Developing unsteady optimisation methods for rotor design including aspects such as aeroelasticity, trim and advanced blade surface parameterisation methods.

Teaching a Computational Fluid Dynamics course to undergraduate students whilst continuing my PhD research on rotor design.

Research project supported by DSTL aimed at expanding the current knowledge of helicopter rotor design through advanced CFD methods and optimisation techniques. A significant part of the project was conducted under “The Technical Cooperation Programme” (TTCP) in collaboration with US Army (USA), NRC (Canada) and DSTO (Australia), leading to the development of a range of skills such as project management, critical-thinking and adaptability.• Performed in-depth CFD validation studies using the in-house HMB3 solver for rotors in hover and forward flight, leading to a set of guidelines regarding the CFD setup and methodology for improved solution accuracy and efficiency.• Developed an Overset Harmonic Balance Adjoint optimisation framework which led to the enhancement of my knowledge and use of advanced CFD modelling and optimisation techniques.• Demonstrated the optimisation framework in a rotor design study, leading to an improved understanding of rotary wing flows and aerodynamic phenomena associated with them. • Contributed to the development and maintenance of the in-house HMB3 (Helicopter Multi-Block) CFD solver, through which, I developed my programming skills.• Gained experience of working with a CFD workflow – from geometry processing, meshing (ANSYS ICEM-CFD), running the CFD solver (HMB3) to analysing and post-processing results (Tecplot).• Developed structural models for rotor blades in MSC-NASTRAN (1D beam and 3D FEM).• Attended numerous meetings with the project partners and project sponsor (DSTL) and presented at several specialist conferences where I developed my public speaking skills.• Published three journal articles and five conference proceedings.

Master Thesis Placement at Rolls - Royce plc. with the CFD Methods team.Optimisation of a Fuel Swirl Nozzle (FSN) system in lean burn combustion using genetic algorithms in an industrially relevant project, leading to developed experience in aerodynamic design of turbomachinery components and optimisation techniques. First-hand experience of working in the aerospace industry, within a team of 10-12 engineers leading to the development and communication and team-working skills.• Generated a datum swirl vane design procedure to match the required optimisation constraint (swirl number) without the need to conduct CFD simulations, leading to reduced computational costs.• Optimisation of several swirl vanes in the FSN system using state of the art genetic algorithms (ARMOGA, MAM) and new design validation through adjoint sensitivity calculations, leading to significant major efficiency benefits.• Surface roughness studies to assess the impact of the Additive-Layer Manufacturing (ALM) technology on the swirl vane performance.• Enhanced presentation skills through regular meetings with the project customer – a member of the Rolls-Royce Combustion Team.

Working as part of a team in a fast-growing business and making sure that orders reach the customers on time.• Duties involved: processing and packaging orders, stock control, data entry, improving warehouse procedures and mentoring new staff.• Time-management skills expanded through managing a good balance between work and university.