Projects

This is my first “real” engineering project and one of my favorite projects. For the project, I led a team of 4 engineering students to design a machine from 4 CNC axes. Based on the brainstorming sessions and market research, the team agreed on a machine that could clean shoes thoroughly and quickly, which would benefit both people with a busy schedule and people with disabilities or hand injuries. The machine worked by using 1 of the axes to spray cleaning liquids while the remaining 3 axes created a cleaning motion with a cloth. I was tasked with coordinating the team meetings and programming the Arduinos that control the motion of the CNC axes using MATLAB. My favorite feature about the machine is that the user can choose different shoe sizes, and the cleaning motion will be adjusted based on the selection. The final product was presented during an Expo in 2018 to the Mechanical Engineering department leadership, faculty, and students, and the machine was voted as the most promising product.

Over summer 2021, in addition to working as a Mechanical Engineering Intern at Avidyne, during my free time, I was also learning Aerodynamics because of my interest in designing safer, more efficient, more reliable, and more eco-friendly commercial aircraft. For the project, I wanted to simulate the flow around an airfoil to understand the pressure coefficients and the lift generated. Even though there are commercial simulators available, I have always wanted to create my own solver, and this was an opportunity for me to challenge myself and test my knowledge. The solver works by discretizing and placing linear strength vortex panels along the surface of an airfoil using MATLAB. The project was a success since the results were within 5% of the experimental data for small angles of attack and within 15% for large angles of attack. The project also proved useful for selecting or even designing an appropriate airfoil for the AIAA Design Build Fly aircraft that I am currently working on.

This project is similar to the Vortex Panel Method project above. However, the project deals with non-lifting inviscid flow over an arbitrary body. This and the Vortex Panel Method are some of the fundamental solvers to help Aerodynamicist visualize fluid flow over various bodies. This solver works by discretizing different shapes into constant strength source panels using MATLAB. From there, the induced velocity from the panels can be calculated and superimposed with the free stream to form streamlines encapsulating the body. However, since only source panels are used, no circulation is created around the body, so no lift is generated. This solver is suitable for low-speed flows simulations where there is little flow separation. In addition, the Source Panel Method can also be incorporated with the Vortex Panel Method to create a more sophisticated solver.

In order to understand how materials or structures behave under stress, experiments can be conducted to record their responses. However, this can cause permanent damage, and the procedure may also be costly. Therefore, simulation proposes a promising solution to the problem. For this project, I created a program to analyze 2D structures, such as trusses or discretized shapes, when forces are applied. The MATLAB program works by creating a stiffness matrix that represents the structure and solving for the displacement of the nodes. From there, a visualization of the deformed structure can be studied and compared to the original shape. The project was a success with results within 1% of the analytical solution. In the future, I am planning to expand this program to 3D structures, which can help analyze parts within cars, aircraft, phones, laptops, etc. (the products that I am very passionate about).

Vibration analysis has many applications in Mechanical Engineering such as designing a gearbox, a motor, or a suspension system. As a result, I wanted to understand the fundamentals by developing a program to simulate the vibration of a string with fixed ends. The program works by discretizing the string into smaller elements and numerically solving a governing second-order partial differential equation through MATLAB, effectively determining the shape of the string throughout time. Additionally, the program also analyzes the stability of the solution by adjusting the element size and the time step and finding the optimal ratio between the two. The program also utilizes modal analysis by calculating the eigenvectors, and it also calculates the natural frequency corresponding to each mode through the eigenvalues. This project provides the base knowledge for applications of machine parts and engine design, which is very useful in the Automotive and Aerospace industry.

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