Biography

In hopes of performing meaningful research on the efficient and responsible use of energy, I am pursuing a PhD in engineering with a focus on the optimization of fuel injectors in gas turbine engines. The ultimate goal is the minimization of the environmental impact of gas turbine combustion and the maximization of fuel efficiency. More specifically, I am analyzing liquid fuel injectors for aero-engine applications. This optimization problem is complicated by a number of design trade-offs and the computationally expensive simulations required for an accurate assessment of a given design's performance. Combining empirical and analytical tools with computational fluid dynamics conducted at varying degrees of spatial and temporal resolution, I aspire to develop an automated, multi-fidelity approach for fuel injector design. Furthermore, this project will provide some insight into the influence of injector design parameters on overall combustor performance.