AE Brown Bag Seminar

Thursday, March 2, 2023

11:00 a.m. -12: 00 p.m.

Guggenheim 442

Presenters:

Thomas Schrager

Sam Li

Mihir Shah

Mihir Shah

Title: Investigating Aerodynamic and Propulsive Coupling Effects for Electric Ducted Fans

Abstract: 

Electric ducted fans (EDF’s) can provide a low noise, efficient, and sustainable power solution for future aircraft. As EDF’s become a more viable option for a growing number of vehicles, it is increasingly important to investigate and understand the interactions between the motor and wing flows and any potential coupling between the propulsive and aerodynamic effects. The development of a full understanding of these interactions requires characterizations of both the motor’s independent flow and the flow that results from the integration of the motor and the wing. This project will use a customized, integrated sensor suite and a six degree of freedom load cell in wind tunnel tests to perform flow characterizations for a variety of EDF sizes and angles of attack in isolated and wing integrated configurations. These data will help to develop an aero propulsive profile which will aid in the integration of EDF’s into future aerospace vehicle designs.

Advisors: Professor Juergen Rauleder, Derek Safieh

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Sam Li

Title: Computational Modeling of a Regeneratively Cooled Nozzle for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Applications

Abstract:

Nuclear thermal propulsion offers over twice the efficiency of traditional chemical propulsion systems at similar thrust levels, making it an ideal candidate for deep space missions. Instead of heating reactants with a chemical reaction, hydrogen gas is passed through channels in a nuclear reactor before expelled out of a nozzle. The Computational Reactor Engineering Lab has developed a python package, ntpThermo, a thermal-hydraulic engineering tool to aid in the modeling and design of NTP systems. One difficulty encountered with the tool currently is the modeling of a regeneratively cooled nozzle due to flow cycle differences between traditional liquid fueled rocket and NTP systems. This presentation will detail the basic operating principle of NTP as well as the work being done to characterize a regeneratively cooled nozzle for NTP applications. 

Advisor: Professor Dan Kotlyar