Introduction to Engineering is a project-based learning experience for engineering students, who are tasked with designing a hypersonic trans-atmospheric vehicle. This experience guides students through the same process that a team of engineers would follow by breaking a large design problem into smaller, more tractable subproblems.
To help students understand the challenge they confront, a statement of work (SOW) specifies the requirements of a test vehicle they must design, build, demonstrate, and deliver, including vehicle performance capabilities and physical characteristics.
After flying to the edge of space, the hypersonic trans-atmospheric vehicle slows down and glides back for a horizontal landing on the earth. Students study this second phase of the mission, learning about glider aerodynamics and performance, as well as the shaping required for hypersonic vehicles. Once more, they design, build, and launch a test vehicle. Test vehicles and the final concept demonstrator are subscale, model-rocket-sized vehicles, but they demonstrate the basic physics, techniques, and technologies required to design full-scale vehicles.
Electronic course materials accompany the text and include narrated slideshows, handouts, spreadsheets, and videos that allow students to deepen their understanding of engineering concepts and provide them with the examples and tools needed to build their test vehicles. Students will develop knowledge of aerospace, mechanical, environmental, and electrical engineering as they work to ensure that test vehicles are strong, functional, safe, and environmentally friendly.
By the end of this project-based learning experience, students will grasp the fundamental tenets of creative problem solving and discover the fascinating, challenging, and motivating world of engineering.
Table of Contents
Preface: How To Use This Book
Introduction to Engineering
The Engineering Method
Engineering and Teamwork
Engineering Fundamentals
Ballistic Motion
Rocket Propulsion
Rocket Aerodynamics and Stability
Rocket Design, Build, and Launch
Green Engineering, Sustainability, and Engineering Ethics
Aerodynamics and Glide Performance
Aircraft Stability and Control
Supersonic and Hypersonic Design Considerations
Glider Build and Launch
Boost Glider Structures
Boost Glider Mechanisms
Boost Glider Build and Launch
Digital Logic
Closing Thoughts
MARTIQUA L. POST, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Aeronautics at the United States Air Force Academy. She is an engineer, has over 13 years of teaching experience, has a private pilot's license, is an Associate Fellow of AIAA, and currently serves half-time at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Martiqua earned a Ph.D. in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.
STEVEN A. BRANDT, Ph.D., Lt. Col. USAF (Ret.), is Professor of Aeronautics at the United States Air Force Academy. He is an engineer and a pilot with over 3000 hours flying time in jet fighter and training aircraft, and over 30 years experience as a platform instructor. He is the author of the textbook Introduction to Aeronautics, and has taught university-level aircraft design for 26 years.
D. NEAL BARLOW, Ph.D., Brig. Gen. USAF (Ret.), served as Permanent Professor and Head of the United States Air Force Academy Department of Aeronautics from 2000 to 2015. He is a pilot with over 4000 hours flying time in jet fighter and training aircraft, and over 25 years experience as a platform instructor. He is Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Arkansas Tech University.
