JOHOR BAHRU, 7 Dec. — Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)’s Aeronautics Laboratory or Aerolab has been recognised as a University Centre of Excellence (Research Centre), based on an announcement released by the Ministry of Higher Education on 3 December 2020.
Head of Laboratory, Ir Dr Shabudin Mat said, UTM Aerolab, which has been operating since 2001, has achieved many successes in research, training and consultancy.
According to him, Aerolab’s initiative to become a member of Subsonic Aerodynamic Testing Association (SATA) in 2002 has become an important milestone in its efforts to being acknowledged internationally. SATA is an exclusive by-invitation-only club of about 80 renowned wind tunnels around the world, including NASA, Airbus, Boeing, BMW and JAXA (Japan) wind tunnels.
“Since 2015, various research grants worth more than RM1 million have been obtained by researchers based at the Aeronautics Laboratory. One of our ongoing research projects, the six-year OTEC Turbine project, is worth more than RM5 million.”
“Apart from that, Aeronautics Laboratory has also successfully carried out more than 85 consultancy projects worth RM 1.7 million, and courses and training worth RM170,000 since 2009,” he said.
Aeronautical Laboratory or UTM Aerolab is a specialised research laboratory, set up mainly to meet the educational and research needs of Malaysia’s developing aerospace industry.
Among its objectives are to provide education and training of undergraduate engineers in a variety of aerospace fields, to provide facility to foster postgraduate and industrial research in aerospace and related fields and to offer aerodynamic testing services to industry.
The heart of the laboratory is the state-of-the-art Subsonic Wind Tunnel facility, which is comparable to the best in the world in terms of flow quality. The wind tunnel has a 1.5 m by 2.0 m by 5.8 m removable test section, with a top wind speed of 80 m/s (288 km/h), and equipped with a 6-component force-moment balance as well as highly sensitive and accurate sensors such as 5-hole probe and CTA hot-wire anemometer.
Also, other facilities under UTM Aerolab include a Low Speed Industrial Wind Tunnel, Blower Tunnel, Propulsion Laboratory, Avionics and Instrumentation Laboratory, Flight Dynamics Laboratory, UAV Laboratory and Hangar, Aircraft Design Studio, Aircraft Structures Laboratory and Machine Shop.
The laboratory always ensures that human resources and laboratory facilities are well maintained in the best of conditions, and this success is dedicated to our eight technicians and 15 academic staff members who are the backbone of this RM33 million facility.
To maintain the performance achieved, UTM Aerolab has laid down a business and strategic plan for the next five years to further strengthen the elements as a University Centre of Excellence (CoE).
“It is the hope of Aeronautics Laboratory members in particular and the whole UTM community in general that UTM Aerolab will truly become a world-class research centre for conducting laboratory testing and consultancy services in the fields of aeronautics and aerodynamics,” Ir Dr Shabudin added.
More info, please visit UTM Aerolab website, https://engineering.utm.my/mechanical/aerolab/aerolab-facilities/