Thomas Murdoch Email and Phone Number

Systems and Installation

Research and design into a rocket based combined cycle (RBCC) APU for automotive use. Duties include turbomachinery analysis, combustor design, component prototyping, test rig design and construction.

Involved in three separate projects as a research assistant. First was the creation of a modified core-XY 3D printer used as a planar tracking system for small insects and fish. This tracking system was used to move a camera directly over the specimen and record its reactions to environmental stimuli. The project involved 3D printing and assembly, customized hardware, motor driver programming, and documentation.The second project I am involved with is the testing and analysis of an omnidirectional tracker for the same type of specimen as listed above. This tracker controls the movement of a ball to directly counteract the movement of said specimen, effectively making it stationary while also having no tethers or boundaries to effect the behaviour.The last project is an extension of the second one mentioned. It is the development of a robot that will be wirelessly controlled with inputs from the omnidirectional tracker. IE if the specimen turns left, the robot will turn left. Also, using a video feed from the onboard camera, there will be screens inside the tracker to allow for the creation of an artificial reality. Robotics middle-ware is ROS.

This position was a one-on-one class that also doubled as a research assistant position. I was taught the fundamentals of fracture mechanics and its specific uses in in the field of aviation. During this period of time, I taught myself ABAQUS CAE to use the LEFM functionality therein. I created a tutorial for the simulation of a notched, 3D printed dog-bone in static tension. The results of this simulation were then to be compared with lab tests. This simulation was not complete when I left but the tutorial fleshed out the groundwork required.