Structures, Mechanics & Materials Curriculum at ASEN / CU Boulder

Carlos Felippa & Kurt MauteCenter for Aerospace StructuresDept of Aerospace Engineering Sciencescarlos.felippa@colorado.edumaute@colorado.edu

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ASEN Faculty and Students

• Tenured Track Faculty (30)• Instructors (5)• Professional Research Staff (10)• Undergraduates (~400)

Bachelor of Science (4 years)

• Graduate Students (~200)

Master of Science (2 yrs)Doctor of Philosophy (4-6 yrs)

6 faculty in Structures & Materials →

3 Full, 1 Associated, & 2 Assistant Professors

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AES Curriculum 2000

• Designed 1994-1996 by faculty, with significant industry input• Development supported by CCHE grant and Lockheed-Martin

endowments• Implemented: Sophomore 1997-98, Junior 1998-99, Senior 1999-00• First graduates: May 2000• Incorporated innovative elements

Broad exposure to Aerospace at Sophomore levelMore theoretical fundamentals at Junior levelWide spectrum of capstone Senior ProjectsStrong hands-on content Sophomore through Senior

• Guiding Principles on next slide

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AES Curriculum 2000: Guiding Principles

• Hands-on laboratories and design exercises combined with fundamentals

• Adoption of Active Learning Method

• Knowledge integrative Senior Projects

• AES 2000 Chart on next slide

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AES Curriculum 2000 Chart

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Structures, Mechanics & Materials Curriculum

• Freshmen• Physics, Calculus, Programming (common year)

• Sophomore• ASEN 2001* Statics, Structures & Materials• ASEN 2003* Dynamics and Systems• ASEN 2004* Aerospace Vehicle Design and Performance

• Junior• ASEN 3112* Aerospace Structures

• Senior• ASEN 4012* Aerospace Materials• ASEN 4018/28 Senior Design

• Electives• Vibrations, Composites, FEM, Comp. Methods, Design Optimization

* Courses in red are taught yearly by AES-SMM Faculty

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ASEN 2001: Statics, Structures & Materials

• Format• 5 credit hours, 2 instructors• 2 x 75’ lectures /week - 13 weeks• 2 x 120’ labs/week - 12 weeks

• Content• Statics• Stress – Strains, Failure• Trusses, Beams (statically determinate)

• Assessment• 4 Midterms, 1 Final, Homework, • Lab reports, presentations, peer evaluation

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Statics, Structures & Materials (cont’d)

• Truss Lab

• Design 3-D Truss Structure for given Performance Metricsand Failure Criterion (joint strength)

• Develop MATLAB code for 3-D Truss

• Design and Analyze Truss Structure

• Analyze Sensitivity to Uncertainty (geometry, joint strength, …)

• Build and Test Truss Structure

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Statics, Structures & Materials

• Stress Lab

• Observe and model the failure of samples accounting for material

properties (ductile/brittle) and geometry (dog-bone, punched plate)

• Perform tensile test for different specimen

• Analyze statistics of test results

• Use FEM toolbox to compute and visualize stress in samples

• Develop MATLAB routine to compute failure criteria

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Statics, Structures & Materials (Cont’d)

• Composite Wing Lab

• Design and Test Composite Wing under simplified Aerodynamic Loading

• Evaluate Strength of Balsa-Foam-Core Beam via 4-point Bending Test

• Find Optimum Plan-form of Wing for given Pressure Distribution

• Design and Perform Wiffle Tree Test to Failure

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ASEN 3112: Structures• Format

• 4 credit hours, 1 or 2 instructors• 2 x 75’ lectures /week - 13 weeks• 1 x 120’ labs/week - 12 weeks

• Content• Stresses, strains, material properties • Torsion, beams (statically indeterminate)• Intro to FEM• Column buckling• Intro to dynamics and vibrations

• Assessment• 4 Midterms, 1 Final, Homework, Lab reports

• No textbooks, all course material now online ->

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Structures (cont’d)

• 16-Bay Truss Lab (2 weeks)• Combined experimental & computer simulation• Measure deflections, internal forces & reactions• Compare against results from ANSYS finite element code• Students learn ANSYS hands-on in ~1 hour with tutorial

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Senior Projects

• Two semester Senior Projects course concludes the BS program

• Synthesis and application of the basic science, mathematics, engineering theory, and design taught in the sophomore, junior, and senior years.

• Design, fabrication & testing of a complex component or system

• Introduction to project management.

• Example: MACH-SR1

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Ten Years After ...

• Highly positive feedback from students & employers• Rated #1 UG program on the Boulder campus in 2008 by administration• Very demanding for instructors (especially contact time) and students,

as well as of departmental resources

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Where Do They Go?

• 5-year retention: 60 to 65%• Paths taken by our AES-BS graduates

about 20% continue for BS/MS (1 extra year)about 10% go to graduate school (at CU or elsewhere)about 70% go to industry

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AES Graduate Program Snapshot

• Recently rated #4 nationwide by NRC in 2010; was #13 in 1995• 180 enrolled students (AY 10-11)• Four Focus Areas (current->projected student population % in red)

Aerospace Systems (Structures, Fluids, Control) 40->44%Astrodynamics & Satellite Navigation 30->32%Bioastronautics 10->12%Remote Sensing (includes GPS) 20->12 %