Thomas Furlong Email & Phone Number

Washington, Dc, Us

Reston, Va, Us

Reston, Va, Us

Current modeling techniques for cavitation are over simplified and neglect intrinsically transient, multiphase, multi-component, and turbulent aspects of the flow behavior involving components of liquid fuel, vapor fuel, and the air within the injector at the beginning of each injection. Three challenges exist causing difficulty in the modeling process: (1) The three dimensional and turbulent nature of the flow requires significant computational power. (2) Real sized nozzles are difficult to study experimentally prohibiting full understanding of the underlying physics. (3) The relation between cavitation and downstream spray behavior is unknown. Fully capturing the physics of the cavitating flow could lead to enhanced predictions of spray behavior and therefore allow for optimization of the combustion process. By leveraging high-performance computing to generate high fidelity models of the multiscale physics, a fundamental understanding of the underlying physics can be developed.

Amherst, Massachusetts, Us

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was utilized to model the capillary tube section of the Plasma Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Solutions (PRESS). Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Solutions (RESS) have been previously used in industry to create fine particles of pharmaceuticals for quick delivery once ingested or added to the blood stream. PRESS is a slight variation of RESS where a binary supercritical fluid with a precursor expands through a capillary tube into an expansion chamber with a plasma stream influencing the flow. The PRESS process was simplified to only include the binary supercritical fluid and a model was implemented that expanded a carbon dioxide and ethanol mixture. The model was limited in scope due to the trivial root problem which arises when utilizing a cubic equation of state to solve for the liquid and vapor densities of a fluid.

Amherst, Massachusetts, Us

Determined the feasibility of a condensing injector refrigerator cycle, which utilizes a condensation shock to provide a second stage of compression to increase the efficiency over a typical refrigerator. Performing a thermodynamic analysis of the two-phase injector component and cycle to optimize efficiency. Compared this analysis to literature and an in lab computational fluid dynamic code being developed that utilizes of the Homogeneous Relaxation Method.

Notre Dame, In, Us

Modeled the flow in a mass spectrometer using Fluent in order. Researched methods of adapting the Scanning Thermal Microscopy technique to determine the thermal conductivity for thin films that have high thermal conductivity; intended to determine the thermal conductivity of graphene.

Received University National Park Energy Partnership Program (UNPEPP) grant to performed energy audits of dozens of on site buildings to determine cost saving procedures, installations, and repairs. Determined the return on investment (ROI) of each of these items and recommended which measures the park should implement. Utilized eQuest to determine the energy load of one of the larger buildings, the Douglas Center, to determine the cost effectiveness of installing a geothermal heat pump. Researched the ability to convert the roof of one building into a green roof in terms of both economic feasibility and structural feasibility.

Juno Beach, Fl, Us

Worked within the Balance of the Plant (BOP) group creating a piping and instrumentation diagram of supplemental diesel engine coolant system. Performed research and wrote a recommendation advising the plant to spend in excess of $100,000 replace hundreds of spiral wound gaskets with models that have protective inner rings. The recommendation was approved once safety concerns and industry standards were compiled. Exposed to day to day challenges of operating nuclear power plants.

Ms, Mechanical Engineering

Bs, Mechanical Engineering