Author: Chinmaya Joshi | Major: Mechanical Engineering | Semester: Fall 2024
I am Chinmaya Joshi, and I attended the Thermal and Fluids Analysis Workshop organised by NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. I attended the conference to present my research on the “Development of High-Temperature Lightweight Radiator Panels with 3-D Printed Titanium Loop Heat Pipes.” I presented the research on behalf of the University of Arkansas team working on this project. Our team from the Nano Energy and Data Driven Discovery (NED3) Lab, led by Dr. Han Hu, worked on the “Manufacturing and Thermal Characterisation of Materials for Lightweight Titanium Encapsulated Pyrolytic Graphite Panels.” I presented my research along with Parth Agrawal, a PhD student from University of Cincinnati, who is also working on the project. This research explores thermal systems for spacecrafts. The titanium heat pipes use wicking in order to transfer heat from one place to the radiator fins that are titanium encapsulated in pyrolytic graphite and have excellent thermal conductivity. This research will support nuclear propulsion systems for space research, exploration, and travel, with possible use cases for missions on Mars.
Ready to Present at NASA TFAWS!
I received a lot of positive feedback on the presentation and also got feedback on my experimental methods. Dr. Michael Baldwin, a NASA engineer from Marshall Spaceflight Center, let me know of a few considerations that I must account for in my experiments based on his previous knowledge. I also discussed unique material properties of Pyrolytic Graphite with Dr. Junsoo Park from NASA Ames Research Center.
The trip contributed immensely to my professional development by allowing me to watch other people present and networking with different people. I met different professionals, professors, and students from different organisations. I also met many graduate students from different universities across the U.S. which also inspired me and gave me more motivation to continue my studies and apply to graduate school. I also attended workshops to learn about softwares that are used in the industry like ANSYS, Thermal Desktop, and analysis methods commonly used in the industry and academia.
Based upon the feedback on my presentation, I learnt that the usage of plots and figures to show data is imperative and helps the audience grasp the concept easily. This also allows the audience to understand the research better and ask questions that help me to think positively and critically about the research in the future.
Not only was this event a great learning experience but it was also a networking opportunity for me. I was able to spend time and hang out with NASA engineers who are experts in their field. I would suggest every student interested in Thermal and Fluid Sciences to attend this conference. I would call it a life changing experience with the amount of exposure and experience I gained from this conference.
I will continue to work on my research in the future and possibly use it and my experience at this conference for my honors thesis. I thank the Honors College for the Travel Grant and for the Research Grant through which I am able to succeed as a student and researcher.