AE Brown Bag Seminar
Friday, April 17
11:00 a.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Guggenheim 442
Alexander Fester
Krish Patel
Rio Futagawa
Joseph Moskovitz
Owen Pollack
Marian McDaniel
Daanyal Pesnani
John Roberts
Alexander Fester
Title:
Development of Full-Scale Test Platform for Characterizing Lean Blowout (LBO) limits and Exhaust Pattern Factor during Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Spool-Up and at Altitude with Variable Bleed Extraction
Abstract:
Auxiliary power unit (APU) combustors must maintain stable operation during engine spool-up despite highly transient inlet airflow, fuel scheduling, and shaft speed conditions. Combustor flame stability and turbomachinery thermal limits are especially critical and are quantified by two key metrics. Pattern factor describes exhaust temperature variation and strongly dictates turbine longevity, while lean blowout (LBO) limits determine the minimum stable fuel-flow and constrain spool-up scheduling and low-emissions performance. This work presents the development of a full-scale combustor test rig capable of simulating whole APU operational envelopes including spool-up, ground operations, and at altitude, with variation in bleed extraction. Core challenges included accommodating large variations and coupling between air mass flow, bleed extraction, fuel delivery, and hardware thermal management while preserving high measurement fidelity. The resulting test platform facilitates LBO and pattern factor characterization during both steady and transient conditions and will be employed to assess the performance of a novel commercial APU in Summer 2026.
Faculty Advisor:
Prof. Adam Steinberg
Krish Patel
Title:
Optimizing Composite Paneling for the Martian Atmosphere
Abstract:
This presentation will explore a new methodology in selecting the optimum composite material for vehicles used in the Martian atmosphere based on the temperature profile. This analysis will be conducted through use of a code to calculate critical buckling temperatures as well as a TOPSIS analysis for selecting the optimal composite based on a set of parameters.
Faculty Advisor:
Prof. Cristina Riso
Rio Futagawa
Title:
Adaptive Contraction-based Payload Transport with Multi-UAVs
Abstract:
This seminar presents an adaptive contraction-based framework for cooperative payload transport using multiple UAVs. While many existing methods rely on simplified dynamics, this work considers practical constraints such as cable tension limits and strong UAV-payload coupling. The framework combines online gain scaling for stable tracking under parametric uncertainties with a residual-bounded wrench allocation method for physically feasible control. Simulation results demonstrate robust 6-DoF payload transport across diverse attachment configurations.
Faculty Advisor:
Prof. Yashwanth Nakka
Joseph Moskovitz
Title:
Performance Comparison and Analysis of Low Power Hall Thruster Operation on Inert and Molecular Propellants
Abstract:
A detailed experimental investigation into the performance of a low-power Hall effect thruster (HET), Simplified CAMILA, operating on both atomic (Xe, Kr, Ar) and molecular (CO2, N2) propellants is performed. The study measures thrust, specific impulse, and internal efficiencies across a range of discharge voltages (∼75-450 V), input powers (∼75-450 W), and magnetic field strengths (∼118-293 G). Xenon consistently delivers the highest anode efficiency (ηA) performance (ηA = 48.74%, 400 W), followed by krypton (ηA = 33.01%, 450 W), argon (ηA = 22.72%, 450 W), CO2 (ηA = 11.68%, 450 W), and N2 (ηA = 7.35%, 400 W). Molecular propellants exhibit significantly lower efficiencies and narrower regions of operational stability, and thus require higher volumetric mass flow rates and magnetic field strengths for stable operation. These observations highlight the engineering challenges of maintaining discharge stability with molecular gases, particularly at lower voltages where mass utilization efficiency sharply declines. Mass and current utilization efficiencies improve with power for all propellants—particularly for molecular ones—though beam efficiency remains relatively constant. We employ a previously developed mass utilization efficiency model to accurately predict experimental results for all propellants within the margin of error, with argon exhibiting the largest deviation. Increasing magnetic field strength initially enhances anode efficiency (requiring ∼1.48x stronger fields for molecular gases versus Xe/Kr), but eventually reduces ion beam current, especially in lighter molecular gases, potentially because of increased ion trajectory divergence due to smaller ion cyclotron radii relative to heavier xenon. These findings underscore the challenges and potential of using molecular propellants in low-power HETs. While inert gases remain superior in performance, molecular propellants can sustain operation under optimized conditions. Further thruster design and operational refinements are needed to improve the viability of molecular propellants for future space missions.
Faculty Advisor:
Prof. Mitchell L. R. Walker
Owen Pollack
Title:
Electric Ducted Fan Characterization and Aero-Propulsive Interactions for UAM Applications
Abstract:
As the urban air mobility field continues to grow, distributed electric ducted fan propulsion systems have become increasingly looked at as a means to develop a fully electric vehicle with higher propulsive efficiency and lower noise. This research focuses on characterizing isolated EDFs as well as different wing integrations using wind tunnel tests. The integration studies focus on how the EDF performance and system performance change with each wing integration using its isolated version as a baseline comparison. This performance analysis can then be used to inform design decisions for future vehicles in the UAM field.
Faculty Advisor:
Prof. Juergen Rauleder
Marian McDaniel
Title:
TBD
Abstract:
TBD
Faculty Advisor:
TBD
Daanyal Pesnani
Title:
TBD
Abstract:
TBD
Faculty Advisor:
TBD
John Roberts
Title:
TBD
Abstract:
TBD
Faculty Advisor:
TBD