Aerospace Engineering
I applied for a postgraduate programme in the aerospace department to broaden my scientific skills and also to specialise in composite materials development and application.
Mary
The University of Bristol benefits from the concentration of aerospace industry in the south-west of England and a key feature of the Department's research is its close links with the industry - including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, AgustaWestland, BAE Systems and others further afield. The Department has also seen burgeoning links with the renewable energy industry.
Some of these research links have led to the establishment of formal technology partnerships, namely the Rolls-Royce University Technology Centre in Composites, the AgustaWestland Helicopters University Technology Centre in Vibration, and a composites technology partnership with Vestas Wind Systems. The result of this close relationship with industry, associated with substantial research funding from other UK and EU sources, is that the Department's research is industrially relevant and at the leading edge of the aerospace sector as reflected by the high proportion of research found to be internationally excellent and world-leading in the 2008 UK Government Research Assessment Exercise.
The Department holds over £15 million worth of research contracts in the fields of aerodynamics and fluid dynamics, dynamics and systems and composite materials and structures. The latter leads the University's Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS) cross-faculty research theme, which has recently been awarded £7.1 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for a Doctoral Training Centre (DTC) in Advanced Composites. The ACCIS DTC programme aims to train highly technical researchers to satisfy industry needs, reflected in the industrial support for 50% of the projects, and also to develop next generation multifunctional composite materials.
As well as the contracted research, the Department also undertakes a large amount of consultancy work and general research. The more fundamental research is supported from internal funds. This uninhibited approach to research ideas encourages collaborative projects with other departments and research centres throughout the University.
An indication of our research esteem is the recent selection by UK Government for ACCIS to lead the establishment of the UK National Composites Centre. The NCC is a £25 million investment supported by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the South West RDA (Regional Development Agency). The Centre is a key element of the Government's new Composites Strategy, which will bring together dynamic companies and enterprising academics to develop new technologies for the design and rapid manufacture of high-quality composite products. The combination of academic and business strengths will speed progress from laboratory to design to factory and into products.
You may also be interested in our taught MSc in Integrated Aerospace Systems Design and our ACCIS DTC PhD.
Research Groups
The Department vigorously pursues its research interests in its three major academic groups, namely: Fluid Flow and Aerodynamics; Structures and Materials; Dynamics and Systems. This work is supported by 60 academic and research staff, approximately 80 postgraduates, plus a highly experienced technical team.
Some of our Staff in profile
Dr Giuliano Allegri, Prediction of damage onset and propogation
Professor Christian Allen, Numerical solutions of unsteady fluid flows.
Professor Ian Bond, Development and performance of novel composite materials.
Dr Stephen Burrow, Aircraft systems; electrical energy; low-power systems
Dr Alex Carrella, Rotary-wing structural dynamics and vibration
Dr Ian Farrow, Design of aerospace composite structures.
Dr Ann Gaitonde, Computational methods to calculate unsteady fluid flows.
Dr Stephen Hallett, Damage in composite materials.
Dr Dmitry Ivanov, Innovative approaches to composites manufacture and modelling
Dr Dorian Jones, Direct numerical simulation of incompressible turbulence; parallel processing and CFD for unsteady viscous flows.
Professor Nick Lieven, Structural dynamics; neural networks in vibration; laser vibrometry.
Dr Mark Lowenberg, Non-linear flight dynamics; application of bifurcation theory to aircraft stability analysis and controller design (fixed and rotary wing); real-time controlled dynamic wind tunnel testing.
Dr Hua-Xin Peng, Microstructurally inhomogenous composites; engineered cellular materials.
Professor Kevin Potter, Innovative approaches to composite materials, manufacture and structures.
Dr Sameer Rahatekar, Carbon nanotube and graphene-based nanocomposites, multiscale composites; cellulose and natural polymer-based composites; molecular-scale and continuum-scale modelling of composite manufacturing.
Dr Tom Rendall, CFD for moving objects; computational optimization of aerodynamic designs.
Dr Arthur Richards, Vehicle control and autonomy, robust predictive control, path planning.
Dr Tom Richardson, Control; classical flight control; high-level decision-making and autonomy.
Professor Fabrizio Scarpa, Auxetic materials, smart materials and structures, structural dynamics, morphing structures, multidomain design of components.
Dr Neil Taylor, Advanced rocket flow analysis; aeroelastics for CFD
Dr Raf Theunissen, Experimental aerodynamics and fluid dynamics; imagebased flow velocity measurements.
Dr Brano Titurus, Structural vibration, with focus on inverse problems; hydro-mechanical vibration contolling mechanisms.
Dr Richard Trask, Development of bio-inspired multifunctional materials.
Professor Paul Weaver, Composite structures; material performance; cellular structures.
Professor Michael Wisnom, Predicting the behaviour of composite structures and materials; application of finite element methods.
Key Facts
| Awards Available | MSc PhD |
|---|---|
| Research Assessment Score | Unit of Assessment 28b applies. See Complete RAE listings for University of Bristol for further details. |
| Duration of programme | MSc: one year full-time; two years part-time PhD: three years full-time; six years part-time |
| Entry requirements | An upper second-class honours degree (or international equivalent) in Science, Mathematics or Engineering. For information on international equivalent qualifications, please see our International Office website. |
| IELTS score | 6.5 overall with a minimum of 6.0 in the speaking and reading bands and a minimum of 6.5 in the writing and listening bands |
| Number of places | Not fixed |
| Fees | Full-time: UK/EU £3,828; overseas £14,900 Part-time: UK/EU £1,913; overseas n/a Fees quoted are per annum and are subject to annual increase. |
| Funding Options | International students can search for funding options on the International Office Website. Further information about funding for UK students is available from the Student Funding Office. |
| Admissions Statement | Admissions statement available in our A-Z of postgraduate admissions statements. |
| Application Deadline | Not fixed |
Contact Information
PhD in Aerospace Engineering
Graduate School of Engineering
Merchant Venturers Building
Woodland Road
Bristol BS8 1UB
Tel: +44 (0) 117 331 5953
Email: aero-pg-admissions@bristol.ac.uk
WWW: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/aerospace/