AER3011 : Aerospace Certification and System Reliability
- Inactive for Year: 2026/27
- Module Leader(s): Dr Glynn Atkinson
- Lecturer: Dr Shaheer Zubairi
- Owning School: Engineering
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
- Capacity limit: 100 student places
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 10 |
| ECTS Credits: | 5.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
This module introduces students to the certification, safety and reliability principles that underpin the design, approval and operation of aerospace systems.
Students will explore how aircraft and their subsystems are certified, how safety-critical engineering decisions are made, and how reliability methods are used to reduce risk and support compliance. The module examines the regulatory environment, including civil and military certification approaches, and considers how engineering evidence is used to demonstrate airworthiness.
Through aerospace case studies, reliability analysis and certification-focused activities, students will develop the ability to evaluate safety, reliability, maintainability and compliance across the aircraft lifecycle. The module also encourages professional judgement by examining ethical responsibilities, safety culture and the role of regulation in aerospace engineering practice.
Outline Of Syllabus
The module will typically cover:
1. Civil and military aerospace certification frameworks and airworthiness principles.
2. Type Certification, Supplemental Type Certificates and Airworthiness Directives.
3. Design Organisation Approval, Production Organisation Approval and certification responsibilities.
4. Certification of aircraft systems, software and avionics.
5. Reliability, availability, maintainability and safety principles.
6. Failure distributions, MTBF, reliability prediction and reliability modelling.
7. Fault Tree Analysis, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis and Reliability Block Diagrams.
8. System Safety Assessment, Development Assurance Levels and risk mitigation strategies.
9. Design for reliability, testability, maintainability and lifecycle cost reduction.
10. Safety culture, human factors, ethical responsibility and regulatory decision-making.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 16 | 1:00 | 16:00 | Including industry guest lectures |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 20:00 | 20:00 | Exam revision and completion |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 20:00 | 20:00 | Coursework preparation and completion |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 1:30 | 1:30 | Online “mock” examination (formative) |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 4 | 1:00 | 4:00 | Including industry case studies |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 38:30 | 38:30 | N/A |
| Total | 100:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
N/A
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written Examination | 120 | 1 | A | 75 | A 2 hour written examination assessing students’ conceptual understanding and analytical reasoning in aerospace certification and reliability engineering. |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | 1 | M | 25 | A reliability and certification analysis report for a selected aerospace subsystem (e.g., flight control system, electrical power system, avionics subsystem) - 1000 words max |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Examination | 1 | M | Two online practice examinations. 30 minutes each |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
A 2 hour exam assessing theoretical and applied understanding of:
• Certification frameworks and regulatory processes (M1,M5,M13,M16)
• Reliability engineering theory (M1,M2,M5)
• System safety analysis methods (M2,M9)
• Interpretation of certification constraints in design (M2,M5,M13,M16)
Assesses knowledge, conceptual understanding, and analytical reasoning
A reliability and certification analysis report for a selected aerospace subsystem (e.g., flight control system, electrical power system, avionics subsystem), including:
• Reliability modelling (M9,M10,M12)
• Discussion of certification requirements (M5,M13,M16)
• Evaluation of redundancy and maintainability (M9,M10,M12)
• Technical report presenting analysis and conclusions (M17,M5,M8,M16)
Assesses primarily applied analysis and engineering judgement
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- AER3011's Timetable