Pyrotechnic Systems | ENSTA Bretagne

Engineers in this major learn to analyze and design pyrotechnic devices and to integrate them into mechanical systems, taking into account phenomenological and regulatory constraints related to the use of energetic materials.

Career prospects

Study, design or research engineer in the defense, aerospace or automotive sectors; risk management.

Course content:

•   Shock waves and detonation
•   Combustion
•   Digital methods
•   Self-propulsion
•   etc.

Detailed program

Program strengths

ENSTA Bretagne : formation d'ingénieur en pyrotechnie et propulsion, décollage du lanceur Vega

CNES/ESA/Arianespace/Optique Vidéo CSG, 2016

Earn a double degree

Alongside this major, students can pursue the Master in Engineering Science jointly offered by ENSMA and the University of Poitiers, majoring in Aeronautic and Land Transport and opting for the Combustion specialization track .

Career prospects in numerous industries

The Pyrotechnic Systems major prepares graduates for jobs in the defense, aerospace, ICST and automotive sectors, pyrotechnic device development and industrial risk prevention.

Strong ties with industry and research

An on-campus research team at the IRDL (Institut de Recherche Dupuy De Lôme) lab studies the effects of pyrotechnic phenomena and their reactions in various environments (reduction of underwater explosion impacts by bubble curtains, or attenuation of a shock wave by aqueous foam, for example). The campus is equipped with ample testing equipment, such as Split-Hopkinson pressure bars, shock tubes, a Taylor gun, etc.

A one-of-a-kind program in France

ENSTA Bretagne is the only school in France to deliver pyrotechnic training that covers the full range of energetic materials and propulsion system design.

A multidisciplinary training program, from designing mobile robots to testing them for use in specific missions.

The disciplines studied are :

Automation (designing control laws),
IT (algorithms, languages, middlewares),
Perception (vision, machine learning),
Artificial Intelligence (Prolog, logic),
Modeling/Simulation (realistic computer-based robot simulation through virtual and augmented reality),
Navigation (observers, Kalman filters, interval analysis),
Mechanics (3D printers, digital mockups),
Guidance (path planning, avoiding obstacles, coordination)
Experiments (preparing and conducting field experiments involving robots).

Engineers graduating from this major are able to design propulsion systems and pyromechanisms for aerospace or military applications. They are also able to study the reactions of structures undergoing dynamic stresses such as impacts and explosions.