EngSpotlight Interview: Aerospace Engineering
How important is the Aerospace Engineering sector to a country or to Canada's economy?
It is very important. Canada has been one of the leaders of the world. If you asked me five years ago, Canada probably ranked number three, but now, around about five. Canada has been leading in space technology, for example, Canadarm, and Canada is also leading in supersonic spare parts, for example, the Arrow. Bombardier has been one of the leading companies for the last, I think, 20 to 30 years, behind Boeing and Airbus. But now with all this competition going on, I think that Canada has to really do a lot of innovation to catch up and sustain our leadership
What are some of the pressing challenges faced in the Aerospace Engineering field?
Around the world, people right now are talking about green aviation. So that is in line with the COP26 from last year in London. Basically, you have to combat CO2 emission from the field and also the noise. These are the two main issues. These are basically the key issues faced in aerospace, and Canada has been through a lot there.
What could be pioneering developments in the Aerospace Engineering field? Where do you see Electrical Engineering research in the next 10 years or so?
With green aviation, you can do two things. One is you try to reduce fuel consumption. By reducing fuel consumption, basically, you reduce pollution. The second one is the noise. The noise is also an issue. When you take a plane, you feel a lot of noise. So if we can reduce noise, then you not only make it safer but also give more comfort.
Another aspect, especially for Canada right now, Canada sort of got out from the civil aviation mode and more towards business jets. On these jets, the space is very limited. So another challenge we face in aerospace is when you build this aircraft you’re trying to build multifunction with very limited space.
The third one actually came from COVID, because flights are very crowded spaces, so it is easy to get spread the virus and get infected. So there have been discussions about clean design. So they are trying to apply a lot of hospital-kind-of designs. And, of course, we have to do it in a cost-effective way, but nowadays, that is a discussion in terms of clean design, making the aircraft hygienic and safe. So these are the three things I think probably require some innovation.
Can you speak more about the intersectionality between aerospace engineering and other fields?
Based on what I'm doing in my research chair position, I'm doing cabin research, for inside a cabin. That is not traditional aerospace. It requires the other fields. Because of COVID, we were required by the company contractor, for example, for disinfection tests. These are the bio stuff. Of course, you have to extend your knowledge beyond just aerospace. And for cabin design, that's actually the interior design. So you have to know how to design furniture; chairs and all of these. Not only ergonomic but also has to be cost-effective.
Aerospace, by itself, is bio-inspired, right from the beginning. The Wright Brothers, when they started flying in 1903, they were basically trying to fly like birds. So it's not just aerospace, it has to be intersecting with all the other fields.
You wrote a publication titled "A Shape-Morphing Mechanism with Sliding Panels". Can you tell us more about the importance of your proposed kinematic modeling in Aerospace Engineering?
So, we have been doing a lot of projects such as morphing wings. So the idea there is, by changing the wing shape for different stages of the flight, when you fly the aircraft, you notice that you have to take off, then you have to climb. So usually, they do two stages at a time; one stage, two stage, and enclosed. These are called flight missions. So different flight missions will burn different fields. The wing will work for a certain configuration so it is optimized. However, it is only optimized for certain aspects but not for other configurations. So you may overburn on all the fuse, so the idea here is you're trying to change the wing shape to maximize fuel consumption, and minimize pollution. So again, you basically change the shape of the wing. So, that's an idea. That is also called green aviation.
You are the principal investigator for the lab “Intelligent Systems & Robotics / Micro Manufacturing (ISRMM) Laboratory” and are involved in sensor-responsive design with application to smart aircraft cabins and aircraft manufacturing automation including robotics. Can you speak more in-depth about the work you and your students do at these laboratories?
In the main lab, we develop manufacturing technologies. I've been conducting research such as robotic riveting. So basically, when you go to these aircraft companies the majority will be done manually, so that means it is more prone to error and also very tedious work. So there has been research using robots to decrease the manual work. This robot riveting system, which I patented, has been used on several bases.
In another lab, we are developing two things - one is the morphing wing. We conduct tests on these wings with the full load, or double conducted, and more. In the lab we actually have this full-size cabin as a module. Within the cabin, we conduct various research topics. So one is trying to develop a multifunction cabin within the limited space. How do you create different functions for other configurations?
We always look for different technologies such as designing of passenger chairs. And then we added a lot of essential technologies, for example, textile sensing, sensing your pressure when you sit. And then we can change the shape of the cushion, the moving cushion and more. How the shape of the seat changes as you sit and the interaction with the cushion which is called contact stress.
The second one is lighting. We have smart lighting to create comfort. So there, we are doing what is called the circadian rhythm. It relates to the body's rhythm in relation to sleep. So as you fly to different time zones, you have jet lag. So by manipulating lighting, you may alter your circadian rhythm in such a way that you don’t feel very tired.
And the third aspect is the noise. We add speakers strategically to create a quiet zone so that you can have peace of mind while you’re sleeping on your chair.
What are some interesting developments you are keeping an eye on?
Coming from an application background, I’m more interested in knowing the new developments in smart materials, or any smart attributes because I really want to apply to aerospace. I particularly want to learn from other fields, for example, multifunctional furniture designs. Hopefully, we can apply this learning to aerospace.
How should Aerospace Engineering students better equip themselves for the professional field?
To me, you have two major fields. One is more on the database and design. So you get very savvy with running the programming; FPM, CAD design, etc. The other side actually is trying to turn your design into a product. So I’m on the second side, which is basically mechanics. So, right now, whatever you design, mechanically or not, at the end of the day has to be controlled by the computer. So, in essence, my advice to students is that electronics is something that you should pay very close attention to.
What is your advice for first-year engineering students?
Focus on the fundamentals. Physics, chemistry and math. Probably join computer programming. But in any initiative, very simply, one is to, because you guys all have phones, just look deeper into the phone. How much electronic data, like how many sensory functions are on your phone. For example, an accelerometer, measuring duration, can measure your heartbeat, and again, count how much distance you walk via the GPS. Measuring temperature. Measuring noise - you can download a lot of apps you can measure the noise, and you can measure the lens. All these functions are there, so these are the engineering tools. Actually, in an aircraft, we're integrating technology into the camera, you know. So I guess while you are having fun with the phone, I would suggest you look a little bit deeper and think about how you can apply this context to the design of an aircraft.
