Iowa State University, Aerospace Engineering
Ames Research Center – RAPTOR and RAPTOR WATCH
What are the current goals of your project?
The goals I have that remain for this internship are to acquire the parts for WATCH and assemble it for future testing, build the cowling for the intake of the RAPTOR wind tunnel using an effective material, complete a whole study in RotCFD to determine the performance of flow through the test section, and complete construction of both a blast shield in the PAL and the reconstruction of a blast shield in the Aerolab. Along with this, we hope to test the air ejection system to validate its’ effectiveness for becoming the new drive system for the RAPTOR wind tunnel as well as complete further construction on RAPTOR as it arises. Of course, on top of all of this, my main goal is to develop my skills in engineering while making connections with awesome people and learning as much as I can!
What accomplishments has your project made so far?
We have made changes to the RAPTOR WATCH system through solid works that fits the selection for use of different main structural pieces with greater support. This change required the recreation of RAPTOR WATCH in solid works as well as the importing of the various systems for moving the pitot tube about the characterizing area, the belt system and ball screw system. Along with the creation of a new and updated CAD model to prep for ordering of parts and assembly, the previous iteration of WATCH built in our lab, the Aerolab, was disassembled and an official parts list was put together for ordering. CFD was also performed using RotCFD to predict the airflow through the RAPTOR wind tunnel with a rotor located inside of the test section to replicate predicted wall interference from other computational fluid dynamics systems. These tests are ongoing with the goal of finding comparable results to other simulations ran. As well as these two major tasks, I’m performing work on the construction of a new blast shield in the Planetary Aeolian Laboratory as well as assisting in construction of a new test stand for testing of rotors.
What impact has this internship had so far?
This internship has greatly impacted me as an engineer in multiple ways. The first way is it showed me how effective a productive engineering environment can impact my skills as an engineer and, as a result, made the intimidating feel of professional engineering environments less of a concern for myself. Another way it impacted me is by showing me the type things I enjoy doing as an engineer. I really enjoy being a hands on assembly and design person as the time I spent working on the project in SolidWorks and then being able to get in there and build it showed me the passion I have for taking my ideas and making them a reality via my own creation. The third major way it changed my future goals is it showed me the different work environments produced by NASA as opposed to other private engineering companies and showed me the upsides and downsides of working for both. This has professionally developed me and provided me insights to what I believe is the best course of action for my future careers in engineering and what I think will work best for my own future. In addition to all of the ways I developed professional and as an engineer, the internship has further proved that my true passion is aerospace engineering and that I choose the right path when choosing my STEM field.