W. C. SOLOMON, Head
306 Talbot Laboratory, 104 S. Wright St.,
Urbana, IL 61801 · 217-333-2651
Aerospace engineering requires broadly based engineering resources and technology integration with missions covering commercial aviation, space flight, and national defense. Accordingly, research activities in the Department of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering encompass a wide range of problem areas in aerospace engineering and related engineering disciplines. Our research program aims at maintaining a forefront position in the rapidly changing environment of aerospace technology and producing future aerospace engineers with a sound foundation and creative professional attitude.
Presently active research programs include diversified and multidisciplinary topics in rarefied gas dynamics, computational fluid dynamics, applied aerodynamics, structural dynamics, aeroelasticity, stochastic dynamics, combustion and chemical propulsion, electric propulsion, chemical lasers, optimal orbit analysis, guidance and control, space mechanics, composites, and solar and wind energy. The department promotes a strong interaction with aerospace industries and government agencies which sponsor many of our research projects. The department also maintains a close cooperation in research and education with other departments and research laboratories in the college.
Supercomputer access, departmental workstations, and high-speed networking provide us with new opportunities for computational research activities in various areas including fluid dynamics, structural analyses, performance simulation, space mission control, and optimization of high-energy lasers. Computational Fluid Dynamics Laboratories conduct research in large-scale simulations and technology developments for the solutions of flow phenomena involving aerospace configurations. Dynamics and control of aerospace vehicles are conducted in a separate laboratory. The Aerothermal Simulations Laboratory focuses on fluid dynamic interactions in chemical and nonchemical rocket propulsion chambers. There are also four new thrusts: development of new concepts in nonlinear dynamics; advanced aerospace composites research; experimental aerodynamics for advanced aircraft configurations in our new low-turbulence wind tunnel; and computational aerodynamics and solid mechanics.