BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering with Composites
This fully accredited, and well respected, programme of study allows students to develop a firm foundation in the principles of Mechanical Engineering in a Composite Materials context. Our graduates have found employment in a diverse range of industries. That diversity is mirrored in the range of dissertation projects our students conduct, examples of which you will find here.
The projects currently being displayed are from our current academic year. To view other years
please select below.
Connor Pyke
Design Of A Manufacture Process and Feasibility Test For a Carbon Fibre Marine Propeller Blade
The aim of this project is to design and execute a manufacturing process for a
marine CFRP propeller blade. Research was first conducted into various composite
manufacturing techniques and it was concluded that Resin Infusion under Flexible
Tooling was the most appropriate option for this process. The blade was successfully
manufactured using this technique, although there were multiple limitations during
the process such as poor equipment and time constraints. These issues could be
resolved during the manufacturing process by using facilities that contain the
necessary equipment. After determining the manufacturing technique, the feasibility
of the blades performance was calculated by running an FEA simulation and
comparing the deflection of the fibre layup used to that of an Aluminium Bronze
blade. The results were then validated with hand calculations using Classical
Laminate Theory to analyse the material properties of the composite layup used. The
CFRP blade was found to have a flexural modulus of 20GPa with a deflection of
2.23e-1mm using the hand calculations. This differs from the FEA results which
gives a deflection of 7.34e-1mm. It has been concluded that this was due to
inaccuracies in the laminate analysis process when working out the flexural modulus.
The deflection of the CFRP blade is also much greater than that of the AB blade
which has a deflection of 4.62e-2mm. This was a result of the orientation of the +-45⁰
fibres not being optimised to provide stiffness in this direction as they optimise
stiffness for torsional forces.
The aim of this project is to design and execute a manufacturing process for a
marine CFRP propell...
Ghaith Abdelahad
Modifying and Investigating a Composite Alternative for the Rear Subframe of an Electric Vehicle Conversion
This project aims to redesign the rear subframe of a 2003 Maserati 4200 Cambia Corsa
undergoing an EV conversion to accommodate a Tesla drive unit. In attempts to
reduce the addition of weight due to the conversion, a hybrid composite subframe was
investigated where cost and weight saving estimations were studied. Additionally, the
performance of the subframe was analysed by testing using the finite element analysis
(FEA) method on SolidWorks 2021. Further modification and optimisation were
completed which yielded a minimum Factor of Safety (FoS) of 4 and displayed a
maximum stress decrease of 74% between revisions. Alongside the FEA testing,
validation and mesh studies were conducted to improve the accuracy of results.
It was found that while the hybrid subframe weighed around 32kg less than the steel
variant, it could not be justified as a viable option due to the additional work required.
Since the steel subframe utilises the majority of the stock subframe, the suspension
geometry will remain unchanged and moreover the entire subframe will not need to
be built.
This project aims to redesign the rear subframe of a 2003 Maserati 4200 Cambia Corsa
undergoing an ...
Jack Orders
CFD optimisation of grid fin aerodynamic design for reusable launch vehicles
Grid fins are an unconventional flight control surface
utilised by SpaceX for its Falcon 9 reusable launch vehicle upon re-entry. The 4 fins provide attitude control and increase the profle drag of the rocket.
Previous literature surrounding grid fins has used computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) to investigate sensitivity factors of the design to vary drag or maximise
hinge moment but often suffer from limitations (e.g., insufficient modelling of
boundary layer, or no evidence of sensitivity studies/validation).
A systematic CFD-based method is employed in which grid fin
geometry is simplified to a 2D flat plate and validated against Tekure (2020)
and oblique shock wave theory (White, 1994; NACA, 2017). The method increases
the complexity of the geometry as it progresses to a 2D lattice and
subsequently a 3D cell (1 portion of a grid fin); investigating the impact of
plate spacing, thickness and material selection on the total drag and maximum
temperature. A design is suggested that increases drag by 21.7% whilst
maintaining maximum temperature.
By considering the effects of the increased drag and
material selection, the structure is applied to beam bending theory to
calculate a factor of safety (FoS) and optimise the design.
Grid fins are an unconventional flight control surface
utilised by SpaceX for its Falcon 9 reusable...
Liam Gregory
Viability of Bio Composites for Application in Non-Structural Components in Motorsport
Natural fibres offer a lower emission alternative to
manmade fibres for use as reinforcement in composite materials. This study
aimed to determine where these natural fibres are viable for application in
motorsport for non-structural components by meeting similar performance values compared to carbon fibre at and equivalent weight. This was achieved by determine
material properties for flax fibre through a mixture of experimental testing
and analysing existing data. A component matching the non-structural
description was selected and used in an FEA study under approximate loading
conditions for a Formula 1 car travelling at 372.5 kmph cornering with a
lateral g of 6.5. These simulations found the minimum layers to achieve a
deflection less than 2mm, which determined component weight for each material.
It was found that the best performing flax composite produced a component 20%
heavier than the carbon fibre equivalent. With the addition of a flax rib grid
to the flax laminates, the component produced was 4% lighter than the carbon
fibre while deflecting 20% less. Comparing the material emissions between flax
and carbon fibre found flax components produced 90 times less CO2
emissions.
Natural fibres offer a lower emission alternative to
manmade fibres for use as reinforcement in com...