Royal Visit to ARIC

On November 22nd 2015, H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Khalifa University, visited the Aerospace Research and Innovation Center.

During the visit, His Highness met with students working a Senior Design project on an all-composite Tactical UAV project jointly supervised with the Department of Aerospace Engineering. His Highness also viewed other research projects and had discussions with engineers from both ARIC and Strata.

New equipment at ARIC 

  • In March 2016, ARIC took delivery of a Nanotom X-ray Computed Tomography machine from GE. The X-CT equipment will be employed on a number of key projects. For example, the scanner will be used to identify and characterize damage and defects in advanced composite structures and also to understand the mechanisms of fluid flow through porous media, such as fibrous beds.
  • In May 2016, ARIC took delivery of a Scholz autoclave. This new facility will be used to manufacture panels up to 1.5 meters in size and has a maximum operating temperature of 400 oC. The autoclave will be used to understand the causes of porosity and voiding in aerospace structures and also to manufacture large panels for use in the on-going automation projects within ARIC.
  • In October 2016 ARIC acquired a robotic arm to further its efforts in developing cutting-edge solutions that can support the future of manufacturing aircraft components in the UAE. The state-of-the-art KUKA robot was recently installed at ARIC’s facility located on Khalifa University’s Abu Dhabi Campus.