The Aerospace Science and Technology research group is divided into two research and development areas according to their main research topics. Each research activity is coordinated by a senior researcher:
- Prof. Luís Braga Campos, leader of the group, coordinates the research activities in Aeroacoustics, Flight Dynamics and Testing, and Space Science and Technology..
- Prof. Afzal Suleman coordinates the research activities in Aeroelasticity, Multidisciplinary Design Optimization and Adaptive Structures..
- Prof. João Oliveira assists the head of the group in the interface with IDMEC/LAETA.
The group runs 3 laboratories:
- Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel, led by Prof. Filipe Cunha.
This tunnel is a closed circuit, U-shaped wind tunnel with an open test section. A 200kW electric motor powers a 7 blade fan up to 1500rpm that allows low turbulence airflow velocities up to 50m/s. The wind tunnel has a 1.4m diameter test section. For acoustic testing the test section is within an anechoic chamber where the walls are covered with wedges made of foam with a cut off frequency of 80Hz.
- Flight Testing, led by Prof. Agostinho Fonseca.
The result of cooperation with the Portuguese Air Force, it provides the military with the autonomous capability for the realization of flight tests. This is a support laboratory, indirectly related to the realization of flight tests, allowing the design, development, implementation, testing and calibration of instrumentation systems components. Processing and analysis of collected data are also conducted in this laboratory.
- Flight Simulator, led by Prof. Agostinho Fonseca
This is a research flight simulator that is being developed to support both aeronautical research projects and education activities. It comprises a modular and flexible architecture, consisting of four main modules: dynamics; suggestion of movement, pilot interface and Image and sound simulation. Being software based modules, the simulator has flexible structure that can be adjusted to different applications.
