Engineering

Here are some of my class projects that I have written about.

*** Note: Because the site was developed for my German classes, I'm still backfilling information about my engineering experiences. This takes more time because I have less work that can be easily translated into a website format because much of my coursework was problem sets or reports with numerous figures that cannot be easily copied to match the CSS of the site. ***

Optical Quadrature Encoder for IGVC

An optical encoder design was drawn up in order to allow for a feedback signal of the drive wheel’s rotation speed. Three design iterations were drafted in order to reach the final design. All three iterations made use of two electrical switches placed slightly apart from each other in such a way that as the wheel rotates, the switches are interrupted. The frequency of the interruption corresponds to an angular velocity of the wheel. The use of two stitches allows for direction to be measured using quadrature. In a certain direction, their signal will pulse in a certain order.

Thesis Abstract

Theory, Design, Construction, and Testing of an Expansion Tube

The Lafayette College Expansion Tube is a two-stage dynamic flow expansion device that was designed and built during 2014 and 2015 at Lafayette College to study supersonic flow. Supersonic flow is studied to achieve more efficient or faster flight for jets and spacecraft, and advances in combustion of scramjet engines have the potential to drastically reduce the cost of spaceflight. Expansion tubes are used to study combustible hypersonic flow because they are able to generate higher Mach numbers than shock tubes and do not push the fluid through stagnation conditions as a supersonic wind tunnel would....

Refrigeration System Performance

Refrigerators have revolutionized the way Americans shop for, store, cook, and eat their food. Despite their constant presence, few people take the time to think about refrigerators, much less study their inner workings. The goal of this study was to characterize the performance of one refrigerator: the Hampden Refrigeration System Trainer....

Control Panel Construction

The actual construction of the control panel for the expansion tube was an adventure from drilling the frame with a handheld drill to cutting out the front panel with the water jet cutter. Our team met challenges in bending pipe and wiring the pressure gages. While it isn't quite done yet, the control panel is becoming a well designed piece of equipment that will be used by students for years to come.

What is an Expansion Tube?

An expansion tube is an impulse flow device for studying supersonic flow. The applications of supersonic flow research are primarily in the field of aeronautical engineering for military jets, space shuttles, and rockets; however, supersonic conditions also occur in some turbines.