Engineering Work
Featured Projects
Vortex-Cooled Rocket Engine CFD Simulation
Modeled an innovative vortex cooling concept for liquid rocket engines using Ansys Fluent. Cryogenic propellants are injected tangentially to generate a swirling vortex flow that forms a protective thermal film along the nozzle wall — isolating the chamber liner from extreme combustion temperatures without active cooling hardware.
- Validated vortex stability and confirmed chamber pressure distributions
- Verified thermal insulation effectiveness of the cryogenic film layer
- Demonstrated design feasibility as a passive cooling strategy for high-performance engines
- Modeled complex multi-phase fluid dynamics and heat transfer at combustion conditions
YZ velocity contour — blue (low velocity) in chamber transitions to red (>650 m/s) at nozzle exit. The sharp gradient confirms efficient vortex-driven acceleration.
Surface velocity vectors colored by magnitude. The swirling pattern at the injector ports confirms vortex formation; high-velocity orange vectors at the nozzle throat show peak flow acceleration.
Polyhedral CFD mesh generated in Ansys Fluent 2024 R1. Finer boundary-layer cells (teal) along chamber walls capture near-wall thermal gradients critical to evaluating the vortex cooling film.
Full CFD simulation video showing transient vortex development, chamber pressure buildup, and steady-state flow through the nozzle.
Aircraft Aerodynamic Loads Calculator — Triton SD-1 (Modified Cessna 172R)
A full-featured MATLAB tool that reads aircraft definitions from a structured Excel input file and computes aerodynamic performance, structural loads, and FAR Part 23 flight envelope data at both sea level and altitude. Applied to a modified Cessna 172R (350 hp engine upgrade) as a final project for SE160A at UC San Diego.
- Reads 30+ parameters from Excel: aerodynamic coefficients, geometry, weight/CG configurations, and environment
- Computes stall speeds, power required, lift/drag, wing & tail loads across 8 weight configurations
- Generates V-n diagram with gust diamond per FAR 23 — sea level and altitude — using gust alleviation factor Kg
- Outputs spanwise wing load distribution using Schrenk's approximation for structural sizing
- Applies 2×2 rotation matrix transformation from aerodynamic to structural coordinate frame
51 kts
126 kts
160 kts
+3.8
-1.52
0.645
2,414 lb
V-n diagram recreated from actual MATLAB output values. Blue curves show the maneuver envelope (stall boundary + structural limits). Red lines show the FAR 23 gust diamond at 50 ft/s (cruise) and 25 ft/s (dive). Dashed blue shows flaps-deployed envelope.
CL, CD, Cmo, dCL/dα
span, chord, λ, incidence
8 configurations
altitude, temperature
350 hp, η = 90%
ρ, T, P at altitude
wing + tail + fuselage
n = (V/VS)² curve
Kg, U = 50/25 ft/s
aero → structural axes
sea level & altitude
at SL and altitude
FN, FC at 8 pts
Schrenk's approx.
8 load configurations
Data flows from the Excel input sheet through four MATLAB script sections (Parts A–D). Each section reads shared workspace variables, so changing the input propagates automatically to all outputs.
%% Gust alleviation factor (FAR Part 23) mu2 = 2*Weight(8) / (rhoa*g*(S/144) ... *(Croot+Ctip)/24*dCL*(180/pi)); Kg2 = 0.88*mu2 / (5.3 + mu2); %% Gust load factors at cruise and dive speed LfG(1) = 1 + Kg2*(.5*rhoa*U(1)*(S/144) ... /Weight(8)*dCL*(180/pi))*Vk4(5)*K2Fps; LfG(3) = 1 - Kg2*(.5*rhoa*U(1)*(S/144) ... /Weight(8)*dCL*(180/pi))*Vk4(7)*K2Fps; %% Wing lift, drag, structural loads at each V-n point for i = 1:8 Lt4(i) = (Ma4(i) + Weight(8)*Lf4(i) ... *(Arcrft_CG(8)-c4wing)/12) ... / ((c4_hs-c4wing)/12); Lw4(i) = Weight(8)*Lf4(i) - Lt4(i); %% Rotation matrix: aero → structural frame T = [cosd(alpha4(i)) sind(alpha4(i)); ... -sind(alpha4(i)) cosd(alpha4(i))]; Resultant4(:,i) = T * [Lw4(i) - Lf4(i)*Wwing; ... Dragwing4(i)]; end %% Power lapse correction for altitude Rrho = rhoa / rho; Power4a = Power4 .* (Rrho - (1-Rrho)/7.55).^(-1);
Excerpt from Part C of the MATLAB script. The 2×2 rotation matrix T transforms wing lift and drag from the aerodynamic (wind) frame into the structural (body) frame — essential for correct spar and rib load calculations. Power lapse at altitude uses an empirical correction factor for propeller efficiency.
| Condition | Speed (kts) | n | Wing Lift (lb) | Power Req. (hp) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stall (flaps up) | 51 | 1.0 | 2,396 | 45 |
| Cruise (VNO) | 126 | 1.0 | 2,516 | 146 |
| PHAA (max maneuver) | 99.4 | +3.8 | 9,105 | 331 |
| NHAA (max neg. maneuver) | 62.9 | -1.52 | -3,570 | 81 |
| Gust +50 ft/s (cruise) | 126 | +3.99 | 9,608 | 364 |
| Dive (VNE) | 160 | 3.8 | 9,247 | 437 |
All values from the Excel output file generated by the MATLAB tool. The gust at cruise speed (n = 3.99) exceeds the structural maneuver limit (n = 3.8), making it the critical design load case for wing spar sizing.
Autorotation Planetary Lander
Designed, built, and tested a rotary-wing lander concept for planetary bodies with thin atmospheres. The vehicle uses passive blade pitch geometry to maintain a stable rotation rate and constant descent velocity — no active power source required for the rotor. An onboard camera captures imagery throughout descent.
- Achieved stable, consistent rotation and descent rate under mass and size constraints
- Integrated camera module for descent imagery; programmed control logic in C++ via Arduino
- Led systems integration across mechanical, electrical, and software subsystems
- Delivered formal technical presentations with design trade-off analysis to faculty panel
Wind Tunnel Aerodynamic Testing
Conducted experimental lift and drag measurements on a wing section across multiple angles of attack in a subsonic wind tunnel. Operated force balance instrumentation, extracted raw sensor data, and post-processed results to derive aerodynamic coefficient curves.
- Measured CL and CD across full angle-of-attack sweep including stall
- Operated force balance sensors and data acquisition hardware
- Compared experimental results to theoretical predictions — identified and quantified measurement uncertainty
- Post-processed raw instrument data using MATLAB