The design and development of vehicle suspensions significantly influences vehicle handling and ride comfort. Suspension system design excellence follows the basic laws of physics using design synthesis techniques, a methodical process for suspension geometry development. Suspension geometry is the foundation of vehicle performance from which high-confidence suspension components and tunings can be developed. Suspension component design continues to move toward mass and cost efficient designs with high levels of stiffness being essential to achieving design requirements.
With the world aircraft fleets growing exponentially, the maintenance burden on airlines is also becoming overwhelming. One way to counter this is by making systems “smarter” so that they can self-diagnose themselves, help with troubleshooting, and estimate remaining useful life. Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) is the engineering discipline that forms the basis for developing such smart systems. In this course, the basic tenets of PHM will be taught with an emphasis on the practical application of PHM to aerospace systems.