David Van Zyl, M.A.Sc Email & Phone Number

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

• Engineered a battery-powered quadcopter drone designed to deliver a crawler robot to a target location on industrial piping and structures in order to perform wall thickness measurements• Developed a detailed assembly of the drone in SolidWorks, ensuring all parts are accurate and contain the correct information, such as materials of construction and suppliers• Leveraged manufacturing techniques such as 3D printing and CNC machining to fabricate parts to specified requirements• Directed the assembly process, ensuring seamless integration and construction of the prototype• Played a pivotal role in securing a contract with our client, leveraging the exceptional performance of both the quadcopter platform and the crawler inspection robot

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

• Executed stress analysis, devised test protocols, developed dynamic simulation models, and optimized geometry for the development of a gyroscopic stabilizer used onboard marine vessels• Developed a simulation model of boat-gyroscope dynamics using Modelica and Python, enabling precise analysis of system dynamics and characterization of loading profiles seen by key components• Performed analysis on test data from trials to validate simulation models, evaluated system performance, and precisely determined loads on components within the system• Led the stress analysis of the flywheel to design FEA models across diverse load cases• Applied stress analysis findings to optimize geometry, conducted fatigue analysis, and helped devise appropriate test protocols to ensure the performance and safety of the flywheel

Vancouver, Bc

• Executed stress analysis, devised test protocols, developed dynamic simulation models, and optimized geometry for the development of a gyroscopic stabilizer used onboard marine vessels• Developed a simulation model of boat-gyroscope dynamics using Modelica and Python, enabling precise analysis of system dynamics and characterization of loading profiles seen by key components• Performed analysis on test data from trials to validate simulation models, evaluated system performance, and precisely determined loads on components within the system• Led the stress analysis of the flywheel to design FEA models across diverse load cases• Applied stress analysis findings to optimize geometry, conducted fatigue analysis, and helped devise appropriate test protocols to ensure the performance and safety of the flywheel

Montreal, Canada

• Analyzed soil-tool interactions using discrete element methods to validate the models used in an interactive, real-time 3-D dynamics simulator• Characterized soil properties by replicating laboratory tests within the simulation environment

Montreal, Canada

• Designed and optimized flexible fish scale inspired protective materials• Investigated various methods of influencing the properties of deformation and failure of the materials• Developed computer simulation models for simple scale interactions in MATLAB

Master Of Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics, 93%

Bachelor'S Degree, Mechanical Engineering, Gpa Of 3.80 Out Of 4.0