzles, Diffusers, and Wind Tunnels. Subsonic Compressible Flow over Airfoils: Linear Theory, Linearized Supersonic Flow. Elements of Hypersonic Flow.

AERO 350                            Dynamic Systems and Control (3-3-4)

Prerequisites:    MATH 204; MATH 206; AERO 201, PHYS 122

Mathematical modeling of mechanical, electrical, and non-engineering systems; basic concepts in dynamic systems analysis – equilibrium, stability, linearization; mechanical vibrations: free and forced vibration of single degree of freedom systems, transient and steady state response, resonance, free vibration of two degree of freedom systems; control systems: basics of feedback control, transfer functions and block diagrams, design specifications based on step response, PID control, employing Matlab in modeling and response analysis of dynamical systems, applications.

AERO 391                            Independent Study I (Variable course credits from 1 to 3)

Prerequisite:      Approval of department and junior standing

This course gives an upper level undergraduate student the opportunity to participate in an individual or group project, study, or research activity under the supervision of a faculty member.  A formal report is required.

AERO 395                            Special Topics in Aerospace Engineering  (1 to 3 credits)

Prerequisite:      Topic specific

This course mainly deals with new trends in Aerospace Engineering and emerging technologies. Course is repeatable if title and content differ.

AERO 401                            UAV Modeling and Control (3-0-3)

Prerequisites:    MEEN 300 or (AERO/MEEN 201 & AERO 350/MEEN 356)

The course covers the theory and practice of the modeling and control of UAV systems. The key topics of this course include: the first-principles modeling and simulation of fixed-wing and rotorcraft UAVs, flight dynamics modeling via system identification, on-board flight control system design, and control performance tuning of the auto-pilot system. 

AERO 402                            UAV Sensing (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      ECCE 300 or (ECCE 302 & (ECCE 356 or ECCE 370))

Note:    Students can take ECCE 356 or ECCE 370 as a co-requisite instead of prerequisite.

The course contains the following topics: Inertial Sensor Based Navigation, Satellite Positioning (GPS, GLONASS) Based Navigation, Computer Vision, Image Processing, Object Matching, Object Localization and Image Based Tracking Lidar and Radar based 3D Mapping and Sensing.

AERO 403                            UAV Navigation (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 401; AERO 402

In this course, students will study navigation systems for UAVs including: Trajectory Planning, Path Planning and Obstacle Avoidance (classical and reactive paradigms), Localization and Mapping, SLAM, Visual SLAM.

AERO 404                            UAV Systems (2-3-3)

Prerequisites:    AERO 401, AERO 402

Co-requisite:      AERO 403

This is a practical course where the students will design, construct, and test their own UAV systems. The key topics of this course include: platform design and construction, actuator and propulsion system design, sensing system design (based on inertial sensors, positioning system, vision, and etc.), auto-pilot system design and performance tuning, ground control station development (data links, protocols, security, and etc.), and UAV operation and interfacing.

AERO 415                            Aerospace Materials Manufacturing (3-0-3)

Prerequisites:    AERO 225; AERO 220

Aerospace materials and manufacturing; properties and processing of polymers, composites and metal alloys. Analysis of selected manufacturing processes including injection molding, extrusion, liquid composites molding, autoclave, out of autoclave, and metal manufacturing processes. Discussions will be presented on important material properties that influence different manufacturing processes.

AERO 426                            Composite Materials Design – TE (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 225/ MEEN 325/ CIVE 225

Overview of the reinforcements of composites, typical mechanical behavior of constituents and their properties, overview of manufacturing processes of composites, constitutive equation of linear elastic orthotropic materials, macro-mechanics of lamina, micro-mechanics of lamina, design principles of laminates, linear elastic analysis of composite beams, plates and stiffened panels, failure theories and strength analysis of a lamina.

AERO 430                            Intermediate Aerodynamics (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 336

Fundamentals of the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics applied to aerodynamic systems and control volumes. Applications of gas dynamics to incompressible and compressible flows through nozzles, diffusers, and airfoils. Isentropic flows to include Prandtl-Meyer expansions, and non-isentropic flows to include normal and oblique shocks, and flows with simple friction and heat transfer.

AERO 431                            Viscous Flows (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 336

Viscous incompressible fluid flows. Topics include derivation of equations governing viscous compressible fluid motion; specializations to simple flows; boundary-layer theory; similarity solutions; introduction to turbulence and Reynolds stresses.

AERO 433                            Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics (2-3-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO/MEEN 335

The course provides the students with an introduction to the methods and analysis techniques used in computational solutions of fluid mechanics and aerodynamics problems. Model problems are used to study the interaction of physical processes and numerical techniques via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. The student will use the CFD techniques to solve some real world problems.

AERO 435                            Rotorcraft Aerodynamics and Performance (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 335

Rotorcraft history and fundamentals. Momentum theory: hover, axial climb and descent, autorotation, forward flight, momentum theory for coaxial and tandem rotors. Blade element analysis. Rotor airfoil aerodynamics. Rotor blade dynamics and trim. Helicopter performance, height-velocity curves, conceptual design. High-speed rotorcraft.

AERO 440                            Aerospace Propulsion (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 336

The mechanics and thermodynamics of aerospace propulsion systems including cycle analysis. Component analysis and operating principles of turbojet, turbofan, and other variations of air breathing aircraft propulsion units. Introduction to the operating principles of rocket and space propulsion units.

AERO 441                            Introduction to Combustion (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO/MEEN 240

Introduction to fuel types and classification, gas phase mixtures, combustion process and combustion thermodynamics. Emphasis on chemical equilibrium, chemical kinetics, and modeling of reacting fluid mechanical systems. Integration of these tools into the understanding and analyzing detonation phenomenon and laminar premixed and non-premixed flames.

AERO 450                            Flight Dynamics and Stability (3-0-3)

Prerequisites:    AERO 335; AERO 350

Introduction and nomenclature, forces and moments acting on an aircraft during flight (straight and maneuver), inertial and non-inertial coordinate systems, longitudinal static stability, static margin, and trim settings, lateral static stability, directional static stability, derivation and linearization of the equations of motion of rigid aircraft in six degrees of freedom equations of motion solution, longitudinal and lateral-directional flight dynamics modes, dynamic stability, flying/handling qualities, aircraft response to different inputs, feedback control, and stability augmentation.

AERO 461                            Aviation Management and Airworthiness – TE (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      Senior standing

Product development, quality assurance, quality control and quality management, different organizational structures, strategic organizational analysis and design models. Airworthiness and certification, airworthiness regulations (FAR, JAR and EASA), type certification processes (EASA and FAA), civil aviation authorities and their roles, airplane flight manual, system design and safety, aviation security, and future trends in the aviation industry.

AERO 465                            Space Dynamics and Control (2-3-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 350

Basic concepts of orbital mechanics with application to satellites: keplerian motion, orbital elements, orbital transfer and fundamentals of state space control. Basic concepts of spacecraft attitude dynamics: three-dimensional rigid-body kinematics, stability and dynamics of symmetric and tri-inertial bodies, disturbance effects and attitude determination and control.

AERO 470                            Aircraft Design Laboratory (0-6-3)

Prerequisites:    AERO 225; AERO 335; AERO 350

Aircraft design principles blending synthesis, analysis and test. The iterative nature of the design process. Elements of aircraft performance calculation and optimization. Extensive, design oriented laboratory experiments performed by student teams. Focus is on student design and realization of experimental procedure, instrumentation, and data acquisition and analysis, with extensive laboratory reports.

AERO 480                            Aerospace Vehicle Performance (3-0-3)

Co-requisite:      AERO 440

Morphology of aircraft and spacecraft. Performance analysis of fixed wing aircraft: drag estimation, propulsion, take-off, climb and landing, endurance, payload/range, maneuvers; operational economics. Performance analysis of rotor craft: rotor-blade motion, hovering and vertical ascent, forward flight, and autorotation. Rocket propulsion; escape velocity; orbital dynamics.

AERO 485                            Spacecraft Design (3-0-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 350

Types of spacecraft. Fundamentals of orbital mechanics. The design of spacecraft and spacecraft subsystems with emphasis on mission requirements and current design methods: spacecraft configuration, payload, structural, propulsion, attitude control, thermal, power, communication and other related subsystems. Spacecraft integration and testing.

AERO 491                            Independent Study II (Variable course credits from 1 to 3)

Prerequisite:      Approval of department and senior standing

This course gives an upper level undergraduate student the opportunity to participate in an individual or group project, study, or research activity under the supervision of a faculty member.  A formal report is required. 

AERO 495                            Special Topics in Aerospace Engineering

Prerequisite:      Topic specific

This course mainly deals with new trends in Aerospace Engineering and emerging technologies. Course is repeatable if title and content differ.

AERO 497                            Senior Design Project I (1-6-3)

Prerequisite:      Senior Standing and approval of department

Participation in team projects dealing with design and development of a product or a system, in accordance with project-specific objectives and constraints. Number of projects will be offered by the different engineering departments, some of which will be multi-disciplinary in nature. This will provide an opportunity to exercise initiative, engineering judgment, self-reliance and creativity, in a team environment similar to the industry environment. The design projects require students to use engineering standards in their design process, developing suitable criteria for selection based on their acquired engineering skills, experience, and other pertinent resources. Oral and written presentations are required.

AERO 498                            Senior Design Project II (0-9-3)

Prerequisite:      AERO 497

Continuation of AERO 497

Undergraduate admission to Khalifa University is highly competitive. In order to be considered for admissions, students must meet the following minimum criteria:
 

• Applicant should have graduated from high school no later than two years prior to the current year.

• Minimum score of achievement in each of the following EmSAT subjects: Math 1000, Physics 800, Arabic 700, and English 1250 to be conditionally accepted into the Foundation program.

• Or, minimum score of achievement in each of the following EmSAT subjects: Math 1250, Physics 800, Arabic 700, and English 1400 to be fully accepted into freshman year
   

International Students:
 

Students who have completed their High school outside the UAE must provide one of the following certificates to be considered for admission:
 

• SAT Math score 700 and above

• AP Math score 3 and above

• A Level Math score C and above.

The cost of studying at Khalifa University varies largely depending on the type of university and the degree chosen. More often than not, humanities, arts, and education courses are less expensive than degrees in medical, engineering, or management. Furthermore, students who choose to study at the postgraduate level typically pay higher tuition fees, which again vary depending on the programme chosen.

Most universities provide scholarships or financial aid to students in order to help them offset their tuition costs. Students should be aware that additional course fees and incidental expenses may not be included in tuition. On average, international students can expect to pay AED114,765 annually, to study in Khalifa University.

Our program graduated Aerospace Engineers who are working in one of the following fields:
 

• Aviation Industries

• Air Carriers

• Space Industries

• Defense and Security Sectors

• Research Centers
   

  The intent of our program is to prepare our graduates to work and learn in a professional environment as:
   

• Systems Engineering

• Robotics Software

• Testing

• Design and Innovation

• Computational Analysis

• Project Management

• Research and Development