Undergraduate Student Experiences with Composite Materials

Abstract

Composite materials are being used in a variety of important strategic lightweight applications, especially in aerospace structural designs. Undergraduate students need greater exposure to this critical area of engineering materials selection and design than most curricula currently provide. Mechanical and aerospace engineering undergraduate students at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) have had a number of opportunities to learn hands-on skills in designing with composites and fabricating a number of structural components. They have had these opportunities in undergraduate student competitions and associations such as the NASA Great Moon Buggy Race, the Formula SAE team, and the UAH Charger Rocket Works Club. Additionally, real industrial applications of composites are learned through co-operative employment experiences. This paper describes some of the experiences that UAH undergraduate students have encountered.