THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE

DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

INVESTIGATION OF PULSEJET GEOMETRY FOR MAXIMUM THRUST EFFICIENCY

ANDREW DAVID CHAVES Spring 2012

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a baccalaureate degree in Aerospace Engineering with honors in Aerospace Engineering

Reviewed and approved* by the following:

Michael M. Micci Professor of Aerospace Engineering Thesis Supervisor

Dennis K. McLaughlin Professor of Aerospace Engineering Honors Advisor

George A. Lesieutre Head of Aerospace Engineering Professor of Aerospace Engineering

* Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College i

Abstract

Pulsejet technology, one of the simplest forms of propulsion known, has been around since the early 1900s. It got its first practical application in the 1930s on the German V-1 flying bomb, or “Buzz-Bomb.” Interest in pulsejet applications then subsided due to the continuing development and improvement of the turbojet engine. Recently though, there has been renewed interest in pulsejets as an alternative to chemical rocket propulsion. Advances in computational simulation and modeling now allow better modeling of the operation process. In this research,

COMSOL Multiphysics is utilized to develop a computational model to simulate a pulsejet engine and the phenomena of its operation. Conservation of momentum, mass, and energy equations are solved for one-dimensional, unsteady, compressible flow. The simulation shows how compression and expansion (rarefaction) waves propagate through the engine during the operation cycle. This information can then be used to optimize the thrust with more realistic conditions.

ii

Table of Contents Abstract ...... i Table of Contents ...... ii List of Figures ...... iii Acknowledgements ...... iv 1. Introduction ...... 1 1.1 Pulsejet Technology...... 1 1.2 COMSOL Multiphysics ...... 2 1.3 Thesis Objective ...... 2 2. Pulsejets ...... 3 2.1 Pulsejet History ...... 3 2.2 Pulsejet Types ...... 4 2.2.1 Valved Pulsejet ...... 5 2.2.2 Valveless Pulsejet ...... 6 2.3 Operation Cycle ...... 7 2.4 Pulsejet Applications ...... 11 3. COMSOL ...... 12 3.1 Shock Tube ...... 12 3.2 Pulsejet Simulation...... 14 4. Conclusions and Future ...... 22 4.1 Conclusions...... 22 4.2 Future Work...... 22 References ...... 24

iii

List of Figures

Figure 1 - German V-1 "Buzz Bomb.” ...... 4 Figure 2 - Valved pulsejet schematic...... 5 Figure 3 - Straight valveless pulsejet schematic...... 6 Figure 4 – “U-Shaped” valveless pulsejet cycle...... 7 Figure 5 – P-V diagram of the Lenoir cycle...... 8 Figure 6 – T-S diagram of the Lenoir cycle...... 8 Figure 7 - Pulsejet combustion cycle...... 9 Figure 8 – Combustion cycle wave diagram...... 10 Figure 9 - Shock tube diagram...... 13 Figure 10 - Red head pulsejet...... 14 Figure 11 – COMSOL shock tube wave diagram...... 15 Figure 12 - Shock tube 2:1, density 2:1 for 3 meter tube...... 16 Figure 13 - Shock tube pressure 2:1, density 0.0625:0.03125 for 3 meter tube...... 17 Figure 14 - Shock tube pressure 2:1, density 2:1 for 0.5 meter tube...... 18 Figure 15 - Shock tube pressure 6:1, density 1.2:0.2 for 0.5 meter tube...... 18 Figure 16 - Shock tube pressure plot with right boundary p = 1...... 19 Figure 17 - Shock tube velocity plot with right boundary p = 1...... 19 Figure 18 - Shock tube velocity graph with right boundary p = 1...... 20 Figure 19 - Shock tube density plot with right boundary p = 1...... 20 Figure 20 - Shock tube velocity plot with right boundary u = 0...... 21

iv

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my parents for their continued support in everything that I do, as well as their guidance and constant encouragement throughout my life.

I would also like to thank Dr. Micci for his time and guidance throughout this thesis.

Finally, thanks to all of my professors during my years at Penn State.

1

1. Introduction

This chapter explains what pulsejets are and how they operate. It also outlines possible applications and how developing an accurate computational model would allow for greater efficiency and optimization of the technology. The research objective is also presented.

1.1 Pulsejet Technology

Pulsejets are one of the simplest forms of propulsion that exist today. The mechanical simplicity makes pulsejets very well suited for a number of applications, with nearly no maintenance costs. The cost to design and produce these is very small compared to turbojets, and therefore are becoming more popular in the aerospace industry. With the interest in

UAVs, various contractors have started looking for ways to propel these vehicles. In addition to being mechanically simple, pulsejets also have an extremely large throttle range, high thermal release, and low harmful emissions.

The combustion process within a pulsejet though, has yet to be fully understood. Design and optimization relies on accurate flowfield simulations, and these are very complex within a pulsed combustion system. Two of the many challenges involved in pulsejet simulation are predicting the periodic combustion process and the coupled gas dynamic processes in the tailpiece that result in resonant operation. The inherent high frequency caused by intermittent combustion makes the process very difficult to model, but recent advancements in computation and simulation capabilities have brought renewed interest. With accurate modeling, the technology can be optimized and provide alternate propulsion methods in many applications. 2

1.2 COMSOL Multiphysics

COMSOL Multiphysics is an engineering simulation software package used to model various physics and engineering applications.8 This program allows the user to define the geometry, mesh, specify the physics, solve, and visualize the results of the model. There are many templates of common multiphysics problem types to use a basis for various problems. This thesis, as explained later, uses the shock tube problem already defined in COMSOL as a basis for the work done. Some of the application-specific modules available are acoustics, transfer,

CFD, and more. By using COMSOL, mechanisms may be coupled to better understand their combined effect, building simulations that accurately reflect characteristics of the designs.

1.3 Thesis Objective

To develop such a model requires a clear understanding of pulsejet operation and the phenomena involved in the process. The purpose of this thesis is to use COMSOL Multiphysics to develop a computational model of a pulsejet to aid in a better understanding of pulsejet combustion. Generating data in a simulated environment that accurately represents this device will allow a comparison to experimental data and validate the model. This model will in turn allow thrust optimization and greater efficiency of pulsejet technology.

3

2. Pulsejets

This chapter gives a brief history of pulsejet technology, an overview of the different types of pulsejets, and explains how a pulsejet engine operates. It goes into detail about the events happening during each cycle of the pulsejet operation and then outlines what makes these engines so attractive for certain uses.

2.1 Pulsejet History

As mentioned previously, pulsejets are very simple propulsion devices known for having few or no moving parts, relatively low cost, ease of use, scalability, but also extremely high noise.

Pulsejet technology came about in the early 20th century, with the first working valveless engine developed by Frenchman Georges Marconnet in 1908. They found very limited use though and were soon forgotten. It wasn’t until the 1930s that the pulsejet received its first true application when German engineer Paul Schmidt and the Argus Company created a more efficient design used to power the V-1 “Buzz-Bomb,” seen in Fig. 1. Once World War II broke out, the V-1 was regularly buzzing its way to England with hundreds of pounds of explosives. 4

Figure 1 - German V-1 "Buzz Bomb.”4 The technology had proven its worth enough to draw attention on both sides during and after the war. There were apparent drawbacks and limitations to the pulsejet but the principle was still very appealing to many. Various uses for the device were contemplated, but slow progress and greater advancements in turbojet design led most to abandon their efforts. Nowadays the pulsejet is more of a hobby, used for recreational use. The high heat output and noise of 100 dB or more make them impractical for commercial use. Recently, though, they have become of interest and experimental research has increased to give pulsejets new applications.

2.2 Pulsejet Types

Pulsejets are internal combustion engines that have few or no moving parts. This means that the jet is almost completely described by its acoustic properties throughout. Combustion is a deflagrative process capable of producing static thrust and occurs in pulses. The combustion generates shockwaves which force the hot exhaust air out of the tube, creating a pressure 5 differential that pulls colder air into the engine. More fuel mixes with that cold air and produces another shockwave. This process is repeated at very high speeds, providing intermittent thrust.

There are two basic types of pulsejet engines, valved and valveless.

2.2.1 Valved Pulsejet

A valved pulsejet has a single valve to control the air flow as it enters the intake, as seen in

Fig. 2. The inlet is a small tube that serves as the main method of inhaling fresh air into the system for each cycle. The air then flows into the combustion chamber through the open valve and mixes with the fuel. The valve closes, due to the pressure rise of the explosion, to prevent mass from flowing back into the inlet. The combustion chamber generally has the greatest cross- sectional area and serves as a zone for the fresh air and fuel mixture to combust. Once the mixture combusts, the reactants escape out through the exhaust tube accompanied by the propagation of expansion waves to the front. The air pressure in the chamber drops as a result, causing the valve to open and allow fresh air in. The exhaust pipe is much longer than the inlet and has a slightly larger cross-section without exceeding that of the combustion chamber. A spark is needed only for starting. This process causes the pulsating thrust of the engine. These pulsejets have a high power to weight ratio and low complexity due to few moving parts, but are temperamental to start.

Figure 2 - Valved pulsejet schematic.5 6

2.2.2 Valveless Pulsejet

A valveless engine has to rely on its design geometry and chamber to manipulate the air pressure to create pulse thrust, shown in Fig. 3. By proper utilization of wave processes in an inlet of adequate length, the valveless design can prevent a negative momentum transport. Fuel mixes with the intake air or is injected directly into the combustion chamber and combusted. The exhaust is then expelled out of both the intake and the exhaust pipe. These engines are easy to start, have no moving parts, and can run on almost anything that burns, but are difficult to design for very good performance.

The first designs were a straight tube, as in the valved jet, which led to some issues. The main drawback of this device is that a significant amount of products are lost out the intake, or front, of the jet causing negative thrust. However, if the initial inflow velocity is sufficiently high, flow reversal may be avoided. There have been several different designs throughout the years that worked to minimize the negative thrust.

Figure 3 - Straight valveless pulsejet schematic.2 In the 1960s, Ray Lockwood created the “U-shaped” pulsejet in which the inlet and exhaust tube are facing the same direction as seen in Fig. 4. This geometry allows all of the thrust produced to exit in the same direction, maximizing the thrust of the engine. One significant 7 drawback here though is the dramatic drag increase at higher flight speeds created by the double cross-sectional area compared to a straight pulsejet. This arrangement then is suitable for operation at low flight speeds only. Thrust augmentation can be produced in the pulsejet but this thesis will not discuss that technology.

Figure 4 – “U-Shaped” valveless pulsejet cycle.1

2.3 Operation Cycle

Pulsejets, as mentioned previously, are extremely simple but there is some debate about their efficiency. The pulsejet is described as a ¼ wave tube, with acoustics playing a major role in the operation. The thrust-to-weight ratio is great but thrust specific fuel consumption is generally very poor. Pulsejet engines are typically modeled based on the Lenoir cycle, an idealized shown in Fig. 5 and 6. The absence of a compression process leads to lower thermal efficiencies than other cycles. In this cycle, the undergoes constant (isochoric) heat addition, followed by isentropic expansion, and then constant pressure

(isobaric) heat rejection. Energy is absorbed as heat during the heat addition and expelled as work during the expansion. 8

Figure 5 – P-V diagram of the Lenoir cycle.10

Figure 6 – T-S diagram of the Lenoir cycle.10

9

The sequence of events for the operation cycle is outlined in greater detail in Fig. 7.

1. An air and fuel mixture is ignited in the combustion chamber by a spark plug at the start.

Once running though, residual hot gasses in the exhaust tube ignite the air-fuel mixture.

This combustion is an within the chamber, creating temperature and

pressure gradients.

2. The mixture explodes and the expanding hot gasses rush out the nozzle of the tube

producing thrust.

3. The inertia of the outgoing gasses cause the remaining gas to be expanded beyond its

normal volume, creating a low pressure inside the engine. As a result of the pressure

difference, the flow of gasses out of the engine stops and starts to reverse.

4. Fresh air is drawn in by the partial vacuum in the engine and fuel is injected into the

combustion chamber at the same time.

Figure 7 - Pulsejet combustion cycle.6

10

The diagram in Fig. 8 illustrates the primary waves of a pulsejet cycle.

The horizontal axis corresponds to the inlet and

outlet of the jet from left to right, of length L.

The vertical axis can be treated as

nondimensional time for one cycle of the engine.

Initially, the valve is closed and compression

waves are generated by isochoric heat additon.

Compression wave a travels downstream and is

then reflected as a strong expansion wave a1 at

Figure 8 – Combustion cycle wave diagram.3 the outlet. Wave a1 propagates upstream and causes the reed valves to open and pull reactants into the combustion chamber due to the resulting low pressure. The expansion wave is reflected as another expansion wave a2 which propagates down the tube and is then reflected as compression wave a3. Wave b travels upstream as a compression wave and is then reflected as a weaker compression wave b1, and then again as b2 when it reaches the exit. When the compression wave enters the combustion chamber, the reactants are consumed, and the cycle repeats.

What is so attractive about pulsejet engines is the peculiar property of pulsating combustion. This combustion is self-compressing. The fuel-air mixture burns intermittently, in quick succession of explosive pulses, unlike other jet engines that burn steadily, at constant pressure. The gaseous products of combustion are generated so quickly that they cannot escape from the combustor at once, raising the pressure steeply, increasing efficiency.

11

2.4 Pulsejet Applications

During the 1950s and 1960s, considerable advancements were made in pulsejet technology.

The U.S. government funded much research and development of jet propulsion at that time, which included pulsejets. Many designs were developed, produced, and tested during this period.

Due to their relatively low efficiency though, pulsejets were put aside for more efficient turbojet designs. It was found that as the scale of turbomachinery is reduced, the compressor efficiency decreases, and therefore is not practical for micropropulsion systems. Therefore, pulsejets may be applicable to small scale systems, where their simplicity, low cost, and high thrust-to-weight ratio make them very attractive.

A distinct characteristic of pulsejets is the high frequency, pulsating sound caused by the combustion events that happen hundreds of times per second. Therefore, they are impractical for many applications, except for some military systems such as target drones. Integrating the engines into manned aircraft is difficult because of the high noise and vibration levels. Some experimental helicopters have been powered by pulsejets by attaching the engine to the ends of the rotor blades. The advantage over turbine engines is that pulsejets do not produce torque upon the fuselage and therefore such a helicopter may be designed without a tail rotor.

12

3. COMSOL

This chapter explains what a shock tube is and how it can be used as a basis to simulate a pulsejet. The development of a computational model in COMSOL Multiphysics is outlined.

3.1 Shock Tube

A shock tube is a device used to study aerodynamic flow under a range of temperatures and and investigate compressible flow phenomena and gas phase combustion reactions. A normal shock wave is produced by the sudden bursting of a diaphragm separating a gas at high pressure from one at lower pressure. The shock wave forms very rapidly after the diaphragm ruptures and propagates down the low pressure section of the tube, with a simultaneous expansion, or rarefaction, wave propagating in the opposite direction into the high pressure section. The propagation changes the gas pressure, temperature, and density, and sets the gas in motion. The strength of the shock wave and expansion fan produced depends on the initial pressure ratio across the diaphragm and on the physical properties of the gases in the high and low pressure sections of the tube. This process is shown graphically in Fig. 9, with length of the tube along the x-axis and time along the y-axis. 13

Figure 9 - Shock tube diagram.9 The pressure ratio across the shock wave is given by:

where Ms is the Mach number of the shock wave moving with constant velocity into the gas at rest and γ is the ratio of the air.

The temperature ratio is given by:

[ ][ ]

The density ratio is given by:

Since the effects of viscosity and heat conduction are negligible for the time scale, the Euler equations define the compressible, inviscid gas flow in the tube. These equations are shown below:

14

where u is the velocity, ρ is the density, and p is the pressure. The speed of sound a in a gas is given by:

3.2 Pulsejet Simulation

The shock tube problem uses mathematical functions to describe each component of the pulsejet. The length of the tube is initially specified as three meters long while the pulsejet of interest is a little more than half a meter. This is consequently changed once the parameters are successfully tested at the original three meters. The cross-sectional area A of the pulsejet is not constant, while the shock tube problem defines it as constant. The various sections of the pulsejet will need to be modeled in future work to accurately represent its true geometry, shown below in

Fig. 10. For the time, this is kept constant while manipulating other parameters.

Figure 10 - Red head pulsejet. The plot below produced in COMSOL, in Fig. 11, shows the pressure distribution across the diaphragm of the tube. The horizontal axis is the distance across the diaphragm and time along the vertical axis. The high pressure is on the left and low pressure on the right.

15

Figure 11 – COMSOL shock tube wave diagram.

This situation illustrates a shock wave traveling toward the right and an expansion fan moving to the left into the denser gas. All four boundaries are considered impermeable walls to allow the compression waves to reflect. The upper horizontal boundary is left undefined while the lower is the initial conditions. A stationary solver is used to solve the conservation equations which are defined as variables in a partial differential equation solver. The strong perturbations in the flow due to the wave propagation are resolved using a triangular mesh. Test functions are input together as a weak contribution to account for streamline diffusion.6,7

To induce fluid flow, the bursting diaphragm is represented by a step function that steps from

1 to 2 for both pressure (Pa) and density (kg/m3) over a narrow transition zone near x = 0 [X].

These conditions provide a good foundation, but do not accurately represent a pulsejet. The pulsejet is designed to work closely to standard atmospheric conditions and therefore pressure and density are incremented to realistic conditions.

To better model a pulsejet from this problem, two separate step functions, one for pressure and one for density, are created to simulate more realistic conditions. The working fluid, which 16 in this case is the air-fuel mixture, is assumed to be an ideal gas. The is used to compute densities given temperature and pressure.

The temperature is approximated to be 300 K, which is near room temperature, and the gas constant, R, for air is 286.9 J/(kg.K). The changes are implemented one at a time to allow for debugging ease. COMSOL could not find a solution for the appropriate densities based on the pressures specified, so several iterations are computed.

The pressure ratio is kept constant at 2:1 but the density is decremented until no solution could be found. Two cases are shown below in Fig. 12 and Fig. 13. Figure 12 is the original shock tube problem at 2:1 density ratio a three meter by two meter rectangle. The x-axis is the length, and the y-axis is time. The y-axis is increased to show the reflection of the waves at the walls. Figure 13 is at a density ratio of 0.0625:0.03125 with the original geometry. This is not accurate to the ideal gas law stated earlier but provides a good feel for how the shock tube behaves in different conditions.

Figure 12 - Shock tube pressure 2:1, density 2:1 for 3 meter tube. 17

Figure 13 - Shock tube pressure 2:1, density 0.0625:0.03125 for 3 meter tube.

The waves propagate faster with the lower densities because the speed of sound is greater.

As shown, the wave propagations in Fig. 13 are slightly blurred and COMSOL cannot provide a clear solution of what is actually occurring.

To get the desired geometry to represent the pulsejet of interest, the COMSOL shock tube problem is now altered from three meters long to half a meter. The pressure and density are set back to the original 2:1 step as seen in Fig. 14. The same procedure is done as before, only this time the pressure ratio is increased while the density is decreased again, keeping the ratios constant. COMSOL was able to solve to a pressure ratio of 6:1 and density ratio of 1.2:0.2 shown in Fig. 15. 18

Figure 14 - Shock tube pressure 2:1, density 2:1 for 0.5 meter tube.

Figure 15 - Shock tube pressure 6:1, density 1.2:0.2 for 0.5 meter tube.

Beginning once again with the original shock tube problem, the initial boundary conditions are changed. The left and right boundaries are specified initially as u = 0. To simulate the open nozzle end, the right boundary is changed to equal ambient pressure, p = 1 in this case. When the shock wave hits the right boundary it now reflects as another compression wave, as shown in

Fig. 16. Previously, the shock reflected as an expansion wave. 19

Figure 16 - Shock tube pressure plot with right boundary p = 1. The velocity plot for the conditions stated above is shown in Fig. 17 and 18. The plots show zero velocity at t = 0 and increasing as the waves propagate through the tube. The reflection of the compression wave at the nozzle exit causes a greater increase in velocity, and the direction reversal of the wave that travels upstream in the tube.

Figure 17 - Shock tube velocity plot with right boundary p = 1. 20

Figure 18 - Shock tube velocity graph with right boundary p = 1.

Fig. 19 shows a plot of the density during the same time.

Figure 19 - Shock tube density plot with right boundary p = 1. The velocity can be compared to the original shock tube problem velocity plot shown in Fig.

20. As mentioned, this condition is originally specified u = 0 at the exit. 21

Figure 20 - Shock tube velocity plot with right boundary u = 0. With the velocity profile, thrust per area can be determined. For a given mass flow, the thrust equation is given below:

̇

Therefore, the thrust per area equation reduces down to:

The shock tube problem implicitly defines a constant cross-sectional area where A = 1. As mentioned previously, this is not true for pulsejets but kept constant for the purpose of this calculation. From Fig. 18 and 19, density is 1 kg/m3 with a velocity of 0.6 m/s at 1.2 seconds at the nozzle exit, which gives a thrust of 0.36 N. This thrust is low due to the unrealistic conditions at the exit. The pressure and density ratios are much greater in actuality which would give way to greater velocity at the exit, increasing the thrust considerably. As mentioned, these ratios could not be achieved at the time using this software.

22

4. Conclusions and Future Work

This chapter draws a few conclusions based on the data presented previously in the thesis. In addition, some remarks are made outlining the future work that could be done to expand upon and further progress the development and validation of the simulation model.

4.1 Conclusions

The COMSOL shock tube problem was manipulated to better model a pulsejet operation cycle. By manipulating the pressure, velocity, and density parameters for the model, more realistic conditions were simulated. COMSOL could not find a solution for desired pressure and density ratios based on real conditions, but adequate ratios were reached to gain a better understanding of the process.

Also, the geometry is not completely accurate. A pulsejet has changing cross-sectional area while the shock tube is modeled as having a constant area. Previously, the pulsejet contour was modeled with changing cross-sectional area but the overall length was modeled as 26 meters to allow sensible data return from each component.5 To achieve realistic data, this contour will have to be scaled down to the actual geometry. Since the pulsejet operates at a frequency of around

250 Hz, the time scale will also have to be adjusted to milliseconds.

4.2 Future Work

23

Realistic conditions must be modeled, with pressures stepping from 2x105 Pa to 1x105 Pa, while changing the density also to maintain the appropriate acoustic wave velocity. This poses a challenge because the research conducted showed COMSOL had trouble finding a solution at these values. By scaling down the pulsejet’s length and simulating more realistic conditions, a more accurate thrust may be obtained.

Upon completion of the COMSOL model, testing the simulation against experimental data is vital to its validation. Once achieved, the model can be used to optimize the thrust produced by pulsejets and allow for more efficient designs to be created.

24

References

[1] Zheng, F. “A new acoustic model for valveless pulsejets and its application to optimization thrust.” Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power, Vol. 130.4 01 Jul 2008: 041501. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. 23 Feb 2012.

[2] Foa, Joseph V. Elements of Flight Propulsion. John Wiley & Sons, 1960. Print.

[3] Geng, T., Kiler Jr., A., Ordon, R., Kuznetsov, A. V., Zeng, T. F., and Roberts, W. L., “Combined Numerical and Experimental Investigation of a Hobby-Scale Pulsejet.” AIAA Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 23, No. 1, Jan 2007, pp. 186-193. 25 Feb 2012.

[4] Ogorelec, Bruno. "Valveless Pulsejets 1.5 By Bruno Ogorelec." Home Made Jet & Pulsejet Engine. Mike Everman, 2012. Web. 1 Mar. 2012. .

[5] Geng, T., Zheng, F., Kuznetsov, A. V., Roberts, W. L., Paxson, D. E., “Comparison Between Numerically Simulated and Experimentally Measured Flowfield Quantities Behind a Pulsejet.” Flow, Turbulence and Combustion, Vol. 84, No. 4, June 2010, pp.

653-667. 2 Mar 2012.

[6] Beers, B. R., “Investigating Geometrical Configurations of a Hobby-Scale Pulsejet Engine for Maximum Thrust Efficiency.” B.S. Thesis, Aerospace Dept., The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 2011.

[7] “Shock Tube,” COMSOL Multiphysics 4.2, COMSOL Group, 2011.

[8] COMSOL Multiphysics, Software Package, Ver. 4.2, COMSOL Inc., Burlington, MA, 2011.

25

[9] Davis, H. J., Curchack, H. D., “Shock Tube Techniques and Instrumentation.” DTIC AD0692295, 1969.

[10] "Lenoir Cycle." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Sept. 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2012. .

Academic Vita of Andrew Chaves

Andrew Chaves 511 Clay Lane State College, PA 16801 [email protected]

Education The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA Aug 2009-May 2012  Schreyer Honors College Scholar  Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering Undergraduate Thesis, Penn State University, University Park, PA Aug 2011-May2012  Thesis Title: Investigation of Pulsejet Engine Geometry for Maximum Thrust Efficiency  Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Michael Micci  Development of a computational model in COMSOL Multiphysics to simulate pulsejet operation in order to maximize thrust.

Experience Moog Inc., East Aurora, NY Summers 2009, 2010, 2011  Investigated and resolved weld failure on Orion spacecraft thruster valve. Improved weld parameters have been successfully implemented on production parts.  Worked in systems engineering on requirements management and flowdown for the Ares I Upper Stage Thrust Vector Control Actuator Assembly. Responsible for the management, derivation and implementation of cable requirements.  Learned basic skills in Unigraphics NX4 modeling software and CADRA. Responsible for modeling and manufacturing of test parts. Flight Vehicle Design and Fabrication Aug 2009-May 2012  Designing and constructing a human powered airplane to compete for the Kremer International Sporting Aircraft Competition

Honors and Leadership  Dean’s List 4 of 6 semesters  Schreyer Honors College Academic Excellence Scholarship  George H. Deike Scholarship  Penn State Navigators Student Coordinator