Turbomachinery Lab for Aerospace Engineers

This proposal will support development of a CI-M lab course for juniors in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AeroAstro). The course will address workforce development needs expressed by our industry partners and also demands from Course XVI undergraduates for more hands-on educational activities. The course will comprise 3x 3-week labs and a final design project where students will integrate and apply their learnings from the labs. The initial emphasis will be on turbomachinery, with each lab module investigating the underlying physics of a different machine element (impeller, combustor, turbine, bearings). The labs will be supplemented by lectures on core engineering concepts (e.g., heat transfer, manufacturing, machine design, etc.) and analysis tools (e.g., experimental design, measurement theory, data reduction and analysis). We have already started to develop the lab modules through for-credit IAP courses which have received overwhelmingly positive student feedback. This proposed course will continue the legacy of educational excellence in Course XVI, equipping our alumni with the technical and communication skills that they need to be leaders in the 21st aerospace industry.