Blog | Raghavan Research Group

IRES Blog

May 26th, 2023

Guten tag!

The day is finally here! Michael and I will be going to Germany today. We arrive in Frankfurt and then each of us goes to our respective destination. I am excited to begin working at the DLR next week. This week Dr. Raghavan and I worked together on writing an abstract to present some of my work at the Scitech conference. I will continue sharing more about my journey in the upcoming weeks!

Talk to you soon! Tschüss!

- Perla

May 19th, 2023

Guten Abend!

Only one more week until we leave for Germany! Mixed emotions of both excitement and nervousness have been hitting since this is my first time traveling abroad. There have been a lot of housekeeping items to take care of before I leave, so I will be spending less time in the lab next week to fully prepare. I’ve learned a lot about travel preparation in the past month and I am super thankful for everyone that has helped me. I have offloaded some experiments at the HiPER-STAR lab for my peers to complete while I am away, so I am also very thankful for them. My next blog will be done from Germany! Until then, tschüss!

- Mike

May 12, 2023

Hallo!

Two more weeks until Michael and I arrive in Germany! We are beyond excited to see what our summer will look like once we are there. We finally booked our flights and completed our weekly plan. These past few days, I have been working on finalizing the experiment plan for the studies that I will be performing at the DRL. Next week I will have my final meeting with Dr. Bartsch and Dr. Raghavan before I arrive in Cologne. We will spend some time discussing the experiments that I will be performing and the focus of my research, and the outcomes. I am excited to share more about my journey in Germany.

Talk to you soon! Tschüss!

- Perla

May 5, 2023

Hallo again!

Final exams are (finally) done and there is now only 21 more days until we leave for Germany! This past week, I finalized the dates that I will be traveling to see the Cologne DLR facility and Siemens in Berlin. Not only will these be great ways to explore Germany, but I will also get to see the project that Perla is researching as well as the Siemens facility! I am also starting to plan personal trips that I will take once on the weekends while I’m there. Next week, we should have our flights booked and we will be all set to head over! T-minus 3 weeks! Mike

April 28, 2023

Hallo!

We have less than a month until we arrive to Germany! These past weeks have been stressful and overwhelming with research, classes, and the Germany preps, but we are almost there! This week I was conducting some experiments at the NASA Langley Research Center on air plasma sprayed alumina. These experiments will help me to determine which steps I should take while I am at the DLR. Next week I will be meeting with my DLR mentor to discuss my plan for the summer. Next week will be busier since I will be planning and booking the places that I will stay at the first few days in Cologne. Can't wait to share more with everyone. Talk to you soon! Tschüss! - Perla

April 21, 2023

Hallo!

Checking in again, I have finally signed the housing lease for my time in Stuttgart! Both Perla and Prof. Raghavan have very thankfully helped me out a lot. I have been planning the S-bahn routes that I will need to take for my trips to and from DLR. At the same time, I have finished writing my thesis and been continuing with hydrogen/ammonia experiments in the lab. This is also my last semester of coursework, so as finals week and our departure date for Germany approaches, the days will continue to get busier! I still have not lost my Duolingo streak, I am onto 83 days and have been practicing some conversational skills with other students in my lab. T-minus 5 weeks until we leave! - Mike

April 14, 2023

Hallo!

Every day I feel more nervous and excited about the journey that I will experience this summer. This week I was able to complete a draft of my weekly research plan for this summer at the DLR. Although my focus will be studying ceramic materials and air plasma sprayed alumina coatings, there is a chance that I will also study and do more characterization on cubes 3D printed with lunar soil. This week I did my very first solo trip to San Francisco, California, where I presented my research about the adhesion forces between the lunar regolith particles and the surface of the air plasma sprayed alumina coatings. These experiences allow me to leave my comfort zone and learn more about the science performed around the world! I will continue sharing about my journey as I prepare for my trip. Talk to you soon! Tschüss! - Perla

April 7, 2023

Guten Tag!

It has been an extremely busy week full of preparation for the trip to Germany as well as research presentations and exams. I am also making the last revisions to my first accepted journal paper for the Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power-Transactions! Yesterday, Perla and I gave a STEM outreach presentation to high school students, which was really cool to see their interest in engineering in particular. We talked a lot about how STEM research can lead to international collaboration, such as IRES, which I believe is extremely important for solving global issues. After discussing more with Dr. Naumann, I will also be performing single-pulse shock tube (SPST) measurements to gather N2O emission measurements at DLR, something I have never done before. I am still keeping my Duolingo streak of 69 days! Tschuss! - Mike

March 31, 2023

Hallo!

I am beyond excited to share the news that I have defended my thesis! These past weeks have been busy since I was working on my thesis, classes, TA, and other research responsibilities. Now I can spend more time preparing for my summer in Germany and complete my weekly research summer plan. I have been in contact with the manager of my housing, so I have a secure place now! Next week Michael and I will be doing an outreach event to share our experiences in the STEM field with the next generation. We are very excited to spend some time with the students and share all the amazing things that we have learned during our college journey as engineering students. I am hoping to book our flights soon! Talk to you soon! Tschüss! - Perla

March 24^th, 2023

Guten Morgen!

Travel plans for the IRES trip are in full swing now. I have a completed draft and budget that includes trips to both Cologne and Berlin to see the DLR facility where Perla will be and to visit Siemens. I have had tremendous help from previous IRES students and surprisingly feel quite prepared! I have also begun planning my week-to-week experimental schedule while I will be at DLR in Stuttgart. Dr. Naumann has said that they will be studying nitrogen oxide (NO) kinetics in the shock tube for mixtures of hydrogen and ammonia (H₂/NH₃). These experiments will make a chemical kinetic model that will help design the combustion chamber in zero-carbon emission turbine engines. I have done similar experiments here at UCF with natural gas (NG)/H₂/NH₃ and am super excited that international scientists are doing similar work! I have expectations that I can bring back a lot of useful information when I do experiments for my dissertation. Lastly, I am on a 55-day streak in Duolingo and attempting to learn German for the first time. T minus 9 weeks until I arrive in Germany! Tschüss! - Mike

March 17, 2023

Hallo!

My name is Perla Latorre. I am a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in aerospace engineering. I will be completing my master’s degree this spring and continuing with my education by pursuing a doctoral degree in aerospace engineering. This year I had the amazing opportunity to be one of the students participating in the IRES program. This summer, I will be working with Dr. Marion Bartsch on studying multiple material properties of ceramics. During this time, I have been working with Dr. Raghavan and Michael to prepare for our travels and plan our weeks in Germany. We have decided that we will visit each other to learn more about our projects and studies. I am looking forward to this summer and learning beyond my expectations. I will share more in two weeks!

Perla

March 10, 2023

Guten Morgen!

My name is Michael Pierro, and I am currently a 3rd-year Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. student at UCF. I received my Bachelor’s degrees in both Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in 2020 from UCF and will be finishing my Aerospace Engineering Master’s Thesis this semester before I head off to Stuttgart, Germany to participate in the incredible IRES program! I am extremely excited to be under the guidance of international scientists and researchers who share the same passions as me! On top of that, I have never traveled outside of the U.S., so this is going to be an… interesting experience for me to say the least!

I have been meeting biweekly with Prof. Raghavan, Perla, and separately with my advisor, Prof. Vasu, to start planning travel dates and budgeting my trip. On top of that, I’ve been connecting with past IRES students for tips because I will definitely need them! I have also met with my DLR advisors, Dr. Naumann and Dr. Braun, to discuss housing and the current projects ongoing at DLR in Stuttgart. Lastly, there are plans for to me visit the other research labs in Cologne and Berlin to participate in research projects out of my current experience. All of this is a little overwhelming but nevertheless, I am beyond excited to participate in this program!

T minus 11 weeks until I arrive in Germany!

Mike

July 29, 2022

Hallo!

It’s hard to believe that IRES is almost over! I feel like I arrived in Germany just yesterday. These last few weeks have been very busy. I have been setting up a 2D CMAS infiltration model in Star-ccm+ using an Abaqus simulation made by a former master's student here at DLR as a guide. However, I am adding capabilities to the simulation such as conjugate heat transfer, temperature-varying material properties for both the CMAS and Thermal barrier coating and investigating the possibility of using co-simulation techniques to resolve the deformation of the TBC as the CMAS infiltrates it. Right now, the main difficulty is correctly capturing the CMAS’s interaction with the walls of the TBC model, as well as ensuring the capillary and viscous forces of the simulation aren’t reaching equilibrium, as this will cause the CMAS to stop infiltration. Since my last blog, I have visited Berlin and Amsterdam. In Berlin, the IRES students toured the Siemen’s gas turbine factory. It’s here where I had a realization that working with non-dimensional numbers and with simulations can really make you forget just how massive some components can be. So massive, in fact, that Siemens had to dig their own canal through Berlin in order to ship the turbines. After visiting the gas turbine factory, we went to the Berlin Zoo together. The next day, I did all the typical Berlin tourist stuff: the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, etc. It’s very interesting to see how the city has been shaped by the Cold War era separation and reunification. A week after visiting Berlin, my fiancée came to visit me, and we went to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city, from the architecture to the network of canals, and everything in between. We went on a canal cruise, did the Heineken Experience, and looked at the windmills along the Zaans Schaans! I’m very happy to have taken part in this experience. It helped me advance my research and enriched my perspectives with international experience. However, I’m also very happy to be going home soon. The hardest thing about being in Europe is being here alone. The best experiences were certainly the ones shared with my fellow IRES students, the friends I’ve made at DLR, and the precious week I got to spend with my fiancée. Back in the US, I will miss the plentiful bakeries, the wonderful public transit, and the friendly people here. However, I am looking forward to having air conditioning again.

Tschüss!

Brendon

July 22, 2022

Hallo Freunde!

I can proudly say my German has gotten progressively well. Still, keeping up a conversation can be difficult, but I understand many words. This small knowledge has helped in navigating around Europe or in buying groceries. Speaking of navigating through Europe, my colleagues and I all met in Berlin to tour the Siemens establishment. The factory showed a long history of being in the heart of Germany for over 175 years and providing innovation to the energy industry. It was a great honor to be guided through the buildings where tests and assemblies of heavy-duty gas turbines are being held. Although I was not allowed to take any pictures, my colleagues and I did take a picture next to the infamous Siemens bear to say we were there! I will speak for myself, but I must say that this long weekend trip was well needed. Doing research consistently, through simulation or hands-on experiments, can often lead you to forget what the final goal is or what affect you are having on society. We are always concentrating on the details. Therefore, seeing the bigger picture makes coming back to doing research much more motivating! Furthermore, I have less than two weeks left in Germany. This moment is very bittersweet since being in a new country surrounded by a different culture gives a better understanding and appreciation on the German viewpoint. In general, Germans are very conscious of their energy use and impact to the environment. They believe that the solution to climate change is not done through one innovation/product, but through the daily actions of an individual. And that is one message that I will bring back to the states. Moving one brick at a time and in the end, you will have a home.

July 15, 2022

Guten tag, Time has been flying by and this will probably be my last blog written from Germany, as I only have a few weeks left. I’m looking forward to the rest of my time here, but I am also missing my friends and family dearly. The past few weeks have been very busy. The backward-facing step campaign has been in full swing. More than 6 researchers are working on this experiment daily, and it has been a privilege to be involved and work with such knowledgeable people. Our visit to the DLR headquarters in Cologne was awesome! We toured the labs and learned about the research topics of the DLR Institute of Materials Research. It was also nice to meet up with the other IRES students again. We presented what we’ve been working on to each other and a few of the DLR Cologne faculty. I’m grateful I was able to have this opportunity as it was the first in-person presentation I’ve been able to give in years, and it was great to learn more about the other IRES students’ work. Last week my department at DLR Göttingen all went on a hike together after lunch and then ended the day with a BBQ. This was a great opportunity for me to meet other researchers and experts of topics similar to my interests, all while exploring the forests and farmlands of Göttingen. I’m also looking forward to our trip to Berlin and our tour of the Siemens facilities later this week. Bis bald, Benjamin

July 8, 2022

Hallo!

I have been working hard at DLR for over a month now, and the experience just gets better and better. For a couple weeks, there was an issue with UCF’s license for the software I use for computational fluid dynamics. During this time, I was mostly reading literature relating to the CMAS infiltration problem I’m working on. The license issue has been solved for a couple weeks now and because of all the literature review I did in the downtime; I was able to get the ball rolling very quickly. I should definitely have enough data to share at the International Conference for Numerical Methods in Multiphase Flows I’m attending in September. Since my last blog, two IRES events have happened: the DLR Stuttgart visit, and the DLR Cologne visit. Visiting the DLR facility in Stuttgart was a very cool experience. Rosa’s DLR advisor is one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve ever met. Not only could he teach us about his main work with shock tubes, but if there was any sort of test rig or chemical process happening in the Stuttgart facility, he could teach us about it. I guess that’s what happens when you work at the same facility for several decades. My favorite part about this visit though was watching Rosa and her advisor perform a shock tube experiment in front of Ben and I. As someone who mostly works with computers, that’s not something I get to see every day, and it was very cool. Covid-19 restrictions are finally easing up here in DLR Cologne as well. Mask mandates are gone, meetings are back in-person, and informal coffee gatherings are back. I’m a little bummed this didn’t happen sooner, but at least I get to enjoy it for the last month I’m here. Lastly, IRES alumni, Zach Stein came to Cologne after a conference, so we went to Dusseldorf to explore for a bit with a DLR coworker. Tschüss! Brendon

June 29, 2022

This week becomes a month since of my arrival to Germany! It is amazing to look back to see the amount of work which has been done since then. Within the first week of my arrival, I was already performing shock tube experiments alongside my advisor. My previous experience in operating the apparatus at UCF helped speed up the process of being able to participate. Although the equipment from my university varies to the one at DLR, a couple things overlap such as the use of vacuum pumps, venting, and overall preparation of the tube. As always, there is some preparation needed before kickstarting the actual experiments. With our experiment plan in hand, the first two weeks consisted of testing the shock tube for conditions to resemble those of take-off and lift-off pressures of an aero engine; as well as setting up the measurement photo detectors. Like any other research project, there were difficulties along the way. Nonetheless, being a part of previous research projects has helped my patience in knowing that these interferences are only a part of the process. In regard to communication, I am very fortunate to have an advisor who speaks fluent English. As a matter of fact, much of the Germans I’ve interacted with speak very well English, although they think otherwise. Given that my work involves constant communication, it is essential to being able to interact in the same language. Otherwise, it would be difficult. Overall, that is what I love the most about doing research on the shock tube; having the opportunity to get close with my teammates during the experimental phase since it takes two people to operate. It is a very collaborative space in DLR as it is in UCF! Rosa

June 17, 2022

Hallo!

I am almost halfway through my time in Germany and time is flying by. My favorite time of each day is lunch. Not specifically because of the food, but because I am able to have casual conversations with the insanely intelligent people of DLR and learn about their work and opinions. My DLR advisor, although overwhelmingly busy finalizing papers and preparing talks, still makes time to teach me techniques, answer my questions, introduce me to other researchers, and even fix the bicycle he lent to me. The experiment campaign I was going to participate in has experienced large delays with the construction of the model, however is beginning to start up now. I am also meeting many new people on this project. I have done a little traveling on the weekend, including to Kassel, where I hiked up to the Herkules Monument and experienced an incredible view of the city [pictured]. There are so many beautiful sights to see in Germany and the surrounding countries that I will have to make a return visit in the future. I am also looking forward to meeting up with the other IRES students and visiting the DLR facilities in Stuttgart and Cologne in the upcoming days. Tschüss, Benjamin

6th June 2022

Hallo! This is my first blog after arriving in Germany. I’ve been here for a week now and the adjustment has been difficult but rewarding. My flight left only a little late, and I only took one wrong train, but I got where I needed to go. While my travel woes were easily overcome, general homesickness looms over me, and I am learning to deal with that. I got engaged to my (now) fiancée a week before leaving for Germany, so it was extremely difficult to leave her behind. She is making plans to visit me here though, so that is exciting. My flat is a bit far from the main part of Cologne (Köln in German), so I’m not immersed in the city life every day. Instead, I’m in this quaint little village that’s only a 30-minute walk or 10-minute bike ride from the DLR facility. Despite that, I was able to get out and explore Köln a bit this past weekend. I went inside Kölner Dom (9th largest cathedral in the world) and saw some very cool historical artifacts. I also looked around Museum Ludwig, an art museum right next to the cathedral. I plan on going back into the city next weekend to look at the chocolate museum. As someone who does computational work in fluids, working at the DLR Institute of Materials Research has been an interesting experience. I am learning a lot about the different furnaces they use and how they manufacture coatings and aerogels. As someone with very little working knowledge in materials science, I am excited to learn more about it to see how I can combine it with my CFD skills. Tschüss! Brendon

1 June, 2022

Hallo!

Today I am filled with excitement because it is my first day working at the German Aerospace Center. This moment feels surreal since I have been in contact with the scientists virtually, and now we finally had the opportunity to meet in person. Today’s day mostly consisted of having a weekly virtual meeting with all the employees in the combustion sector, where many spoke of their updates on existing projects. Following, I had a tour of the facility and an in-depth look at three shock tubes!! Including the high-pressure shock tube which I will be conducting my experiments in. DLR has state-of-the-art shock tubes and equipment with technicians in place to help with troubleshooting, this will surely help in our progression. Working at an institution as an undergraduate researcher involves having to do many of the troubleshooting ourselves. If a vacuum pump, pressure transducer or another device were to break, it is the student's job to find the solution. This sometimes may take up the entire day and hinders the progress of data processing or analyzing data. Overall, I am looking forward to working with my DLR advisor, who is incredibly knowledgeable in combustion kinetics. He is also a physicist and may provide a different outlook to gas dynamics Rosa

27 May, 2022

Guten tag! I arrived in Germany last week and am loving every bit of it so far. The other IRES students aren’t arriving for a few more days, but I planned to arrive early to better match my DLR advisor’s schedule. There were many bad storms on the east coast of the US when my flight was scheduled to leave. I thought I might have had to wait two more days for the next flight to Frankfurt, but luckily my flight was only delayed 4 hours and turned out very smooth. Exploring the city of Göttingen has been a blast and the weather is lovely, much more enjoyable than Florida’s intense summers. Although my ability to speak German is quite poor, almost everyone speaks good enough English for me to communicate with. Just this week I attended a live concert of an incredible string trio. There are also an abundance of cheap ice-cream stands, that I may have been eating at every day. From their giant wind tunnels to their admirable organization, the facilities at DLR Göttingen are incredible. All the other researchers are extremely friendly and have been very helpful. I have been starting with the processing of synthetic data on the DLR Linux clusters to learn about Iterative Particle Reconstruction. It is surreal to be learning about fluid mechanics in Göttingen, which is considered the birthplace of modern aerodynamics. Ciao, Benjamin

May 9, 2022 Hallo! As a late addition to the IRES team, this is my first blog. I’m Brendon Cavainolo and I just finished my first year as an Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. student at UCF. I also did my undergrad at UCF, majoring in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Computer Science. My research has involved applying computational fluid dynamics to different multiphase problems. In undergrad I worked on simulating and validating the breakup of Supercooled Large Droplets, a type of atmospheric water droplet that can cause unpredictable ice accretion. Last summer, I was an intern at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, OH, where I continued part-time through most of this last school year as well. There, I performed aircraft icing simulations, conjugate heat transfer simulations, as well as developed many automation codes for several simulation pipelines in a high-performance-computer cluster. Right now, my research is focused on the melting-solidification of CMAS (Calcium-Magnesium-Alumino-Silicate), and more specifically how the CMAS can degrade thermal barrier coatings in aircraft engines. During this last semester, I have focused on a validation and mesh study using the Volume-of-Fluid method to model the melting CMAS. At DLR, this work will move toward an infiltration study of CMAS on a CT scan of a thermal barrier coating using the (now validated) method I’ve been working on. I will be traveling to Cologne, Germany in a few weeks to start my work at the Institute of Materials at DLR. I’m also legally blind, so one thing about this journey that I’m most excited about is experiencing a country that has walkable cities and good public transportation. Being a part of this team is an honor and I hope to do right by both UCF and DLR while I’m in Cologne. Brendon

March 30, 2022

Guten tag! These last couple of weeks have been very supportive in my development towards research. Since I am currently taking Aerodynamics of Propulsion Systems, many of the concepts are overlapping with the projects I have been working on in the lab. Before taking the course, I knew how to make fuel and air mixtures using Daltons law of partial pressure according to the desired equivalence ratios. Through this course, the topic was covered with a more descriptive explanation. As well as my understanding of balancing stoichiometry reactions have improved greatly. It is a shame that I needed to wait till my last semester of undergrad to take this course. Overall, I have a much better appreciation now for propulsion in various airbreathing engines such as turbofans, scramjets, etc. In addition, I have been doing extensive literature readings on ammonia and hydrogen fuel at very high pressures and fuel loadings with emphasis on ignition delay time. Our lab has previous work on the chemical kinetics and ignition delay time on both H2/NG/Air and NH3/H2/Air. As an advantage, I can speak with my colleagues first-hand on what obstacles they faced during their experimentation. All in all, I am very intrigued by this topic as it adds to the progression of establishing ammonia and hydrogen as a zero-emission fuel. Rosa

March 18, 2022

Hallo!

This semester is flying by, and we’ll be leaving for Germany in a little over two months! We are continuing to plan our travels, including trips to other DLR facilities. I have found some promising housing options for myself which relieves some stress about the journey. We got some great news this week for our outreach efforts! We are planning to present to an elementary school class in Malaysia next week, that we got in contact with through Skype-A-Scientist. We are also in touch with another class, which we plan to present to later this semester. At the same time, we are working on our virtual submission to the 2022 STEMforAll video showcase. Regarding my research, I have been learning about three-dimensional particle tracking methods, particularly a technique called “Shake-The-Box". I am also investigating the effects of flow control methods, by measuring the point of flow separation on cylinders via flow visualization in a wind tunnel. Thanks for reading! Benjamin

February 18, 2022

Hallo everyone,

For those who have not read last year’s post, my name is Rosa Olivera! This is my second year participating in the IRES program with my research focus in combustion for sustainable aviation fuels. As I am approaching my graduation, I am looking forward to ending my undergraduate career with another international experience with DLR and UCF. Last year's virtual experience taught me a lot about working independently and being part of a diverse research community. This time around, I will be the only undergraduate student collaborating with the Stuttgart scientists, although intimidating, I am also thrilled to show my mentors how far I’ve come. My current class in Aerothermodynamics of Propulsion Systems is further helping in connecting the dots of the work I do in the lab to the academic concepts. We are in preparation mode and getting logistics down in time for travel. In the meantime, the first meeting with UCF and DLR advisors is being coordinated to speak of potential projects to work on during the summer. Wish me luck and until next time! Rosa

February 4, 2022

Hallo,

Welcome to my first blog of IRES 2022! I am Benjamin Latrobe, and I will be beginning my PhD in Mechanical Engineering at UCF this upcoming Fall semester. I finished my bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from UCF in Fall 2021 and have been continuing research since graduation. During my undergraduate I completed an Honors Undergraduate Thesis, submitted a publication for review to the Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science Journal, and had the honor of participating in the IRES virtual program in Summer 2021 where my collaboration with Dr. Daniel Schanz from DLR began. I am currently investigating the effects of plasma actuation on flow over cylinders with Dr. Samik Bhattacharya. It is very nice to see so many IRES students come back from the previous year, and we already know each other very well. The current IRES team is working together to plan our travels to Germany this summer. We are finding housing and flight options while waiting for our travel forms to be approved. I am thrilled to become the first IRES student to travel to DLR Göttingen, while the other students will be travelling to the cities of Stuttgart and Cologne. Thanks for tuning in! Benjamin

June 25, 2021

Hello once again,

Since my last blog post, I have come to many realizations with myself and with the overall importance of conducting research. Lately, my past definition of “hard work” has been put into question- as I am sure has been a similar case with other students who have started research for the first time. Hard work has shown to mean being driven by your own discipline when motivation has depleted.

Nonetheless, understanding the number of efforts and drive that is needed to accomplish research brings a much greater appreciation for my advisors both in DLR and UCF.

Mainly, Dr. Braun and Dr. Naumann are always welcoming their overwhelming amount of knowledge at our weekly meetings and challenging Samantha and I just when we thought we understood it all. In any case, we try to give in return. Our weekly meetings are composed of presenting possible alternative aviation fuels that have not been extensively studied in the industry worldwide. Therefore, a conclusion of its performance in terms of ignition delay time and fuel concentration is concluded from a variation of publications. The main conflict in discovering the next possible fuel is encountering minimal publications and the few that are obtained are done in another sort of method opposed to being performed in a shock tube. This can be particularly frustrating, especially when you finally learned to understand the complexity of one technique and realize there are more!

Even so, I am always excited to learn and contribute in any way that I can.

Wish me luck and until next time!

Rosa

June 25, 2021

Guten tag!

With the start of the IRES summer session back in May, the research of our team has really picked up its pace!

Personally, I’ve been working mainly with data analysis of some Raman data most of this summer so far. It’s been a bit rough since I’ve been having trouble finding peaks for the compounds I’m working with in literature. Outside of that though, the bulk of my work has been taking place in Matlab – both for my IRES work and the work I’m doing with Zac on another paper we’re working on. Thankfully, I actually like working in Matlab!

Since my last post, I’ve also been attending workshops put on by SURF that have been super helpful in terms of the logistics of research! We also have a poster presentation coming up for this program, so I better start working on that soon too.

I’m also excited though to be taking part in some outreach next Wednesday! A group of researchers from my lab is doing an activity for Camp Connect this year, so I joined to be a part of it this year. We’ll be teaching students about tensegrity and how it’s used throughout engineering, and making a structure of wooden sticks and elastic strings to demonstrate how it works!

Until next time, Tschüss!

Vanessa

June 18, 2021

Hello again. Long time no see.

IRES has picked up in full momentum – Jillian has been granted some time at Oak Ridge, Vanessa has secured some confocal raman, and my CFD experiments pertaining gas turbine erosion are in motion. The last meeting with our advisors, Dr. Barsch and Dr. Ravi was a productive one and sent me on a new experimental path. Dr. Ravi kindly shared some papers with me that provided some critical data for my CFD experiments. The question I now seek to answer is: what is the effect of substrate surface roughness on CMAS predictions in gas turbine engines?

Stay tuned for the IRES summer symposium where we will all discuss our results. By then, I should have a decent answer to the aforementioned question. This thesis will also be my Summer Undergraduate Research proposal, and will be featured at that conference as well.

Drew

June 18, 2021

Guten tag!

I have some very exciting news to share with you all! The last time we spoke, I had just submitted my very first experimental proposal to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee…

I am thrilled to announce that my research to investigate residual stresses on additively manufactured superalloys was awarded beamtime later this Fall! The material of interest is Inconel 718, a common Ni-based superalloy that is ideal for Gas Turbine environments as they have superior mechanical strength and creep resistance at high temperatures, and good corrosion and oxidation resistance compared to normal metals and alloys.

Dr. Raghavan and I have already met with ORNL scientists to discuss the instrument parameters in depth, while also discuss data analysis techniques and run of show operations. The next step is to work with my group to develop a comprehensive experimental plan for each of the 4 days we were awarded. I am still in shock that the very first proposal I’ve submitted was accepted, but that just goes to show how advanced the research I am participating in is! It just reminds me how lucky I am to have been selected to participate in IRES this year, and how excited I am to learn more.

Tschüss!

Jillian

June 11, 2021

Hello!

We are a few weeks into our IRES research this summer and I have come across many obstacles. An experiment with many moving parts has many opportunities for something to go wrong, but when everything is setup properly and dialed in, it is very rewarding to see your efforts finally pay off. I am extremely grateful for all of the researchers and Professors who have assisted me, answered my questions, and even brought up questions that were important for me to consider. I had another meeting with my DLR advisor where I had the opportunity to present and discuss my current progress. I am aiming to finish my current experiment in the next few weeks and am looking forward to starting another experiment immediately afterwards.

Until next time, Benjamin

June 11, 2021

Hello all,

This is my first post since officially starting the IRES program with DLR! I have finished the initial model of the combustion facility I am modeling in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software this summer. The model presented several challenges both with the design process in CAD software and importing into the CFD software. This week, development started on a test matrix of characteristics that will be studied in the software such as temperature profiles and mixing characteristics. At the Propulsion and Energy Research Lab (PERL), I am also continuing experimental data collection and analysis related to reducing emissions through axially staged combustion. I also am starting to write a paper I am co-authoring and presenting at this years AIAA Sci-Tech.

Max Fortin

June 4, 2021

Hello again!

Wow it’s been two months since my last post and a lot has developed in the lab. Since the start of the summer session, I’ve been coming into the Vasu lab with something new to learn and work with every day!

There have been multiple experiments going on that I have been able to collaborate with. I’ve aligned laser optics along with continuously learning how to run the shock tube and analyze the data. Currently the shocks being ran had temperatures that ranged from 1100 K to 1700 K and have been successful with the various mixtures being used.

The latest project I’ve been a part of is designing and constructing a transition support structure for the shock tube. This involves a great deal of communication between team members such as: discussing dimensions, comparing/ editing sketches of the design using solid works or other means of drawing, cutting materials precisely, and working together to assemble the structure. I can’t wait to see how the final product turns out!

Until next time,

Sam

June 4, 2021

Hello everyone,

This is my first time writing since beginning our summer collaboration with the DLR. So far, I have been able to model the experimental section CAD to be used in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. Simulation of the reacting jet in crossflow (RJIC) has begun and we are working on refining the test conditions to improve the result quality. With these initial simulations, I can start to investigate the flow/flame behavior to compare with previous experimental work. The ability to validate our model with actual experiments allows us to then study many details that can’t be captured with imaging and other diagnostics.

At the PERL (Propulsion and Energy Research Laboratory), I have continued working on a separate experiment studying axially staged combustion to reduce turbine combustor emissions. This involves utilizing a gas analyzer to capture the combustion products, reading the O2 levels as well as the CO and NOx produced. Later this month, I am also participating in the 2021 Princeton-Combustion Institute Summer School on Combustion. It is a weeklong series of lectures on a variety of combustion topics (and if you’re interested, you can find all of the previous years’ videos here: youtube.com/user/PrincetonCEFRC/featured). In more exciting news, I submitted an abstract for AIAA’s SciTech Forum and Exposition just this week. If accepted, I will possibly have the opportunity to present my research to the global aerospace community in San Diego next January. I look forward to writing again and sharing the progress of my IRES research and other summer plans.

Until then,

Michael

May 28, 2021

Hello world,

Tomorrow becomes the second week of officially beginning my research! And I must say that I am thrilled with the amount of knowledge and experience I have been acquiring.

Our research collaboration with DLR requires lots of hands-on work and dynamic experiments. As I begin to characterize different compounds during the combustion phenomenon, I hope to compare my results of decomposition with those of my DLR advisor. Unlike their facility, our experiments revolve heavily around laser diagnostics to capture our data, therefore it would be wonderful to update them on the advanced equipment we are utilizing.

Rosa

May 28, 2021

Guten tag!

With the start of the summer semester here at UCF, the IRES program has also got off to a rocketing start to our research! We’ve restarted our weekly team meetings, as well as those with our UCF and DLR mentors after a hiatus for the spring semester exams. The end of the spring semester though was quite an eventful one! In addition to the normal craziness of this time, I had attended the AIAA Region II Student Conference I mentioned in my last blog, and it was great experience and the presentation of my paper also went super well. Not only that, but I actually ended up placing second in the Undergraduate category! Shoutout to Drew for placing in first (and best of luck to him at SciTech), UCF took the board!

Toward the very end of the semester, I also got an acceptance to UCF’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)! This is a summer program at UCF meant to assist students in their research, via methods like workshops and a final poster showcase. I’m super excited to have been accepted into the program, and I can’t wait to learn as much as I can from it!

In addition to everything else, I’ve also been working on a CMAS paper with my lab grad mentor, Zac. He happens to be in Germany at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) for his Fulbright at this time, so scheduling meetings with him for this and my IRES work has been somewhat crazy due to the six hour time difference between us. We’re making solid progress though, and it’s super exciting to me working on a paper with him!

Tschüss!

Vanessa

May 21, 2021

Hello readers. Just wanted to check in once again and give you all some updates related to my research and IRES.

This Friday I just defended my thesis, “Bicycle Wheel Aerodynamics Predictions Using CFD: Efficiency Using Blade Element Method”, which essentially is a work that serves to improve the aerodynamics design optimization of carbon fiber bicycle wheels. It employs an old technique called Blade Element Method to model the bicycle spokes instead of mesh them, thus lowering the computational cost by requiring less computational time to solve the flow field around a bicycle wheel. This method produces data in good agreement with existing CFD data at about a 93% less computational cost. I recently also presented this work to the AIAA student conference and got first place! Shoutout to Vanessa D’Esposito for getting second place. UCF did great! We could not have done this without the support from our UCF advisors Dr. Kinzel and Dr. Raghavan.

On the top is our method using BEM to model the spokes and on the bottom is the traditional approach using a fully resolved mesh to model the spokes.

This wraps up the bicycle wheel project so now I’m moving on to IRES-related CFD work such as sand ingestion erosion in gas turbines. So glad the semester is over so we can move on to these new and exciting things!

Drew

May 21, 2021

Hello again,

I’ve had such an incredible time since we last spoke! Not only did I submit my very proposal to a National Laboratory, I’ve also been gaining some hands-on experience in the lab. I’ve been watching and learning how to conduct tensile testing inside the Thermomechanical Spectroscopy Lab (TSML) on campus, in addition to thermal tests where I had the chance to watch our furnace heat up to 1000C.

It was such a great experience, especially since I’ll be responsible for planning my own experiment this summer. Which is right around the corner…with one more week of classes, I can’t believe how fast the semester has gone! I’ve gained such a deep understanding of Additive Manufacturing (AM) of Superalloys and its application to industry, I cannot wait to get to continue my work this summer.

Until next time,

Jillian

April 9, 2021

Guten Tag,

I’ve been working hard since the last time I posted. I’ve been working in the lab with Dr Ahmed and Michael to solve problems that have come up with our project. Specifically, we were solving issues relating to incomplete liquid fuel atomization and the issues arising from it such as incomplete combustion. I’ve also been working on completing my undergraduate thesis. I’m defending next week which will conclude around 2.5 years of work.

I’ve also gained a better understanding of what exactly I will be doing this summer which has allowed me to start installing necessary software and finding similar research to study while waiting for the summer to start.

Max

April 9, 2021

Greetings,

This semester has been very hectic, but it is quickly coming to a close. Our much-needed Spring Break is finally here, as it was pushed back to be a lot later than usual this year.

Since we got most of our outreach events out of the way early on in the semester, we’ve been focusing on two exciting events: The Stem-For-All showcase and a Symposium. The Stem-For-All showcase is an 8-day event that virtually showcases amazing projects that are funded by the National Science Foundation. We are preparing a short video describing the IRES program. It should be a fun and interactive discussion between the presenters and viewers. All are welcome to participate! We are also planning a symposium in the summer where we’ll be able to present our research to our advisors and each other. More details will come later.

I am currently trying to plan another meeting with my DLR advisor, as well as create a plan for my summer research. I am just about finishing up with my Particle Image Velocimetry data for my Undergraduate Thesis research project, so I’ll be able to move more of my focus to planning my research for this summer. I am very excited to get started.

Take care,

Benjamin

April 2, 2021

Guten tag!

First up, I wanted to mention that I was able to participate in one of the Skype a Scientist sessions the IRES team set up. I had the opportunity to present to a group of students from the Philippines about engines and their importance. It was great to be able to talk with them and take a couple of questions. I think it was very interesting for both us and them to hear about the kinds of topics we’re each studying.

I had my first meeting with Dr. Boxx, my advisor at DLR, and was able to discuss some aspects of my research topic for over the summer. Although I’ll have some more details later, I will be utilizing CFD to investigate fluid behavior for jet injection. In the coming weeks I will put together a schedule for the research work that needs to be done and how I can complete it.

At the Propulsion and Energy Research Lab, I’m close to completing a project that I have been working on for about a year and a half now. With the facility setup in its final phase, we are gearing up to take all the required data in the next week or two. Before that gets done, I just have to put together the range of test conditions and set up the imaging equipment.

Until next time,

Michael

April 2, 2021

Guten tag!

Since my last post a lot of development has gone on in research. In the Vasu Lab, we have been analyzing and solving problems that have risen during experiments. This would include the LabVIEW VI triggers, optical cell implementations, and readjusting parts of the shock tube manifold. As well as testing different gas mixtures, analyzing the data with the lasers, and then running shocks with our new findings. Every time I come in, I feel that there is something new to learn and understand in the lab. Allowing myself to apply my school knowledge to the real world with hands-on experience.

In other news, the outreach for the Skype-a-Scientist program that I was a part of was a success and the students seemed excited to gain new knowledge about aerospace research.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming months and can’t wait to see what research develops in the lab!

Alles für jetzt!

Sam

March 26, 2021

Hello!

Currently, visits to the lab are going smoothly. I was asked by one of the graduate students to come up with some ideas in order to add a new component onto the shock tube. I’ve came up with several sketches to help withstand the 200+ lb component, with the knowledge of Solid Mechanics, and then transferred the final design onto SolidWorks. So far, it is looking very promising and conventional.

This is what I particularly love about working in the Vasu Lab, we are continuously doing hands on work and coming up with solutions that require some form of creativity!

Besides designing, a lot of the work is also being done in the optics room. We are always aiming to capture the strongest signal in our lasers and in doing so we are swapping different types of cells. The cells contain gases within them, and in order to insert them, we needed to create a manifold from scratch!

Rosa

March 26, 2021

Guten tag!

Wow, what a month it has been! Between working on papers, posters, proposals, presentations, running experiments, analyzing data, etc. etc., I’m honestly not entirely certain how I’ve still found time to sleep! I definitely understand now why Dr. Raghavan has labeled this month as “March Manuscript Madness,” it certainly has been crazy!

For a quick rundown, there have been deadlines this month for the UCF Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), the UCF Poster Student Symposium/Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE), and for paper submissions for the AIAA R2 Student Conference – and those are only what I’ve personally applied to! Not to mention, presentation times for SURE and the AIAA R2 conference are coming up soon, so I still plan to work on those for the next two weeks. I’m not out of the woods yet!

Also, I’ve also started to take measurements on samples for my IRES research. My graduate mentor, Zac, helped me through the process, and I was able to collect some preliminary data from the Thermomechanical Spectroscopy Lab here on campus. In addition, he was able to help me get more in-depth data from another system here on campus with the assistance of Dr. Tetard and one of her lab members! I’m currently going through analysis for both of these datasets now, as well as comparing results with what’s already been done in literature. There’s quite a bit I still need to learn to better understand this process, but thanks to Zac, I’ve been able to get a great head start on this already!

I’m not done yet though! A few of the other IRES members and I, along with Dr. Raghavan, also had the honor to perform international outreach this month! We gave presentations to students in both Canada and the Philippines through the Skype-a-Scientist program. We shared information about aerospace engineering and how jet engines work, and how our research plays into the grand picture of those topics.

Overall, it really has been quite the crazy and busy month; however, that also made it extremely rewarding! In addition to all that, I’ve still been meeting bi-weekly with my DLR mentor, and I’m excited to show him this progress on our upcoming Monday meeting. With how eventful this month alone has been, I cannot wait to see what these next few months have in store!

Tschüss!

Vanessa

March 19, 2021

Hello again. This has been a busy past couple of weeks mostly of literature review. I mentioned last blog post that my IRES topic will have to do with CFD studies of sand ingestion in gas turbines and associated erosion. This is still my general topic, but after a couple of meetings with my UCF and DLR advisors, my specific area of research is beginning to narrow down.

One piece of literature in particular, Improvements of Particle Near-Wall Velocity and Erosion Predictions Using Commercial CFD Code, has been a great inspiration to my efforts. This paper discusses modifications to FLUENT CFD code to include particle radii when calculating particle near wall effects. The paper concludes that for 250 micrometer rounded sand, the FLUENT built-in erosion model predicts erosion well, but for sharp small 25 micrometer sand it overpredicts by a factor of about 17-78.

I was curious to know whether this model is built into the CFD code I use, Star-CCM+, to which I discovered it is. It is still unknown to me whether this model is built into DLR’s TAU CFD code. A potentially good research opportunity might be to compare the erosion models of Star-CCM+ and TAU, although this topic is still up in the air. Stay tuned as I continue literature review and research planning. Should have a solid plan soon.

Image Source:

Zhang, Yongli, Brenton S. McLaury, and Siamack A. Shirazi. “Improvements of Particle Near-Wall Velocity and Erosion Predictions Using a Commercial CFD Code.” Journal of Fluids Engineering 131, no. 3 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3077139.

March 19, 2021

Hallo wieder,

Since my last post I’ve been extremely busy drafting my very first proposal for experimentation at a National Laboratory! I began by conducting my own literature review of all the instruments this lab had to offer and which would work best for our intended purposes. I even got to meet a researcher at said lab for advice, which was so cool!

I just have to piece together the experimental plan details now (e.g. setup, parameters, etc.) and hopefully by Monday I’ll have a sufficient draft to run by my mentor. If all goes well, I’ll be submitting the proposal on Thursday. Which is nerve-racking but exciting at the same time!

That’s all for now,

Jillian

March 12, 2021

Hello,

This week has been a relatively quiet week for me regarding research. I’m still working on finishing my undergraduate Honors thesis as my graduation date approaches. I’m also assisting other members of my lab finish up various projects of theirs. Meeting with my advisor this week has allowed me to solidify my plans for research this summer which has allowed me to start preparing adequately.

While I couldn’t participate, the group has spent a lot of time this week completing outreach. It has allowed the group to help students across the world learn more about science and learn that everybody can perform research. I look forward to participating in the future.

Max

March 12, 2021

Hallo,

It was a very exciting week as we had two outreach presentations through the Skype-A-Scientist program. On Monday, we spoke with a 5^th/6^th grade class in Toronto, Canada, and on Wednesday, we spoke with junior college STEM students in the Philippines! It was a very cool experience to share what we were working on, while answering any questions they had and hear about what they were learning. I’m glad I was able to get out of my comfort zone, work on my presentation skills, and share information with students in other countries.

I also had the opportunity to meet with my DLR advisor for the first time on Friday morning. I learned about various modern techniques used to measure fluid flow. We also discussed possible experiments for me to conduct. I look forward to continuing collaborating with him.

Benjamin

March 5, 2021

Guten Abend!

It has been a good few weeks for the IRES team here. Although I haven't spoken directly with my DLR advisor yet, we are working out the plan for the coming months and this summer. With Dr. Ahmed’s help here at UCF to coordinate, I know that I will be ready for whatever we finally land on as my research objective. Besides that, I’ve been working on the first IRES newsletter which should hopefully be out in the next few days. It will be a way for our advisors at UCF and the DLR to keep up with the work we are doing throughout the semester. In it, you’d find updates from our weekly meetings and more like our outreach or other topics. I hope that next time I can offer a little more in depth talk about what I’ll be working on.

Other than IRES, it’s been a busy month for me. The PhD qualifier exams were last week, and I spent more than a couple tiring days preparing for them. Thankfully, I thought it went well so here’s hoping for some good news!

Until next time,

Michael

March 5, 2021

Hey everyone,

Time has really gone by fast; it has been exactly a month since my last post! I have had many more visits to the combustion laboratory, and I’ve learned a lot already about the equipment used.

Learning how to run a shock is still a work in progress, but I am slowly learning the order of when each of the knobs or valves need to be turned. Also, I have learned a great deal about laser optics. Currently in the lab, we are realigning the lasers and let me tell you it is indeed a very tedious process, but it is an accomplishing feeling once the laser finally goes through every mirror, iris, and shows signal on the computer screen.

Aside from research, the IRES team will be participating in Skype a Scientist next week. Each student will be presenting their research work to other students in both Canada and the Philippines. This is the first outreach event I’m a part, of which is a little nerve racking, but I’m excited to share my experiences so far in research with all of them!

Bis zum nächsten mal!

Sam

February 26, 2021

Hello again!

It is insane that a month has passed by since I have written a blog post. Nonetheless, there has been so much progress done since then. I am currently participating in the VASU Lab of Combustion and Laser Diagnostics twice a week. Every visit consists of me assisting a grad student who has been working with the team for over a year now. Together, I help him generate shock waves at different initial conditions and mixtures until we are getting the results he is looking for. I am a lucky girl, generating 3-4 shockwaves every time! At this point, the process of working the machinery has gotten less intimidating. I cannot say that I am proficient at working the shock tube, but I can finally say I am not scared of something exploding if I accidentally turn the wrong valve. However, what continuous to be tedious is the installment of the laser equipment-- imagine working with a light beam that needs to be reflected by small mirrors, and you cannot see them!

In other news, this week a couple of the IRES students participated in the eWeek (virtually) event and spoke to 3rd graders about the research we have been working on or have already done. The excitement in their faces was like breathing fresh air. Particularly seeing the 8-year-old girls excited to see other females working on the advancement of airplane engines was motivating.

We also got some interesting questions like, “Do you help make the planes?”, “How do planes fly?”.

Top to bottom: Jillain Gloria, Rosa Olivera, Vanessa D’Esposito giving a presentation on ‘Engineering Applications for High Temperature and Vigorous Flight’ to a class of 3rd graders.

Rosa

February 26, 2021

Guten tag!

Much has happened since my last update! I’ve been meeting with my DLR mentor, Dr. Ravi, and we’ve been able to narrow down my overarching IRES topic. This year, I’ll be studying the use of modified Thermal Barrier Coatings (TBCs) and using unique non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques to study how well they work with molten sand and ash, which is known as calcium-magnesium-alumino-silicates (CMAS). The primary NDE method I plan to use is 3D confocal Raman spectroscopy, which allows me to gather data regarding the composition/phase transformation presence on my samples, and even below the surface! This is really important because Confocal Raman spectroscopy will allow me to see the performance of these new coatings.

Outside just the research, our IRES team has also completed our first outreach event! Rosa, Drew, Jillian, and I presented at UCF’s eli² Engineers Fair in celebration of Engineers Week. We talked to 3rd graders from Orlando Science School about our research, why it’s important, and answer their questions on the matter. It was a wonderful experience, and now I look forward to our upcoming outreach events even more!

Coming up, I have another meeting with Dr. Ravi this upcoming Monday to give updates on my progress since we last met. What’s especially cool about this and future meetings though, is that Drew, Jillian, and I have all combined our DLR mentor update meetings! This will hopefully allow us to benefit from our overlapping areas of research and utilize the feedback received from our individual mentors. I must say, I’m quite excited!

Tschüss!

Vanessa

February 19, 2021

Hey reader, I’m Drew Vigne. If you haven’t yet read my bio, I am a senior here at UCF majoring in mechanical engineering (although I probably should have done aerospace because I find myself doing a lot of CFD). Speaking of which...

I just got word that my IRES project will likely have to do with CFD studies of engine erosion from sand/debris ingestion, and how we might be able to prevent such erosion using environment and top barrier coatings (EBC and TBC). The idea is that I will contribute to this effort via CFD-based assessments that seek to understand particle/fluid mechanisms which drive erosion.

This is a relatively new body of research, so I’ll have to do a fair bit of literature review to brief myself on topics like particle kinematics, multiphase flow, and heat transfer in the context of turbines. To practice for what lies ahead, I have begun a simple exploratory CFD study of a classic dual counter-rotating blade turbine as shown above in the image. The goal here is to familiarize myself with the CFD techniques I will need in order to do my job. So far so good! Next step... multiphase flow.

Drew

February 19, 2021

Hallo readers,

My name is Jillian and I am junior pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Aerospace Engineering at UCF. We are well into the second month of IRES and things are ramping up fast! I’ve already met my DLR mentor, Dr. Marion Bartsch, and have been given my research topic: Investigating How 3D Printing Super Nickel Alloys Improves the Efficiency of Gas Turbines. As an aero student, this is particularly exciting to me. Slowly but surely, I’ve begun trudging through the mountains of literature review. Thankfully I’ve had the support of Dr. Raghavan to direct me through the complex jargon, as well as having connected me with multiple graduate students for support!

It is such an honor to be selected to participate in this group full of bright, determined individuals. Every *virtual* meeting I am inspired by their hard work and dedication to learning advanced concepts, in addition to the German language. It’s been rough trying to organize all of my research responsibilities alongside my coursework and actual work but exhilarating nonetheless! And I feel like I’ve finally got a set schedule for studying + research + work + most importantly my mental health 😊

Until next time, tschüss!

Jillian

February 9, 2021

Hey,

My name is Max Fortin and I’m a senior in Mechanical Engineering at UCF. This semester I am finishing up all my required classes and electives. Somehow, I managed to finish in 4 years so I’m very thankful to be finishing one stage of my education and move on to graduate school in the fall. This semester, I’m also finishing my Honors in The Major Thesis, an undergraduate thesis program that I’ve been in for the past 2 years. My undergraduate thesis topic is Characterizing Reacting Jet In Crossflow at Elevated Pressures, focusing on characterizing flame dynamics. My project with IRES is still TBD but it should be informative and add to my research experience.

The weekly meeting has been extremely helpful in understanding what other students in my current position study for their research projects, especially in COVID times where the typical face to face interaction is limited. Personally, preparing for the summer has mainly consisted of reading papers Dr. Boxx has put out on topics relevant to research I’m doing and have done in the past. I have a decent amount of experience with German but Duolingo has given me a great refresher on the basic grammar techniques.

I hope to bring more good news about my research in the future. For now, I hope everybody reading this liked my post and has a great rest of their day!

Max

February 9, 2021

Hello everyone!

My name is Benjamin Latrobe, and I am in my fourth year as an undergraduate Mechanical Engineering student, with a minor in Computer Science. I am extremely excited to be able to participate in IRES on the virtual research experience track. Outside the IRES program, I am working towards an undergraduate thesis on flow over cylinders and plasma actuation.

I have not yet had the opportunity to meet with my DLR advisor, but I am excited to learn about my topic, Lagrangian Particle Tracking. I am currently learning Particle Imaging Velocimetry, so it’ll be awesome to see how the two particle tracking methods compare.

I love learning about the projects that the other students are working on as well. We have a couple outreach presentations planned already where we will share some of our research topics to younger students. I currently have a twenty-day streak in Duolingo. At just a few minutes a day, I am slowly learning a few German words.

Benjamin

February 5, 2021

Hello everyone,

I’m Michael Tonarely and I am in my first year as an Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. student. Grad school is still kind of new to me, and between classes and my lab work I’m keeping busy. I’ve actually spent the last few years working at a research lab at UCF, so I am very excited to be able to take what I’ve learned and apply it to a new and interesting project with DLR. My main research topics are combustion and fuel injection, focusing on the flame/fluid dynamics and the thermochemistry involved. I’m still working on what my specific project with IRES will be, but I know that it will be challenging and rewarding.

We’ve had a couple of our weekly group meetings now, and it has been very fun being able to talk with everyone about the work they will be doing. Planning is still in the early stages and there is a lot of work to be done, but I know as a team we’ll make good progress together. I have been trying to keep up daily German lessons, so maybe in a few months I’ll be able to write part of these blogs in another language (although probably not very well). For now, I hope you all enjoyed this first post and introduction. I look forward to sharing my progress in the next one!

Michael

February 5, 2021

Hallo!

Firstly, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Samantha DeNicola and I am in my third year as an undergraduate Aerospace Engineering student. This semester I will be doing combustion research under Dr. Vasu but the topic of study has not yet been determined. I’m a newbie to research so being able to partake in the IRES program this semester is going to be an exciting journey.

Three weeks into the semester, classes are starting to get a little tougher but in good news I’ve had my first visit to the combustion laboratory! It was exciting to see all the equipment and materials that I will be working with soon. Following the visit, I have been reading up on several papers to further my knowledge and going through training courses.

Regarding German, I’m not the strongest by any means right now. I probably have the lowest score on Duolingo – yikes. Everyone is keeping each other accountable with continuing the German lessons so I know that it will go up by my next post I promise!

See you all until then!

Sam

January 22, 2021

Hello Internet!

My name is Rosa Olivera, a senior undergraduate studying Aerospace Engineering and I am honored to start off the 2021 IRES blog post!

Right about now, the energy in the weekly Zoom calls is filled with excitement, confusion, and smiles. We are all still probably in shock by the fact that we have been selected to be apart of this wonderful program. Dr. Raghavan reminds us to be grateful and to always give our best because we are one of the few.

We should start calling ourselves, “The few. The proud. The Marines”.

Jokes aside, this month is particularly important since we will be defining our academic career depending on the mentor we have chosen. That is a very overwhelming and an honorable feeling.

By now, many of the researchers should have selected who they want to work with, as well as their related topic. The next step is to hit the books and read every publication our little brains can hold. We all need to be well prepared before arriving to Germany so that everyone can make a rightful impact together. This part is crucial!

Rosa

January 22, 2021

Guten tag!

To introduce myself, my name is Vanessa D’Esposito and I am currently a second year Aerospace Engineering undergraduate student at UCF, with minors in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Music. I am incredibly excited to have been selected to participate in IRES on the virtual research experience track, and the team is already off to a great start!

We’ve been meeting weekly on Fridays to start the semester off strong with preparations for this summer and distribute responsibilities. I am tasked with maintaining and updating the RRG website with this year’s IRES related content, including our student bios and blogs, alongside Andrew. Also, in addition to our general research preparations, we’ve all started learning German together! We ‘ve all added each other on Duolingo, so it’ll be fun to watch everybody progress in terms of both our research and German speaking abilities.

It really is an honor to be accepted into the IRES program and work alongside my teammates, and I can’t wait to see what kind of research we all do throughout our time!

Tschüss!

Vanessa

August 15, 2019

Hallo Everyone!

It’s hard to believe that my time in Germany has come to an end. Spending the summer in Stuttgart and being able to work and learn at DLR Stuttgart has been an absolutely amazing experience. The IRES program has really allowed me to broaden my horizons and made me into a better researcher. Even though I’m sad to leave, I am also looking forward to getting back to UCF and continuing some of the work we did over the summer. It’s been a great trip and, honestly, I can’t wait to visit Germany again and reunite with all the colleagues and friends I met there!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Jessica

August 9, 2019

Hallo Welt!

This past week has consisted of troubleshooting some experimental issues in the shock tube, and there are several issues that we have been addressing that still need to be resolved/understood. Though this has stifled some experimental progress, it has been quite a lesson in troubleshooting laboratory problems, which is very valuable. Today (August 9, 2019) was my last day at DLR in Stuttgart. Reflecting on this trip, it is crazy how fast the time has passed, since arriving in Stuttgart at the end of May. Though this was my last day, there is still a lot of work to be completed, and I look forward to the continued collaboration between UCF and DLR-Stuttgart.

This research and international experience has been an incredible experience that I will always remember and think back on; I am truly grateful to have had this opportunity. I would like to thank Dr. Raghavan, Dr. Vasu, and the NSF for selecting me and supporting this international partnership. In addition, this trip would not have been as eventful if it weren’t for the other awesome students: Jessica, Matt, and Zac. Whether it was research, traveling Germany or experiencing other countries, the time spent was so much fun. I would also like to thank Drs. Clemens Naumann and Marina Braun-Unkhoff (scientists/mentors at DLR-Stuttgart) for their support, guidance, and charism.

I know I have said this, but I can’t believe this experience is over. I am really looking forward to visiting Germany and traveling Europe again in the near future! In closing, I hope this blog has served as a conduit, for those that read, into our little worlds, spending nearly 2.5 months abroad! I will be back in the US on August 15 and quickly acclimating back to the routine (PhD Qualification Exams are around the corner). First stop back: Chipotle! Aufwiedersehen!

Andrew Laich

August 2, 2019

Zac (left) and Matt (2nd from left) presenting their work at Stuttgart.

Hello again,

As was said from my last blog entry, I have returned from the week of running high energy X-ray diffraction experiments at the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago. I’m back in Germany analyzing my data along with the data from other projects that got to experience the advanced photon source with me this year. Like last year, the experiments were a success however, unlike last year, we were able to complete everyone’s experiments plus more! We were able to also take some measurements on samples with CMAS infiltration for Zac’s study which is incredible. Just goes to show what good planning and teamwork can do.

Andrew with the high pressure shock tube.

Jessica at the Stuttgart DLR Facility.

After my visit to ANL for X-ray diffraction experiments, Zac and I went to visit Andrew and Jessica in Stuttgart. They gave us a wonderful tour of the DLR facility down there and we even were able to sit in on one of their experiments with the high-pressure shock tube! They gave us a wonderful tour of the DLR facility down there and we even were able to sit in on one of their experiments with the high-pressure shock tube! It’s always a cool feeling when you get to see the work completed in person, so I think Zac and I are both very grateful for Andrew and Jessica’s hospitality. In between the tours and experiment we were able to also present to some of the workers at their institute, so hopefully, we were also able to spread the knowledge of cooling systems in turbine engines to other scientists.

This upcoming week is the final week for all of us in IRES which feels too soon if I’m honest. I’ve really enjoyed working with everyone at DLR and experiencing the day to day German culture. The time here really flew by but probably because I enjoyed it so much. I think this will be my last blog entry so thank you all for reading. I really hope you’ve enjoyed them! Mit freundlichen Grüßen, Matt

July 26, 2019

Liebe Leute,

The ESA facility at DLR in Köln is the main base for European astronauts.

The last few days here in Germany have been hot. Yesterday there was a feel-like temperature of around 43°C (~110°F); however, this hasn’t stopped research! I have continued to take XRD measurements of the samples I talked about in my last post and we have already begun analysis of the strain and phases present within the coatings. Meanwhile, analysis that I started at the beginning of my time here in Germany that resulted from measurements taken during the previous semesters is starting to wrap up and I need to start thinking about how to effectively present our findings and about publishing some journal papers to share our results. So, things have been getting pretty exciting in these last few weeks on my end.

This 1:1 module scale replica, along with others in this room allows the astronauts to train, prepare, and gain experience of how the different modules within the ISS work.

Also yesterday, Matt, a colleague from my department, and me went on a tour of ESA at the DLR facility here in Köln and it was awe-inspiring to say the very least. For as far back as I could remember, I have always had a fascination with space and with learning about how the universe works. In fact, as soon as I learned about Aerospace Engineering in middle school, I knew that would be the direction I want to head towards in my life with the goals of somehow being involved in the Research and Development side of the space industry. So, to see the Astronaut Training Centre where the Astronaut Candidates train on a 1:1 scale version of different ISS modules to help prepare them for their missions on the ISS was definitely the highlight of my day and really helps to put everything that I am doing into perspective. There is really something motivating and inspiring about that and I know this motivation will continue into my work and analysis.

Model of the NASA Orion in which future astronauts will be using to board the ISS as well as future missions to the moon and mars

Matt and I are traveling to Stuttgart this weekend to visit the DLR Combustion facility there and to understand more of what Andrew and Jessica have been doing over these past few months, but I will let Matt talk about next week!

Bis zum nächsten Mal

Zac

July 19, 2019 Hallo Everyone!

This week has been a busy one! We’ve mostly been focused on beginning the data processing and analysis of the shocks we’ve been running in the last few weeks. Looking at the plots, it’s clear that we still need to run a few more trials and try to fill in the gaps on the temperature range we’re aiming for. We hope to move on to our next mixture soon to be able to compare different levels of methane dilution.

On a personal note, I’ve actually not been feeling well this last week and trying to find the right medicine took some time. Even though my German has greatly improved, my vocabulary doesn’t quite extend into medical terms. Luckily, navigating the pharmacy wasn’t too difficult as some of our coworkers helped out with the translations. We also had a group outing this week called Energy Day. Since I was sick I wasn’t able to attend, but from what Andrew told me, it was really fascinating. They were invited to tour the Stuttgart airport and learn about the sustainability of aircrafts, both in the air and while grounded.

Time is passing so fast! We’ve already been in Germany for 6 weeks and we only have 4 weeks left before we return to UCF. Our project is moving along but we still have a lot to do in the next few weeks! Also, next week, Matt and Zach are coming from Cologne to visit DLR Stuttgart – Andrew and I are looking forward to showing them around the lab and maybe run some shocks while they’re here, too.

It’s crazy to think that by the time my next blog goes up, we will have just landed back in the USA. Bis später!

Jessica

July 12, 2019

Hallo Leute,

In the past couple weeks, we at the DLR location in Stuttgart visited the Cologne team where we learned how the blades of a gas turbine are protected against the immense heat loads, and what can affect thermal coatings. The facilities that we toured were impressive given the scale and how applicable the techniques are to industry.

In addition, the research here in Stuttgart has ramped up, and we are gaining useful insight into diluted oxy-methane combustion by analyzing ignition characteristics inside the high pressure shock tube facility (currently targeting 16 bar). Experimental work is not without difficulties; we have been observing some interesting trends in the data, that as of right now cannot be completely explained. Much of this was experienced in 2017 with a similar set of experiments. The hope here is that our efforts will result in a more comprehensive understanding of these ignition events.

Next week Tuesday I am looking forward to attending what is called Energy Day, which will be held at an airport. The chemical kinetics group among others will be rendezvousing for a morning hike, followed by a special presentation on sustainability in airports. I believe this will also include a tour of the hangar area within the airport!

Well that’s all for now. Bis bald und schönes Wochenend!

-Andrew

July 5, 2019

Hallo,

As you may have known from last week’s blog, Jessica and Andrew visited Cologne for the weekend. They were able tour the DLR facilities that Zac and I work at in Cologne and view the equipment that our respective groups use to manufacture and test materials. We were also able to present our research in front of the DLR scientists Zac and I have been working with (Dr. Bartsch, Dr. Ravi, and Dr. Schulz) and what we hope to do by then end of the program.

Left to right: Andrew, Matt, Zac, and Jessica in front of one of the mechanical testing machines at DLR Cologne.

Left to right: Andrew, Matt, Zac, and Jessica with one of the load frames in the mechanical testing experiment hall at DLR Cologne.

In addition, we were able to show them around to some of the cool locations within the city such as the cathedral and Heumarkt near the Rhine river. It was incredibly hot this weekend (as was all of Europe) but that didn’t stop us from going out and exploring the area to have a good time.

Clockwise from left: Dr. Ravi, Dr. Bartsch, Zac, Dr. Schulz, Lin, Andrew, Jessica, Matt.

This work week has been quite productive for both Zac and I. Preparing for synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments and wrapping up papers on previous studies has kept me engaged with work while Zac has just begun X-ray diffraction experiments of his own at DLR. Much of our interest in the materials we study revolves around stress and strain so X-ray diffraction is a great tool to use for strain on a micro-level.

All in all, a pretty great week. By the time my next blog post will be out, I will have completed my experiments at ANL so be sure to stay tuned!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Matt

June 30, 2019

Liebe Leute,

It has been a month since we first arrived in Germany and so much has happened since I last posted. I have met so many amazing people in my department at all stages of their careers from fellow students to expert and well-established scientists. This week we even celebrated one of the people in our department becoming a Senior Scientist! In the first few weeks here at DLR, I have been talking with Dr. Ravi and planning on the experiments I will be running while here. In fact, some X-ray diffraction experiments are going to be done starting next week on some electron-beam physical vapor deposited gadolinium zirconate and the industry-standard 7 wt% yttria-stabilized zirconia thermal barrier coating samples with a normal and feathery microstructure and different amounts of cycling. I am very excited!

Today I also talked with some of the expert scientists on X-ray diffraction here at DLR and we discussed some of the lineout results that were produced when we tested one of the samples overnight and I was introduced to EVA, a X-ray diffraction analysis program they use here. In addition, Andrew and Jessica visited Matt and me from Stuttgart today! They were shown around the DLR facility we have here in Köln with Dr. Bartsch, Dr. Ravi, and Dr. Schulz stopping by to see our presentations and to give us tours of the labs. In about a month from now, Matt and I will visit Andrew and Jessica in Stuttgart and see their setup for their combustion experiments, so make sure to check in for that!

Left to Right: Andrew, Jessica, Zac, and Matt when the IRES students from Stuttgart came to visit the DLR facility in Cologne.

In other news, I have definitely been trying to speak as much German as possible and I am starting to get very confident in my speaking abilities, even though I know I am still far away from being fluent. Also having seen Matt learn and improve so much this past month has helped motivate me to speak even more. In fact, practicing my German has actually been encouraged by others here at DLR. So, I have been talking with everyone during our break times and often with either Dr. Schulz or the people that I share an office with in German during Mahlzeit (lunch time)! From this I have started to learn a lot of technical words in German, such as Wärmedämmschichten (thermal barrier coatings) and Röntgenbeugung (X-ray diffraction). Matt and I have even talked about maybe trying to go to Atlanta and take the German certification test in November after we return back to the US.

A lot of things are happening and I can’t wait to share it with you all when it is my turn again!

Bis zum nächsten Mal

Zac

June 21, 2019

Hallo Everyone!

I have been in Stuttgart for a little under a month now and feel like I really am in the swing of it. Working with everyone at DLR has been great so far- there are actually a lot of students, both Ph. D and undergraduate, from all over the world working here so it’s been nice to get so many different perspectives on our experimental campaign and hear about what everyone else is doing as well. Recently, our work has mostly been focused on running preliminary experiments and setting up the shock tube - making sure all of the detectors that we are going to use are functioning properly. We were able to run a reactive shock this week so hopefully by next week we will be running multiple experiments a day!

There was actually a holiday this week (Corpus Christi), so the DLR facility was closed on Thursday and Friday. We took this time to check out the Siemens headquarters in Berlin! It was such a cool opportunity to be able to see the facility and meet with some of the staff. We also were able to take a picture with one of the Berlin bears!

IRES students visiting Siemens in Berlin (Left to Right: Jessica, Andrew, Matt, and Zac)

That’s all for this week, Tschüss! Jessica

June 14, 2019

Hallo Leute,

This is my first blog after having arrived in Germany! Things in Stuttgart are going well, and the transition to life here is going smoothly. I am becoming comfortable speaking the very little German I know with the locals, which is helping me learn so much more. The chemical kinetic team at DLR is full of great people very willing to help myself and Jessica learn the research operations. We are currently running preliminary (nonreactive) experiments to better understand the gas dynamic effects at relevant test conditions. Aside from progress in research, last week the DLR team invited us on a hike to a castle near Kirchheim Teck. This experience was very fun and enabled us to socialize not only with DLR scientists, but other students working in the combustion technology group. That’s it for now. Until next time!

Colleagues at DLR near the end of the hike to the castle

-Andrew

June 7, 2019

Liebe Leute,

First full week in Germany and it feels like it’s already been a few. Jet lag has played a big part in that but so has moving around and getting accustomed to city life. There’s quite a bit to do when moving into a new place but luckily Lin has been helping us and even took us to IKEA so that we could purchase the things that were too big to bring on the plane or we might have forgotten.

Zac and I are fully moved into our apartments now though and we’ve been trying to explore the city as much as possible. There is a lot to do and I can already tell we will both have a great time. We’ve also been trying to converse with each other in German as much as possible. I can honestly say that I’ve learned more German from the past week living in Köln than I did during the spring semester. It’s true that you learn a new language best when you fully immerse yourself into it.

Lin Rossmann (Left), Zachary Stein (Middle), and Matthew Northam (Right) working at DLR.

Working at DLR has been great so far as well. I’ve met with Dr. Bartsch to discuss some of the important aspects to consider for experiments in July and we will be meeting with the manufacturers soon to discuss what sample geometries will be possible. Things are moving along well but I will need to keep up the momentum to have my experiments be successful at ANL.

Tschüss

Matt

May 31, 2019

IRES 2019 Students at the MCO airport about to set off on an 8.5-hour flight (Left to Right: Matt, Andrew, Zac, Jessica)

Liebe Leute,

After months of preparation and planning, we are here in Germany! Our flight left Wednesday evening and we arrived Thursday morning. Of course, we needed to take a picture of the plane and more importantly, the part of the plane we all will be looking at this summer, the jet engine. Once we landed, we all headed over to the train station and said goodbye as we all traveled to our respective cities.

For Matt and me, IRES 2017 scholar, Lin Rossman was there waiting for us at the main train station when we finally arrived in Cologne. Lin is currently living in Cologne and working at DLR as part of her Fulbright fellowship (see her Fulbright update here!). Lin gave us the rundown of what we need to do in terms of getting tickets, some tips on living in Cologne she has learned, and how to get to our hotel, which we will be staying at for the next few days until we can move into our apartment on Monday.

Frontal picture of the plane we took from Orlando to Frankfurt (left) with a close up of the jet engine (right)

We arrived in Germany on a holiday so many of the stores were closed, but this allowed us all to catch up on some much-needed sleep. I pretty much fell asleep right after getting into our hotel room. It will take me a bit of time to get use to being six hours ahead. Also our room is on the 10^th floor, or the 11^th if we were in America since the ground floor here is considered as the 0^th floor, so we get a nice view of Cologne from our window

View of Cologne from our hotel window

We are all very excited to be here and we can’t wait to get started at DLR next week! I’m sure Matt will have many more updates regarding our first week in Germany next week, so make sure to come back to check how things are going for sure!

Bis zum nächsten Mal Zac

May 26, 2019

Hallo Leute!

We are really down to wire now! By this time next week, we will be in Germany and about to begin work at our respective DLR facilities. The planning has been completed and all that is left now is to pack up and head out.

As Andrew mentioned last week, we had a talk with the DLR scientists in Stuttgart and have made sure to place a focus on determining exactly what mixtures we want to test and what concentration of diluents would work best. Since one of our applications is space propulsion, ensuring that the mixtures we test conform to real engine conditions is essential to make sure the research we do has real world applications. The goal of our trip is not only to work collaboratively with the scientists at DLR, but to set the ground work for future experimental campaigns for diluent-rich oxy-methane compounds – something that is currently lacking in literature.

On a personal note, I still have a lot of packing to do. Moving houses and making sure I have everything I need for this 10 week trip has kept me very busy! I can’t wait to arrive in Germany and put our research plan into motion. Also, we will be uploading more video clips along with our posts, so make sure to watch them to get an even better feel for what the IRES program is all about!

See you in Germany!

Jessica

May 19, 2019

Hallo Leute,

First off, I am very happy that the semester has finished, which freed up more time to focus on lab activities here at UCF and plans for research to be completed at DLR. As Matt mentioned, all relevant logistics for DLR visits within this trip have been finalized, as well as the visit to Siemens in Berlin; this includes all intra-Germany flight/train tickets and temporary hotel/hostel stays.

Last week Jessica, Dr. Vasu, and I joined on a conference call with the DLR scientists to talk mostly about the research plans/goals. As was mentioned previously, we will be focusing on oxy-methane combustion at elevated pressures measuring ignition delay times. These oxy-methane mixtures will consist of various diluents, which is not well researched currently in the literature, making it that more exciting. The application of this research is aimed at space propulsion, and the scope of this work is quite collaborative involving another DLR facility in Lampoldshausen. I am eager to continue this collaboration when returning to UCF.

As we prepare to depart Florida for Germany, the only items that remain (at least for me) involve packing. Looks like the weather is quite mild too, so that will be a pleasant break from some humidity.

Next time I write a blog post, we will be in Germany! Das ist alles für jetzt, auf geht’s!

-Andrew

May 10, 2019

Liebe Leute,

Looking back at the previous blog posts, it is very surreal that the next time I make this blog post, we’ll be in Germany. We’ve learned a lot this semester in preparation for the program, but the real adventure still awaits. All of our research plans are close to being solidified and now we are purchasing the tickets for the trips to each other’s’ DLR facilities we’ll be working at.

I will also be traveling back to Chicago for a week in July to run high temperature experiments at the Argonne National Laboratory on the samples I will be manufacturing at DLR which is extremely exciting. This will be my second time at the Advanced Photon Source in ANL so, with this knowledge and experience that I gained last year, I hope to have another successful set of experiments this year. It’s not easy and not a lot of people get the opportunity to go to ANL once, let alone twice, but that is what makes the work worth doing! Goodbye for now. I’ll see you in Germany!

Tschüss!

Matt

April 19, 2019

Liebe Leute,

It’s surreal to believe that the semester is almost over! As Jessica mentioned in our last update, there is only one week left in the semester. We are all preparing for finals, but that doesn’t mean we are forgetting about the trip. In fact, it is quite the opposite. With only a month left before we head over to Germany, we are kicking things into high gear. Logistics are all being worked out, but everyone’s schedules and plans for different visits during our time in Germany are being more and more developed. 10 weeks sounds like a lot, but in reality, it isn’t a lot of time.

Looking at our schedules, we will need to ensure that we manage our time properly and stay on schedule to make sure we get our goals accomplished before we return back to the US. This is why we have been preparing for the past few months, so that we are ready for success.

Bis zum nächsten Mal Zac

April 12, 2019

Guten Tag, everyone!

Our plans for the trip all seem to be coming together! As Andrew mentioned last week, we have finalized our budget and are in the process of finishing up our clearance information in order to work at the DLR facility over the summer. There a few more details left to iron out relating to industry visits we want to make. We have planned a visit to the Berlin headquarters of Siemens and are hoping to add on a visit to the European Space Agency or the Synchrotron in Hamburg if we have time.

Throughout all the planning, I’ve been very busy in the lab working on different compounds and practicing data analysis in preparation for the analyses we will be doing over the summer. I’ve been focusing mostly on organophosphorus compounds and testing of DMMP and DIMP, but the testing and data analysis process is similar to that of the oxy-methane compounds that we will be testing over the summer. We are still working on determining the exact compound and fuel concentrations we want to test, but we are closing in on a more specific topic with input from Dr. Braun and Dr. Vasu.

Time is really flying by – only 2 weeks left until the semester ends and only 7 left until we depart. I can’t wait to get started at DLR Stuttgart!

Tschüss! Jessica

April 5, 2019

Hello World,

I would like to give everyone an update on the 2019 IRES team and the progress we have made thus far. Planning this trip has been quite the undertaking, and though things were initially moving slowly, recently the travel authorization form was approved allowing us to progress forward. With this approval, we have purchased our flights, which consist of a direct flight to Frankfurt and direct flight back to Orlando – now things are getting real and very exciting! Additionally, we have submitted our proposed budget that will cover all expenses during our stay at DLR facilities.

Aside from planning-mode, part of the IRES program includes outreach, and so last week our team volunteered for the 2019 Spring STEM day on UCF’s campus with the session titled “Take Flight See Light”. Participants ranged from elementary to high school students. They were welcomed with a presentation on jet engines, showcasing a 3D-printed model engine, and other interactive activities. This was a great experience personally and as a team, and foremost for the attendees. Huge thanks to the many volunteers within Dr. Raghavan’s lab that helped make this successful!

There are a few more items that need to be completed before leaving, including ironing-out the research topics. We are within two months of departure, and the reality of what is to be experienced is truly setting in!

-Andrew Laich

March 29, 2019

Hallo everyone,

This trip is becoming more surreal by the day. Our flights to Frankfurt have been booked and we are going to finalize our budget soon enough. Dr. Bartsch is currently helping the Cologne group with our DLR clearance information which could take some time though. In the meantime, I am working on publishing some results from synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments at the Argonne National Laboratory last summer. I hope to have the samples manufactured this summer to be involved in this summer’s trip to ANL as well.

Our German studying sessions have been independent the last couple of weeks due to everyone’s busy schedule, but, that is the life of a researcher. STEM day is also this week which will be a lot of fun so be sure to check out next week’s blog to find out how it went!

Every week I get more excited about this experience and the group cohesion gets better and better. You can tell everyone can’t wait to start with their projects over there. That’s all for now.

Tschüss!

Matt

March 22, 2019

Liebe Leute,

A lot of things happened since our last update. For one thing, we finished printing and assembling the turbofan, check out this amazing thing!

Currently the model can only be turned by hand, but we are thinking of attaching a motor to it so it can also rotate on its own. We are all very excited and almost have all of our supplies ready for STEM Day. We also know the sessions and times we will be having and we have almost a full schedule with students from Elementary to High school. Others in the lab are just as excited and ready to volunteer. I know it will be great.

Outside of preparations for STEM Day, we have a set day for our flights and are in the process of buying our tickets. Matt and I also know our housing situation now, only about 2 miles (3.5 km) away from the Cologne Cathedral!

The fully assembled dual spool turbofan with compression and turbine sections. My work on CMAS and thermal barrier coatings primarily occurs in the turbine section on the right of the picture

Currently I am finishing up my analysis on the CMAS data we collected at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) last summer and will be done or almost done by the time I go to DLR. Others on the CMAS team and I, such as Chance from last year’s IRES, are finishing up all of our current studies and samples that we currently have.

While I am at DLR, I will be continuing my focus on CMAS and other deposit materials on thermal barrier coatings. I will be creating samples and doing some initial measurements and data collection; however, it will not end there. I will be making many preparations for some experiments with these samples back at UCF with Raman and in-situ X-ray diffraction ingression testing at Argonne National Laboratory if things go well!

The weeks are flying by and we will be in Germany before we know it.

Bis zum nächsten Mal Zac

March 15, 2019

Hallo Everyone!

This past week was actually spring break at UCF, but that doesn’t mean progress has stopped! Since my last post, I’ve been very busy in the lab trying to expand my knowledge on different compounds and processes, as well as doing some preliminary research on Oxy-Methane combustion (our tentative topic for Stuttgart). Our group has really been working hard not only on our personal research topics, but also on our group projects like STEM day and learning to speak more fluent German.

STEM day is quickly coming up (only two weeks away) and though we do have our activities all planned out, we still need to make sure we have all the materials that we’ll need and make sure that our 3D model of a miniature gas turbine engine finishes printing and is fully constructed before the 29th! We have also made sure to focus on learning German as well. There’s a variety of skill levels within our group, but that just means that we can learn from each other and practice at different meetings.

The group is really making strides in planning this trip and I can’t wait to get to work in Stuttgart!

Tschüss! Jessica

March 8, 2019

Hello everyone,

We have been steadily getting everything organized for the trip. So far, we are close to getting our funding approved such that we can purchase flights and living arrangements for the Cologne team have been solidified. The plans for STEM day have been set as well, and the team and I are looking forward to running our demos/activities for the students. Also, in the process is setting up dates for visits to research facilities in Berlin, Germany.

Last week, Matt gave a presentation on research topics he will be focusing on while in Germany, and it was quite interesting learning about the cooling strategies proposed for extreme environments that are relevant to my field of combustion/propulsion. The more we meet, the more this entire trip becomes a reality. The group dynamic is awesome, and we are all very open to many ideas, which is great, as we will be spending a lot of time together! Looking forward to the continued growth of us all.

The students of IRES 2019 discussing their plans for DLR.

Auf Wiedersehen! Andrew

March 1, 2019

Hallo Leute,

This program has already led to some great improvements in myself both in terms of my research and international exposure. I have been able to work on multiple interesting topics that I am very much looking forward to carrying out in Köln. My topic will hopefully give the aerospace industry a better understanding and design for cooling holes in turbine blades and hypersonic vehicle leading edges. I’ve also been learning a lot about my fellow IRES students’ research topic of combustion which can help me understand that problems faced, and solutions used in industry a little bit better. Having the knowledge from multiple backgrounds will only help me become a more valuable member of the aerospace industry.

Our group has also decided to try and improve our German language skills in our spare time already. Some of our group already have a good base understanding of the language so luckily, they can help me with the learning curve a little bit better. We plan to meet on the weekends and work through some beginning German textbooks so that when we get to Germany, we can walk about the city and truly immerse ourselves in the culture. Although the scientists at DLR speak English, I’m sure they would also appreciate us showing some effort to learn their language too. I suppose that’s all for now!

Tschüss!

Matt

February 26, 2019

Hallo!

These past few weeks have been amazing, but also busy as we continue to finalize various logistical aspects of our trip. I have been learning more about the research each of my fellow teammates do and I can already tell that though our research topics require different areas of expertise, all of our topics mingle and are beneficial in furthering each of our studies in one way or another. Now, I probably won’t be as much of an expert in combustion as Andrew or Jessica, but I hope to at least have a solid understanding by the end of the summer if not before then!

We are also preparing for STEM day, an outreach event where students K-12 come to UCF and learn about different STEM fields through various activities and demonstrations. IRES participates in this every year focusing on gas turbines and how engineering is an international effort. This year we are 3D printing parts to make a miniature model of a gas turbine engine. I know we can get everything prepared in time for STEM day on March 29^th!

That’s all I have for now. So, until next time, tschüss!

Zac

February 15, 2019

Hallo!

My name is Jessica Baker and I am currently enrolled as a 3rd year undergrad working on my B.S. in Aerospace Engineering along with a minor in Mathematics. My background is actually a bit different from the other IRES participants – I did not have prior research experience before starting the IRES program, but the last six weeks have been a lot of fun learning and working in the lab. So far, I’ve been concentrating on running shock tube experiments, measuring species produced during different oxidation and pyrolysis reactions. This combustion work has been very interesting and is something I’m looking forward to continuing over the summer.

The planning for the trip is going well. The last few weeks have focused on getting all of our paperwork sorted out so that we’re ready to start at the DLR as soon as we can! I’m still working with Dr. Vasu and Dr. Braun on determining a topic of study during my stay in Stuttgart, and we seem to be focusing in on high pressure methane combustion and the accompanying chemical kinetic modeling. Once my topic is finalized, I’ll be able to plan out how my 10-week stay will go (I do thrive on a schedule).

Though our trip seems far away, there’s still a lot to do before we can head out. We are busy booking our flights, researching Stuttgart (and Cologne), and learning a few more German phrases. I am looking forward to working with the rest of the group and planning out our 10 week stay in Germany.

Until next time!

Jessica

February 7, 2019

Hallo liebe Leute,

My name is Andrew, and I am currently in my second year of the ME Ph.D. program where I perform experimental research in combustion science, specifically on the chemical kinetics of various fuels. Using a shock tube facility and advanced diagnostics, we can measure major and minor species during oxidation/pyrolysis reactions that are important in understanding overall fuel chemistry. The data collected reveals information that aids in the development of chemical mechanisms, which are used in simulations to predict the chemistry of practical combustion devices.

I am originally from the Metro Detroit area in Michigan where I have lived my entire life, up until the point of deciding to pursue graduate studies at UCF. Prior to making this big move in my life, I was originally planning on working after my undergrad as a Design Engineer at an automotive company where I had interned for two years; however, the work and application was unfulfilling, especially having a desire to work within aerospace/energy industries. The culmination of this eventually led me to combustion, and furthermore to move and pursue a Ph.D. in Florida.

Because of these decisions, it has now led me to this great opportunity to join other UCF students in the 2019 IRES program. My UCF colleagues in this program are awesome, and I have enjoyed the time we have spent so far organizing the logistics for the trip to Germany. Thus far, we have solidified the dates and housing, and are currently working on clearance paperwork. I have spoken with the DLR scientists in Stuttgart and we have selected a research topic involving shock tube studies at elevated pressures. Looking forward to spending 10 weeks in Germany with everyone!

UCF at the 2019 AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition in San Diego, CA

Tschüss! -Andrew

February 1, 2019

Hello World,

Firstly, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is Matthew Northam and I am currently in my second year as a graduate student at the University of Central Florida. I’m currently working on my master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and am very much looking forward to this summer where I’ll gain experience both personally and professionally. Living internationally has always been a goal of mine so to be accepted into the IRES 2019 program is a true blessing.

These beginning weeks of the planning have been going well. It’s incredibly crucial to start planning the travel and living arrangements as soon as possible so that’s what the group and I have been working on recently. I also had a great conversation with Dr. Raghavan recently about some topics of study for me while I’m in Cologne, so once I meet with my DLR collaborator, I get to start finalizing my plan of study.

All of my colleagues seem like genuinely nice and helpful people and I’m looking forward to working with them this semester. We’re all excited to live in Germany for 10 weeks and have started to make plans to start learning German together! It should be a great time. I guess that’s all for now so I’ll talk to you another time!

Matt

January 25, 2019

Hallo Readers!

My name is Zachary Stein and I would like to welcome you to the IRES 2019 blog! I am currently in the 3^rd year of my Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering at UCF. My focus in research is primarily on the effects of ingression of debris, such as sand or volcanic ash, in thermal barrier coatings. Thermal barrier coatings help to insulate the turbine blades from the extreme environment of gas turbine engines used in airplanes and power generation.

These studies have led me to the IRES program and I can’t wait to get started with my fellow teammates. I know the team is just as eager to start as I am since IRES is an amazing opportunity to not only be able to collaborate on an international level, but also allow us to work at a professional research center with equipment that would be otherwise impossible to have when testing our experiments here at UCF. This means we should not waste any time we have while we are over there! This can only be achieved through proper planning, which we will be doing over the course of the next few months leading up to Germany.

The Students of IRES 2019 (L to R: Andrew Laich, Jessica Baker, Zachary Stein, Matthew Northam)

This past week was mainly an introduction and getting to know each other and our areas of expertise as well as looking at what we need to get done, logistically, in order to have everything set for duration of the trip. Expect to hear from them over the following weeks as they introduce themselves and things we have done in preparation for this summer in Germany!

July 27, 2018

Hello Everyone!

This time next week I will back in the States, but I have enjoyed my time here in Germany. We are currently experiencing a heat wave this week with degrees in the upper eighties and lower nineties. In Orlando they just call this summer, but in Orlando air conditioning is also ubiquitous.

I'm grateful to get a behind the scenes view on how the samples I've been looking at are made. It helps me understand the signals that I've been looking at before I came here. For example, on a lot of the samples I was looking at, there would be this large fluorescence in the Raman signal, but after a few scans it seemed to die down. From working at the DLR this summer, I've come to realize that fluorescence may be a result the epoxy used to maintain the structural integrity when cutting the sample during preparation.

This upcoming semester I will be looking at reactive thermal coatings which should show more crystalline reaction products. I've been compiling a database with the Raman spectra of the reaction products expected in order to be able to more readily identify the products by the spectra I collect. Also I've been working in python in order to simplify the peak deconvolution process during data analysis.

In addition to the fabrication process of the samples, I've learned a lot about scanning electron microscopy (SEM) just from sitting in on my colleagues' SEM sessions. It is a useful microscopy to couple with Raman mapping in order to gain a more thorough insight into the Raman mapping. I'll have to ask my professor first but I want to get the training for SEM when I get back to UCF in order to be able to continuously get images at such high magnification.

Last week we visited the DLR propulsion facility in Stuttgart. One of the standout parts of the tours for me was visiting a scientist who first self-funded his project before he was funded by an institution. He is currently retro-fitting an old Soviet starter gas turbine in order for it to be usable on his glider. It was really inspiring seeing the video of his test runs where he is using his own car to keep the stand his engine was on from moving during the turbine operation. I have a couple ideas I've been working on and making sketches of for years, but when I return, in my spare time, I'll be working to bring those sketches into real life.

Chance

Dr. Kareem Ahmed, our faculty advisor from the Propulsion and Energy Research Lab (PERL), visited Michelle and I at the Flame Lab at Stuttgart DLR and joined us along with Dr. Boxx for dinner and a tour of downtown Stuttgart at a popular attraction site, Königstraße.

July 13, 2018

Hello Readers!

A lot has happened this past month! Our experiment has been progressing wonderfully; with over five new turbulence plates designed, we have become literate in LaVision Davis processing for our high-speed flow images taken. Michelle and I are also becoming well versed in characterizing turbulence and are looking forward to analyzing the data more thoroughly after our visit to Cologne.

From left to right, Chance, Luisana, Dr. Bartsch, Michelle, and I. Pictured on the slide is preliminary data and processing of our first turbulence plate using PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry).

Upon arriving to DLR Cologne, Michelle and I were greeted by Chance, Luisana, and Dr. Marion Bartsch. Dr. Bartsch gave us a presentation on the DLR Cologne facilities and capabilities followed by a tour of their material testing equipment and labs. We were very impressed and even got to see the twisted metal airframe from one of their early testing! After lunch we concluded the tour with presentations of each IRES student’s work.

We had some free time to explore Cologne and got to see the Roman Praetorium, The Gothic Cathedral, the Hohenzollern Bridge, the Cologne Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, and even enjoy the Cologne Pride Event! Cologne was an incredible city, but my favorite part had yet to come!

ESA/EAC Tour

Dr. Boxx was kind enough to put me in contact with a member of ESA (European Space Agency) in Cologne European Astronaut Centre (EAC), Dr. Aidan Cowley, and we were luckily able to arrange a tour! The entire IRES team enjoyed themselves and it was very rewarding to see the big picture results of all our work in action. The EAC tour solidified the belief that through global collaboration great things can be accomplished, and was definitely my favorite part of Cologne!

Pictured from left to right: Michelle, Luisana, Myself, Dr. Aidan Cowley, and Chance. A special thanks to Dr. Aidan Cowley for taking time out of his busy schedule training astronauts, like Alexander Gerst, to host a tour!

Scale model of the ISS at the EAC Reception Lobby. The Roscosmos Soyuz can be seen docked at the bottom, the ESA Columbus module and be seen at the front, and the JAXA Japanese Module is on the side not pictured. Mission patches decorate the top of the wall while past and current ESA astronauts are honored at the bottom.

Columbus (left) is a science laboratory that is part of the International Space Station (ISS) and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA). We were lucky to tour the inside of the Columbus, reconstructed to scale for astronaut training (center). EAC also boasts the second largest Neutral Buoyancy Facility (first being NASA Houston) where the Columbus (right) can be lowered into the pool to provide astronauts real scenario training for future spacewalks!

DLR Stuttgart Combustion Team Building Event: Energy Day

After arriving back to Stuttgart from Cologne, we attended the annual team building event for the combustion team at DLR Stuttgart called Energy Day. There we explored the Mercedes Benz Museum and received a guided tour of the famous company; from the first motorcycle, to the company’s evolution throughout the ages, to concept cars that never made it to production. It was an incredible treat! We continued as a team to lunch then a hike to Grabkapelle auf dem Württemberg, where we all reconvened to head for dinner at the Pig Museum Bier Garten.

Although the museum had a plethora of vehicles, my personal favorite is pictured above. This is the 1939 Mercedes Benz Weltrekordwagen T 80. Designed by Ferdinand Porsche, powered by the DB aero engine and developing 3000 hp: The T 80 was to become the world’s fastest car on four wheels and reach a speed of 373 mph on the motorway near Dessau in early 1940. However, the outbreak of WWII prevented the car from being completed. Perhaps its spaceship look could give it life again for other applications!

The Combustion Team at DLR Stuttgart: From center left I am pictured with Dr. Wolfgang Meier (the head of the combustion group) and Michelle, with Dr. Boxx pictured second from the right. We are blessed to be part of such a great team!

I’ve been having an incredible time here in Europe and Germany, and in less than a month I return to Orlando. In these short two months I can honestly say this opportunity has helped me grow professionally and personally, and I’m excited for what the future holds!

Jalime, signing off!

July 6, 2018

Hello everyone!

Here are the quick updates I have for now.

At DLR I have been working with Dr. Bartsch on designing a specimen to be fabricated from LAM (laser additive manufacturing), which will be used to test the integrity of the part.

This week, DLR had an organized event for everyone in our department to tour the cemetery in Cologne. Chance and I went and at the end of the tour we had lunch with our colleagues in the city. It was an amazing time.

As part of the IRES program, there is an arranged tour for Michelle and Jalime to visit the DLR in Cologne this Friday. Besides the tour, we will be having a seminar in where we are going to present the projects we are currently working on. Next time, it will be me and Chance’s turn to visit them and tour the DLR in Stuttgart. I can't wait to tell you about it.

This is all I have for now. Until next time!

Luisana

July 1, 2018

Hello Everyone!!

Research Update: Things are going soo well. We finally have the experiment up and running. We took our first data set this week. Jalime and I are writing up our python scripts to post-process the data. We are making ways. It was rough in the beginning but we are getting through it. Hopefully by next week we have the script done and the data processed.

Personal Update: It’s been a fun couple of weeks. I’ve been able to meet a lot of new people. Watching the world cup has helped with that. A little sad Germany did not make it to the next round but I am happy that Mexico and Colombia did!! Jalime and I are going to Cologne next weekend. Very excited to visit DLR Cologne and see the rest of the group. We were also able to schedule a tour with ESA control center. That should be very exciting. I am sure pictures will be loaded next week!!

Until next time,

Michelle

June 22, 2018

Thus far research has been going well, I'm learning a lot about metallography and sample preparation. My eagerness to get my sample prepared sometimes gets me impatient to use instruments that everyone else needs as well, but I realize that the access to excellent scientific facilities is a great privilege and the planning needed to meet my schedule is a good learning experience.

The world cup has started and everyone here is invested into it and even I got into it. The local park by me has a beergarden that plays all the games on a big screen. I've been able to see Cristiano Ronaldo tie the game up with under 10 minutes left in the game and I also got to see the large crowd of German fans upset when Mexico beat Germany. All of this just shows me how similar people are. I feel the same type of energy when the playoffs in basketball or football start.

Chance

June 15, 2018

Chance, Michelle, myself, Luisana, and our Siemens tour contact David Rule at the Siemens Berlin Facility. The bear is the symbol of Berlin and can be seen in many artistic variances throughout the city!

Hello Readers!

It has been about a full month since our initial arrival to Germany and it seems as though time is flying by! We’ve visited so many incredible, literally breathtaking countries and cities already. Just this past weekend we, the four of us, reunited in Berlin to tour the Siemens facility, which was quite a treat! I’ve never seen gas turbines the size of buildings before, let alone had the opportunity to witness how they are manufactured, assembled, and even tested. Siemens even does collaborative work with DLR researchers to investigate methods for cleaner energy, examine integrity of materials in operational conditions, and optimize material manufacturing for industry to name only a few examples!

Chance and Michelle can be seen here in front of an early Gas Turbine at the German Museum of Technology!

Berlin was such an incredible city rich with culture and history, that while Luisana practiced her Turbo Expo presentation (you go girl!) Chance, Michelle, and myself went to the Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology) and gained an even further appreciation of German engineering throughout the ages! Ranging from textile machines, locomotives, to film technology, and aerospace technology, we learned so much!

Me in front of an early German plane by Lufthansa. Still in operation today, it is actually the airline we will be using to travel back to Orlando!

Dr. Boxx, Michelle, and I are making progress on our research project and will hopefully be at operating status and commence data collection by the end of this week. We have learned so much valuable skills in the short time we’ve been here that I’m still in a daze at how lucky we are. After receiving multiple offers for the summer, its safe to say I’ve made the best choice! Until next time!

Jalime

June 8, 2018

Hallo everyone!

Jalime and I in Bruges, Belgium. What a beautiful city!

DLR update: I have only been working at DLR for 3 weeks and I have learned so much. Everyone here is very friendly and extremely helpful. The combustion group I am working under has these daily “Tea Times” where everyone in the group meets up and talks with one another. On Tuesday, during tea time everyone discusses what they have been working on throughout the week and ask for advice from the other colleagues and the head of the department. They definitely work as a team here. Our project is also coming along. Most of the experiment is set up. We hit a few bumps in the road that delayed us a little but we have been able to make up the time. We should be running and taking measurements by Monday of this week coming up. Jalime and I are super excited to see this project through. The topic we are investigating is very interesting and our adviser is very knowledgeable. I am truly grateful to be given this opportunity!

Personal Update: I am in love with this country; every day is a new adventure. Stuttgart feels like home now. Jalime and I are trying to learn some basic German to help us a bit. Most of the people speak English here but we have noticed that knowing at least some basic German would help in the situations where we do interact with the few people that do not speak English. I came down with a cold when we first got here and let’s just say it was most definitely an experience trying to find medicine but I think we are getting better with expressing ourselves. Also, it just happened to be that we came during the month where they had a few holidays so Jalime and I have been able to explore Europe a bit. We checked out a few cities in Belgium, we visited Amsterdam with Luisana and Chance and we made our way to Paris this past weekend since we had a 4 day weekend. This weekend coming up we are going to Berlin for a tour at Siemens! I’m sure we will have many pictures to share.

Michelle

June 4, 2018

Dr. Raghavan drove me and Chance to IKEA to buy things for our housing.

Hello everyone,

It has been almost two weeks and time is flying by. On my first day at DLR I finally got the opportunity to meet Dr. Bartsch. We went over the necessary paperwork to get started at DLR. Since then, I have been doing literature review to better understand about the different testing techniques we could possibly do here.

Last Friday Dr. Raghavan came to Cologne and helped me and Chance move from the hotel we were staying at to our student housing. The student housing is great and there are so many things close by.

On the other hand I have been visiting Cologne by train or by simply walking. It is such a gorgeous place!

Until next time, Tschüss!

Luisana

May 25, 2018

Crossing the Atlantic: An Initial Impression of Germany from the IRES Team

Chance: Thus far Germany has been a great experience. The group that I’m working with has really brought me in and made me feel like one of them. The DLR location in Cologne looks amazing. It’s like it is a campground due to all of the trees around. It serves as a beautiful backdrop to doing research. You could be nose deep in preparing samples and then you look out the window and see nothing but greenery. It’s a great juxtaposition of nature and science.

Luisiana: Hello everyone! I finally arrived to Germany! Chance, Jalime and Michelle were already in their destination. I was so excited and a little nervous but finally made it to Cologne. Since I got here it has been great and people are so nice and helpful. Cologne is beautiful. At DLR I have been reading literature related to my topic of research. As the week progresses I can’t wait to tell you more. Until next time!!

Michelle: Hallo!! I can’t believe I have been in Germany for a week and a half already! Time definitely flies. Jalime and I arrived to Germany on the 16th and it is safe to say, I was so happy when we got here. Flying for 16 hours is no joke. Jetlag is a real thing haha. On to DLR update, we went in on Thursday of last week to fill out paper work and pick up our badges. We got Friday off since Monday of this week was a holiday so our adviser gave us the rest of the week to settle in and get familiar with the town. This week has been a little bit more productive. We started setting up our experiment and hopefully we will finalize everything within the next week or two.

Jalime: Upon arriving to DLR in Germany, I was overwhelmed by the incredible facilities, knowledgeable team, and friendly welcome by everyone! The DLR team immediately made us feel at home, engaging in pleasant conversation during their daily tea meetings while giving them an opportunity to practice their English. DLR is working on so many incredible and profoundly changing projects ranging from alternative energy to imaging diagnostics for combustion research. It’s unbelievable I get to be a part of that. We have reunited with our German mentor and have begun setting up our summer experiment to commence data collection. I am thrilled, overjoyed, and blessed to have the opportunity to not only learn so much technically and scientifically, but culturally as well! I already love it here!

May 18, 2018

I think I'm finally realizing that I'm going to Germany. This whole semester I've been sort of unexcited about the trip honestly because I didn't believe it was real. But now that I've heard from Jalime and Michelle and that they've gotten to Germany safely it has hit me that this is happening.

I went home for Mothers’ Day this past weekend and my mom and I watched some home movies of my childhood. It's crazy to me that the big-headed kid in those movies is now going to the German Aerospace Center to work on thermal barrier coatings. I'm going to learn how to actually fabricate the samples and the different parameters that goes into the creation of these samples. I hope to make them in a way to remove some of the difficulties that came with characterizing them that I encountered. I hope to continue this research but if someone from the next round of IRES applicants takes over I hope to make their job easier.

One last thing. The other day I was having difficulty doing some minor task, and my friend says to me, "Chance this can't be that hard for you, this isn't rocket science and even if it was, you actually do rocket science." And while my research has been related more to airplanes, I imagine it could be applied to rockets as well. I think it's cool that I'm almost a rocket scientist.

Chance

May 13, 2018

We will be leaving for Germany in less than a week! Our German research mentor has given us invaluable training and insight that we'll carry with us the rest of our careers. As exciting as this opportunity is, one can't help but to feel somewhat anxious about living in an entirely new continent! Luckily, Dr. Boxx has suppressed those feelings through his patient and knowledgeable mentorship, and I'm overjoyed to continue helping with his research in Germany. I will be missing all my family and friends dearly, but alas great adventure lies ahead!

Jalime

May 7, 2018

Hello everyone!

We are only a couple of weeks away from going to Germany. We just had our finals and classes are finally over for the semester! This week we met with Dr. Raghavan and some of her students who went to DLR on previous years. We had very good last-minute advice from Lin, Brooke, and Owen, in addition to two other students from Germany. I definitely feel more prepared thanks to the guidance during this preparation. In the meantime, I have been working on finishing gathering all my data for my thesis before I leave, so I can start having things ready when we come back from Germany.

This is all I have for now. I will write you from Germany next time!

Luisana

April 27, 2018

Hey everyone!

It’s been a little crazy these past couple of days. It’s finals week here at UCF and we are only 2 weeks away from leaving for Germany, so there is a lot to do.

Germany Update: Dr. Boxx, our German advisor is currently working in my lab here at UCF. Jalime and I are more than excited to start this journey with him. He is a wonderful person to work with and learn from. Our experimental facility is almost done being machined. Once Jalime and I get to Stuttgart it should be up and running. We will assist with setting up the optics for PIV and take preliminary data.

Personal Update: I am finishing up my finals for my graduate courses. I also found out that I passed 2 of the 3 qualifying exams I took in the beginning of this month. The 3rd one is still pending so fingers crossed!

Well. that is about it for now! Next time you hear from me, I will be in Stuttgart.

Michelle

April 24, 2018

Hello,

I’m almost done with the data acquisition now that the semester is almost over. It’s a lot right now trying to make time to study for finals and ger data, so I’m glad I can pause that right now. I’m excited we will be in Germany soon. I received my room and it feels real now.

Goodbye

Chance

April 7, 2018

Germany is only six weeks away and I’ve been filled with excitement and determination as our departure date is quickly approaching. We are to characterize turbulent flows in an effort to help our German mentor design a combustor and have been hard at work learning and understanding several programming languages and analysis software in preparation.

In addition to our literature review, I was lucky to be part of STEM Day at UCF with the IRES team and volunteer with middle and high school students! I am very passionate about volunteering and STEM Outreach, I am even the SHPE Jr Committee Lead and have even been asked to be the Outreach Officer for SWE. To me, it’s not just volunteering; it’s about inspiring future generations of scientists, engineers and artists through self-discovery, confidence building, tapping into their potential, and developing an empathetic mindset. I believe my role as a STEM (STEAM) mentor is to not only to inspire children to believe in themselves, but to also believe in the good in the world and science’s role in doing so. It’s not just a responsibility but a privilege to continue the momentum started in previous generations and be a catalyst for dream making.

Here, I'm explaining detonation-based propulsion engines and engines of the future.

The students had a great time and really enjoyed our educational presentations on heat transfer, spectroscopy, and engines. We even learned from them as well, some students have even built their own turbine and turboprop engines from cans! It was an incredible experience bonding with the IRES team, volunteers, and the talented students. The students even earned their intergalactic passport! We are looking forward to planning and conducting STEM outreach events in Germany as well!

Jalime

March 30, 2018

Hello,

It is already April and we are getting so close! At the end of February, we had a meeting with Dr. Bartsch about figuring out my research topic. We talked about my current research topic on additive manufacturing and having a possible overlap with a collaborator from DLR. We discussed designing test articles from additive manufacturing that could be tested at DLR. Since I have an idea of my topic with DLR, I have been reading papers related to what I could be doing there.

A couple weeks ago we started our own weekly presentations. Chance was the first one to go and presented to us his research topic and his progress with DLR. It is amazing how much he has done so far and how much he has learned since we started this program. I am looking forward to knowing what the rest of the team members are working on.

Today we had our UCF STEM day! We had two groups, one from middle school and another one from high school. It was amazing to work with them as they seem so interested in STEM. We had different activities and got the opportunity to teach them a little bit about heat transfer, spectrometry, materials, and aero engines. In the end, we asked the students questions about the subjects we went over and gave out prizes. They seemed to love it and the entire IRES group and volunteers had a great time.

2017 IRES alumni, Lin Rossmann (left), and 2018 IRES student, Jalime Vargas (right), teaching high school students about gas turbine engines.

2018 IRES student, Chance Barrett, introducing the students to non-destructive methods of evaluation through a spectroscopy demonstration.

These are all the updates I have, for now, see you next time!

Luisana

March 23, 2018

Hey!

I can’t believe it has been a little over a month since I last wrote in this blog. Time is definitely flying by. Jalime and I have been communicating with our advisor in Stuttgart. Everything is going as planned. Our rig is getting machined and recently another doctoral student was able to do CFD modeling of the rig giving promising results. Also, our advisor is actually coming to UCF beginning of April. Super excited to start working with him.

Update on preparation for our trip:

Not going to lie, I am a little behind on my python training. I have been super busy with the literature review of the experiment and I have also been studying for the qualifiers. What is that you ask? They are very important exams for students in the Ph.D. program. They consist of 3 different topics and if someone doesn't do well, there is a possibility they do not continue in the program. Wish me luck!

T- 54 days before heading to Germany !!!

Michelle

March 20, 2018

Hello,

The past couple of weeks I’ve essentially been living in the lab. I took a week off, but only relatively. I’m not in the lab this week but I’m still doing a bunch of data analysis. Truthfully it’s the most involved part of research. I’m getting interesting results though. Some of it aligns with the literature, some of it doesn’t but it’s all intriguing nonetheless.

The research I do involves Raman spectroscopy. The short of it is that I shine a laser on a material at a certain wavelength and some of the photons that will be reflected off of the sample will be shifted to a different wavelength. This shift in wavelength is directly related to the compounds in the material. While this sounds super scientific on paper, in reality, I’m just pressing a button and waiting on the instrument to alert me when it is done doing its thing. It’s actually quite boring only because sometimes it can take hours for the instrument to be finished collecting data and the only thing you can do is wait. Often I bring in other work to complete while I’m collecting data to pass time.

Today one of my ideas for a different type of characterization was confirmed in a paper I randomly found so that’s cool. I’ve been pitching it to people but it always seemed to fall flat. I think it may end up being something that I just do on the side. Anyways, that has been my life since the last update.

Chance

March 2, 2018

Hello Curious Reader!

My name is Jalime and I’m a junior studying aerospace engineering at the University of Central Florida. Since I was a little girl gazing at the night sky, I’ve had my sights set on exploring the stars. I’ve overcome quite a bit to finally make it this close to achieving my dream of building spaceships! By happenstance, I was told of this amazing opportunity to travel abroad to Germany while conducting research, in my aerospace design course. I made it a personal goal to study abroad at one point during my academic career so naturally, this seemed like an appealing enough reason to apply.

However, the fact that I’d be conducting research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR), who have an immense amount of aerospace and spacefaring projects including some partnering with the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and even NASA was the main driving force for wanting to participate in this program! To think, I’ll be learning from some of the best aerospace engineers in their respective fields! I’ve been conducting research at the Propulsion and Energy Research Lab (PERL) in hypersonics for over a year, and am looking forward to gaining a different perspective on research in an international setting. I can not wait to explore the German and European culture, but I am most looking forward to hearing about all the incredible projects of the DLR scientists!

Jalime

February 23, 2018

Hello everyone!

My name is Luisana Calderon and I am a UCF student pursuing my Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. My research focuses on the study of flow and heat transfer behavior on an additively manufactured part made from Inconel 718.

Because additive manufacturing is a relatively new technique there are so many questions and someone needs to do the research! And that is why I applied to the IRES program with the purpose of gaining valuable knowledge about this subject. The idea of doing research abroad sounded exciting as I would have the opportunity to meet people with a different culture, language, way of thinking and learn about how other engineers and researchers interact in other settings. I am looking forward to going to DLR and eager to learn more about additive manufacturing and have this amazing opportunity to go to Germany!

Luisiana

February 16, 2018

Hallo!

First and foremost, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Michelle Otero and I just began my journey in the Ph.D. world. I am currently a 1st-year aerospace engineering Ph.D. student here at UCF. My current research focuses on thermoacoustic instabilities in combustion chambers. I am investigating the different mechanisms that help dampen frequencies detrimental to combustion chambers. I am super excited for the research waiting for me in Germany. The collaboration project I will be working on will consist of characterizing turbulence at pressure. Although it is different from the research I am currently working on, I’m excited about the new challenges. My future research for my dissertation will be related to the work I will be doing overseas. This trip will provide me with an excellent opportunity to jumpstart my dissertation research will some of the most known engineers in my field.

Update on preparation for our trip:

Our flights and hotels have been booked. Last week I began my python training. I found out that in DLR they post process their data using python, so I need to start learning how to code in python before I get there so I do not follow behind. With only 3 months to set up the rig, take data, and post-process, I want to make the most of my time. Well, that’s all for now! Stay around to get all our updates about this amazing opportunity!

T-minus 94 days!!!

Michelle

February 9th, 2018

Hello World,

My name is Chance Barrett and I’m currently a 2nd year Physics Ph.D. student at the University of Central Florida and this is my first blog post detailing my journey from Orlando to Germany. I am really looking forward to this summer, traveling to Germany was a big reason I applied to this program. I’ve always wanted to be in the position where my work takes me overseas, and now, here I am.

Speaking of which I’m enjoying learning about the behind the scenes coordination of an international collaboration. As a person who wants to be a traveling scientist, being a part of these conversations is a great opportunity for me to learn for the future. This summer I’ll be learning some manufacturing techniques. I’ve spoken with my DLR collaborator and the goal is for me to finish my characterization here so that when I get to Germany I can just practice making samples. I’m looking forward to putting down my characterization gloves and picking up my manufacturing ones. So far throughout my time in graduate school, my main focus has been on characterization. I anticipate it being a nice change of pace from my usual research. That’s all I have for now. Talk to you later random internet stranger.

Chance

August 4th, 2017

Hello everyone,

We arrived in Florida earlier this week. Now that my time at DLR has come to an end, I feel as if I am a much better scientist and student than when I first started. During my time at DLR I worked on analyzing data using the resources available to me. I learned much more than I could have imagined during these past two months. I am looking forward to continuing my research and studies this upcoming fall semester.

I just wanted to say thank you to all of those who made this experience possible. Thank you for reading our blog posts, I wish the best of luck to next year’s IRES group.

Take care,

Debraliz

July 29th, 2017

Yesterday was the last day at DLR. I have spent the last week taking as much data as possible so that I can eventually write a paper in collaboration with my DLR colleagues. I complete a second set of experiments where water was added to the mixture to understand the differences in the chemical kinetics. This will be important to understand how the combustion environment reacts as novel cycled concepts are attempted. Working at DLR has been an unbelievable experience and I was able to work with some of the best researchers in the world over the last few months. During my time here, I have developed a better understanding on controlling the shockwave characteristics in the shock tube to more accurately control the experiments. Now as I head back to the U.S., I will use the knowledge that I have gained here to complete my PhD when I return to UCF.

Owen

July 21st, 2017

Hallo!

Well, the time has come it is my last post. None of us want to leave but we are all excited of what is to come this fall semester. We plan to publish papers, apply for fellowships and attend to conferences. While being here I was able to establish a good relationship with my mentor. We were able to come to a point where we see many possibilities for new experiments and publications within the CMAS team. Given this, Dr. Ravi, my mentor at DLR, has encouraged me to apply for Fulbright and NSF GRFP ( graduate research fellowship program). Both application deadlines are within the next two months which means I have a lot of work to do and a lot to look forward to!

Tschüss

Estefania

July 14th, 2017

Latest video blog from our IRES team at DLR

July 14th, 2017

Hallo! This is a bittersweet post for me, because it will be my last blog post in Germany. None of us are ready to go home - it's been an incredible summer. Today, the three of us in Cologne went to Stuttgart to visit Owen at the DLR facility there, and to meet his supervisor, Dr. Braun. She gave us a presentation about the work that her group does, studying combustion, and we each gave a presentation of our work to her and Owen. The two of them took us on a tour of the facilities that their group uses, which was very cool.

Auf weidersehen!

Lin

July 7th, 2017

Hallo!

Since I last wrote a blog post, so much has happened! The CMSX-4 team has been working hard to finalize phase identification of our material, look for conferences where we can present our work, and writing plans for experiments that will be run at DLR.

This week Owen visited us at DLR. He presented to us his research on measuring the ignition delay times of a natural gas surrogate using a shock tube. In about two weeks, Estefania, Lin, and I will be visiting Owen at Stuttgart to do the same. This is the perfect learning opportunity for the four of us to correlate our work.

Today Lin and I were fortunate enough to get the chance to sit in on a presentation given by a collaborator from Japan. I am grateful that we got to be part of that environment, not every student gets to experience that. We got to see scientists from different parts of the world working towards a common goal. International collaboration and research - that's what this program is all about.

Bis später,

Debraliz

Owen presenting his research at DLR facility in Cologne

Tour of the mechanical testing lab

June 29th, 2017

I am back in the U.S. for the ASME Turbo Expo Conference this week, presenting some work that I performed at UCF. I am able to spend time with my DLR advisor, Marina Braun-Unkhoff, and met up with several colleagues that I had met during my stay in Stuttgart. The conference has been fun so far with interesting talks on several different topics that I work on and I was able to catch up with the members of my lab at UCF. My experiments at Stuttgart have also been going well as well. I continue to collect data that at conditions that are unobtainable at UCF and have been even found a solution to an issue that I may be able to bring back with me when I come back. This issue has limited the test time that I have been able to measure over but I now may be able to measure test times that are several times longer than before. There is about one month left and I plan to collect as much data as possible during this time. I have a few more days at the conference but I am looking forward to returning to Germany. Next week, I will also visit DLR Cologne so that I can meet with the rest of the IRES group and see the different facilities that are available there.

Owen

L to R: My UCF advisor Dr Vasu, myself and my DLR supervisor Dr Braun at Turbo Expo 2017

June 23, 2017

Hallo!

This week was our official complete month in Germany. It feels like last time I wrote my post was a very long time ago as it has been quite an eventful summer. Since, we have moved out our first apartment, we were given our designated work areas, spent a day of team bonding with DLR staff and have become more familiar with getting around cologne.

With scitech out of the way, Lin and I were able to obtain metallographic training for future sample preparation. This proved to be challenging as proper sample preparation requires delicate practice. As far as my individual project, the main goal for the summer is to prepare the necessary validation experiments for a journal paper entry to be finished by December. Most of my days are full of items to complete and require a lot of readings and discussions with my mentor.

Below is a picture of Lin and I during our training. Where Lin is taking notes as I label our sample.

Until next time !

Estefania

June 16, 2017

Hallo!

It feels like we’ve been in Germany for forever, but also like time is passing far too quickly. Cologne feels like home now.

This week Estefania and I got training on sample preparation for microscopy in the metallography lab. Proper sample preparation – cutting the sample, embedding it in conductive resin, and grinding, polishing, and cleaning the surface – is a laborious, time-intensive process, and it takes more skill than I thought. I’m glad I learned using a dummy sample rather than one of my real samples!

One thing I really appreciate about our time here is that we get to have multi-hour, in-depth scientific discussions with our collaborators at DLR. Not many students get the opportunity to have so much time conversing with scientists.

We’ve also been enjoying Europe on our weekends. So far we’ve visited Amsterdam, Berlin (we went sight-seeing after our tour of the Siemens facility), and Würzburg, and we have tickets for trips to Barcelona and Paris as well. Our motto is “work hard, play hard.”

Tschüss!

Lin

June 9, 2017

Hallo!

I'm finally writing to you from Germany! So far everything has been an adventure, from lugging around our luggage to getting lost a few times. We have finally settled down at DLR and met all of the scientists. It's incredible the access we have to all the scientists and scientific equipment to aide us in our research.

Today we took a trip to Berlin to tour the Siemens facilities. We got to see and learn about gas turbine engine manufacturing. We also got to learn more about the additive manufacturing process, more specifically selective laser melting (SLM).

So far everything has been an amazing experience, Cologne is starting to feel like home.

Tschüss!

Debraliz

L to R: Debraliz, Estefania, Berlin Buddy Bear, Lin, Owen

June 2, 2017

I have been in Stuttgart for the last 3 weeks. In that time, I have gotten familiar with the city and DLR. I have been able to perform experiments on oxy-fuel combustion in CO₂ diluted experiments. So far, the data has been quite promising as I have been able to test new conditions that are much lower temperatures that I am normally able to reach. These temperatures will be able to provide important data for building a robust model to simulate the conditions that are to be experienced inside of a gas turbine. Hopefully, as the research continues I will be able to collect enough data to publish my findings that may also be included into my dissertation.

After spending the last few weeks exploring the Stuttgart area, I am finally going to experience other cities in Germany. I plan to spend the weekend in Munich. This will be an opportunity to see the German Museum and Neuschwanstein Castle. Next week, the whole group is going to Berlin to get a tour of Siemens. This opportunity has been everything that I hoped for, I am able to use unparalleled facilities at DLR and to experience the culture in a way that would have never been possible through a vacation.

Owen

May 26, 2017

Hello.

We have officially been in Germany for a week and we already have many stories to tell. We arrived at DLR, met our collaborators, worked on our SciTech papers, saw the facilities, visited our assigned work areas and enjoyed our first holiday weekend. On that note, although our first weekend was mainly devoted to SciTech papers, this weekend we explored Koln. First, we had breakfast by the Koln cathedral, then we visited the Roman museum and then climbed all 533 steps of the Koln Dom (Cathedral). On our second day we got a chance to see Koln’s botanical garden (Flora Koln) and tasted authentic German food by the Altstadt (“Old City”).

Enjoy the pictures!

Estefania

May 19, 2017

We’re finally here! After preparing for this trip for so long, it feels surreal. We departed Orlando yesterday (May 18) and landed in Frankfurt at 7:30 am local time. We then took a high-speed train from the Frankfurt airport train station to the central station in Cologne, and then changed to a local train to get to the stop closest to our lodging. Lugging our bags was not fun, but we did feel proud of ourselves for navigating the public transportation system. Our most common phrase was “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” (Do you speak English?), followed by “Entschuldigung!” (Pardon me!).

Left: Estefania and I carry groceries in Cologne. Right: Debraliz, myself, and Estefania in our hotel room.

Now that we’ve settled in to our lodgings, it’s time to really get to work. Monday is our first day at DLR, and we’re so excited!

Lin

May 12, 2017

Hello,

A week from now we will all be in Cologne, Germany! These last few days seem to be rushing by. I have been trying to finish all of my preparations for the trip while simultaneously continuing my research.

Today was especially exciting in the additive manufacturing research because I was able to produce my first pole plot – a pole plot is a way to graphically represent the orientation distribution of crystals in a material. This is something I had been working on for a while but had no luck. With teamwork, and a lot of trial and error, I was finally able to obtain the results I wanted. This is going to help us keep analyzing our data and we will have something more to add to the SciTech paper we have been working on.

This past semester was very challenging but also equally rewarding. It’s very exciting to be able to say that this is my last post in the United States!

Bis zum nächsten Mal (Until next time),

Debraliz

May 5, 2017

The trip is getting ever closer. I leave for Stuttgart next week and the others travel to Cologne the following week. I am making final preparations and working and making sure that I am prepared for the trip. I also met with my hosts, Drs. Braun-Unkhoff and Naumann, to finalize the experiments that I will be performing there. We discussed two different projects and various other opportunities that I may be able to work on over the summer. At UCF, I have been busy as well. I took part in my candidacy examination this week so that I could start working towards my dissertation. Experiments are over and I have been able to analyze my data that I took this semester. I am spending the remaining time until I leave writing about my experiments. Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the 10th U.S. National Combustion Meeting and came back with several ideas on how to present my findings on the time-histories of carbon monoxide. Hopefully, I will be able to present my findings in a new journal article soon. Owen

April 28, 2017

Hallo wieder, It's the middle of finals, and the countdown for departure has officially started. We couldn’t have more things going on at once. The CMAS team performed a twelve-hour experiment day collecting Raman data a few weeks back. With this, we plan to produce a paper for Scitech to present at the AIAA conference which will be held here in Orlando, in January 2018 (click here to learn more about Scitech). Now, December sounds some time away, however, Scitech abstract requirements are pretty substantial. I expect to work on this for the next couple of weeks as the abstract deadline is June 12th. As you see, a lot can happen in a few weeks. Specially since by then we will be in Germany. bis dann!

Estefania

April 21, 2017

Hello again,

There is now less than a month left before our departure, and it’s almost finals time, so we’ve been quite busy lately! I have been preparing my research plan for my time in Germany, so I can hit the ground running and make the most of my time there. I’ve also been analyzing the digital image correlation data our field team collected at Argonne National Laboratory last November. Brooke, my mentor, is analyzing the x-ray diffraction data that we collected simultaneously; we made sure to synchronize our equipment’s timestamps to make this easy.

The next time it’s my turn to post, we’ll have just landed in Germany! I can’t wait!

Lin

April 14th, 2017

Hello all!

As Owen mentioned, STEM day was a huge success! It was truly rewarding to be a part of this activity. I had not realized the impact that mentoring could have on students before taking part in STEM day. Taking the time to show them what we are involved in may have inspired some of them to want to study engineering.

So far, I have been working to learn how to use the software GSASII and Abaqus to help us further analyze data. Trying to learn to use two different software that I had never seen before was a little intimidating at first, but now I feel that I can take on the challenge of learning any software. It is just a matter putting forth the time, along with a lot of trial and error.

Now that the semester is coming to an end, I have written up a timeline as a guide for what I want to accomplish from now up through my time at DLR. I think of this timeline as little goals that will help push me towards a bigger goal. I’ve learned the importance of this step in doing research. Having an outline of your goals is useful down the road to remind you why you began doing research in the first place. It is also a way to see if you accomplished what you set out to, or even accomplished more. This is a lesson that can be applied to many things in life, not just research.

Until next time,

Debraliz

April 7^th, 2017 The trip is only one month away now. We are making last minute preparations and preparing for the trip. Last week, we participated in STEM Day and taught high school and middle school students about the various parts of an aircraft engine. The students were taught about the compressor, combustor, turbine and future designs. The students even came prepared to teach us different words associated with the engine in many languages such as Chinese and Portuguese.

I was able to complete my experiments over the last month as well and have started analyzing the data. I hope to be able to provide insights on how the production of carbon monoxide affects the environment that is to be seen in the turbine engine. Also, I am preparing for the experiments that will be performed over the summer. I will work on liquid biofuel kinetics to understand the effect of these fuels in combination of conventional fuels. Over the next month, I will work on understanding previous research to be ready when I arrive in Germany.

Owen

March 31^st, 2017

As Lin and Debraliz have mentioned, the end of the semester is fast approaching. Only five weeks left of the semester and finals are around the corner. This week I met with Brooke, last year’s IRES participant, to discuss goals for the summer. As she explained, at DLR the amount of possibilities are countless given the accessibility to state of the art equipment. To make the most of it, my team and I will develop an outline of action items for the summer. This will enable us to express to our collaborators what needs to be done and how this will be of benefit for our common end goal. Finally, next week during our IRES meeting, we will be going over final logistics such as: what to bring to Germany, how to take money, housing update etc.

I’m looking forward to my next post as it will be even closer to our final departure.

Until den!

Estefania

March 24, 2017

Hello again!

It’s quite a busy semester. In addition to preparing for UCF STEM Day (as Debraliz discussed in last week’s post), I have been working on a poster to present at the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence. Just yesterday I sent the finished poster to be printed. The Showcase will be held April 6 in the Pegasus Ballroom of UCF’s student union, and it is open to the public; you are welcome to come see my poster and all the others being presented.

I am also currently writing a paper on the techniques we used to obtain strain data via digital image correlation at high temperatures while simultaneously taking synchrotron data. This paper is based on the work we did at Argonne National Laboratory last November. This is the first scientific paper I have worked on, so I’m learning a lot. A critical first step is to decide what figures are needed. Once you have a list of the important figures, it acts as an outline to guide the focus of the paper.

Until next time, Lin

March 17, 2017

Hello again,

This semester seems to be flying by. In about two months from today we will be on our way to Cologne, Germany!

As of now we are in progress of finishing up our preparations for the UCF STEM day event at the end of this month. So far it has been a challenge to try and break down technical engineering terms in such a way that they can be understood by high schoolers. Having to do this really puts things into perspective. What I mean is that whenever you’re presenting any information, whether it’s a poster or a presentation, you need to consider what kind of audience you have. In order to effectively get your point across you must make sure you do it in a way that can be understood by your audience. I have learned that this is not an easy skill but it is one that improves with practice and experience. Hopefully during this event we will be able to teach the high schoolers something and learn a thing or two ourselves.

Currently, I am working with the Additive Manufacturing group to analyze the CMSX-4 data from the x-ray synchrotron experiments run at the Argonne National Laboratory last fall. Right now, our focus is on determining phase volume fraction. The data we have has presented us with somewhat of a challenge because we have textured diffraction rings which can be difficult to analyze. How do we overcome this challenge? Literature, literature, literature. Taking the time to read through past research papers to find what has been done about this will save us a lot of time in the long run.

Overall my understanding of this subject is really starting to come together but it is, as always, still a work in progress.

Hope you’ve all had a great spring break!

Debraliz

March 11, 2017

Now that the logistics for the trip to Germany are mostly taken care of, the team has turned its focus to community outreach, one of the key parts of the IRES Program. We have been working diligently on a plan to teach high schoolers the importance of collaboration in Engineering and to show them different parts of an actual engine at UCF’s STEM Day.

As for my own research, I have completed characterization of the new laser system that I was previously working on and have been using it to record data over the last two weeks. I have recorded the time-history of carbon monoxide during combustion in different mixtures to better understand the process. Hopefully, this data will be able to be used in the future to better understand the environment inside the turbine section and help model the extreme conditions that exist.

Owen

March 3, 2017

Hello again!

It is already March and we have our plane tickets booked, our two week hotel booked and we have initiated the process for housing. So far, I have been exposed to a vast variety of articles on my area of study, I have run my own data and analyzed it. Given this, we have officially learned a golden rule for good research and good data. Check your raw data fittings. Now, in order to ensure our data is valid, we need to generate a code which will allow us to see data points individually. Moreover, the CMAS group will be participating in the Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence (SURE). Putting this poster together has enabled me to look for ways to explain major concepts with little words and schematics. I’m looking forward to further trip preparations and the SURE poster presentation.

Thank you,

Estefania Bohorquez

February 24, 2017

Hi everyone,

My name is Lin, and I am a senior undergraduate student of mechanical engineering. My work concerns the mechanical properties of additively manufactured Inconel 718, a superalloy used in high temperature applications (such as inside engines). Additive manufacturing (3D-printing) is an exciting technique that allows complex shapes to be produced, but the effects of the printing process on the material properties are not known. Last November, I was part of a field team that conducted tests on printed samples of Inconel using the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory. We took plenty of data, and now all of that data needs to be analyzed.

Currently, I’m making exciting progress on high-temperature digital image correlation (DIC). DIC is a method of measuring strain in a sample by tracking the movement of a speckle pattern applied to the surface. Doing DIC at high temperatures is challenging because the light from the heater obscures the speckles; we solved that problem by using a blue filter to remove the yellow and orange light. I have been using an open-source program called Ncorr to do the analysis.

Until next time,

Lin

February 17, 2017

Hello!

First of all, I’d like to introduce myself

My name is Debraliz; I am a junior studying aerospace engineering and minoring in mathematics. I have been a member of the UCF community as a transfer student since the spring of 2016.

How did I get here?

Wanting to take advantage of the many diverse opportunities UCF has to offer, I joined their American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Chapter (AIAA) where I expanded my engineering experience by taking part in several of the projects they offer. In the midst of seeing concepts I had already learned being brought to life, I desired take it a step further. Which ultimately led to me being a member of the Raghavan Research Group in this IRES research/learning opportunity I am fortunate enough to be a part of.

Now,

This first month has consisted of getting introduced to the material I will be working with: additive manufactured CMSX-4 superalloy which was developed for turbine blade applications. I have been developing my understanding of this material through literature review and being brought up to speed on experiments conducted at Argonne National Laboratory last semester. The rest of the members and I also got to meet with scientist Dr. Bartsch who made an in-person visit to UCF (as I’m sure you’ve read on Lin’s previous post).

As the semester progresses, I am looking forward to all of us making our contributions at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany this summer.

Until next time,

Debraliz Isaac Aragones

February 11, 2017

Hi everyone,

Today is the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a day established by the United Nations to “recognize the critical role women and girls play in science and technology communities.” In honor of that, I’d like to note that three of the four of this year's IRES students are women researchers. Estefania’s research is on the effects of sand ingression on turbine blades, Debraliz is studying the properties of additively manufactured CMSX-4, a superalloy for extreme environments, and I am investigating the properties of additively manufactured Inconel 718, another superalloy for extreme environments.

Lin

February 10th, 2017

Hello everyone, My name is Owen and I am a PhD student studying Mechanical Engineering for Dr. Subith. I am particularly excited about this trip as it will provide me with an excellent opportunity to travel to another lab and learn about how other cultures approach problems in engineering. I will also hopefully come back with lots of data that I can analyze and present in my dissertation later. My area of focus is combustion and propulsion systems. Using lasers and other optical tools, I am able to measure different intermediate species along with the pressure and temperature during combustion. I then use this data to refine and improve mechanisms that are used in numerical simulations and combustion CFD. This is extremely important for the development of high temperature materials to provide an accurate conditions present in the turbines. These conditions are not able to be defined without these mechanisms.

As for the IRES trip, preparations for the trip have been progressing since last week. We have been able to purchase our flights to Germany for the summer and will be focusing on housing in the upcoming weeks. This week I have been focusing on the characterization of a new laser to be used in my combustion experiments at UCF. This will allow for precise species concentration measurements over time. This is important to accurately predict the conditions and products that are present in turbines and to help with the design and development of the advanced materials required. Next week, I hope to make my first measurements with this laser inside of the shock tube and to start planning the experiments that I will perform in Germany.

Owen Pryor

February 3, 2017

Greetings everyone, To begin with, I would like to thank Dr. Raghavan for giving me the opportunity to be a part of the 2017 IRES program in Germany. In preparation for this summer’s collaboration, I have been introduced to a wonderful, highly organized research group and my area of study, CMAS ingression on thermal barrier coatings. This area of study is ideal given my experience within the power generation industry, which has exposed me to the challenges currently facing the field and the importance of new technology. In addition, I’ve had the opportunity to familiarize myself with some of the work performed last summer at DLR and this past fall along with introductory literature. As part of my development and training, this week I will be recreating last semester’s findings through MATlab in order to be proficient once I begin my own data processing on new samples. With this, I expect to be prepared for my first DLR-UCF meeting this upcoming February 16th.

Until next time! Estefania Bohorquez

Back row, L to R: IRES student Owen Pryor, DLR scientist Dr. Bartsch. Front row, L to R: IRES students Debraliz Isaac-Aragones, Estefania Bohorquez, Lin Rossmann

January 27, 2017

Today we met Dr. Marion Bartsch, a senior researcher at the German aerospace center (DLR) who is part of the IRES collaboration. Dr. Bartsch was visiting UCF to give her talk entitled “Generating Microstructure Models of Materials for Numerical Analysis by Means of X-ray Tomography and FIB-slicing,” and we IRES students enjoyed her presentation and the opportunity to meet her in person. I had actually already met and worked with Dr. Bartsch as part of our collaborative experiments at Argonne National Laboratory ([link]), but now Debraliz, Estefania, and Owen have met her as well. We look forward to meeting the other DLR researchers and staff this summer!

Lin Rossmann

IMG_Wilson July 29, 2016

So this is it. Experiments are done, simulations are running, and presentations are over (for now). This morning I stared out my window, just as I did the day I got here. I remember thinking to myself two months ago, what have I gotten myself into? How is everything going to turn out? Am I really cut out for this? As I stood in the same spot this morning as I did two months ago, I silently replayed all of the events which occurred this summer in my mind. I saw the frustrated looks on all of our faces when attempting to order food, the trains and buses we missed by half a second, the vibrant faces of the scientists and friends we met at DLR, the incredible sights we saw all over Europe, and finally I saw the outstanding results of all of the work we did here.

With all of this running through my mind, I answered those questions I thought of when this all began. What have I gotten myself into? The most rewarding experience of my life. How is everything going to turn out? Well, it was a bit rough at times but I would do it all over again if I had the chance. So I’d say it turned out quite well. Am I really cut out for this? Honestly, at the time I probably wasn’t. I lacked knowledge in the field and I was getting ready to work with some of the most renowned scientists in the study of thermal and environmental barrier coatings. But, without even realizing it, I gained a significant amount of knowledge and even got to the point of discussing intricate topics and suggesting sound ideas for future experiments. So maybe I wasn’t entirely ready for this when it all started but one thing that I’ve learned from this experience is that you really never will be. If you’re always waiting for the “right moment” to take something on, the time will usually never come. I didn’t feel like I was ready but I did it anyway and my mind is blown by how much I have grown.

As I mentioned in previous blog posts, my work here at DLR has consisted of creating a model for a multilayer coating system. The model I created is able to calculate residual stresses in each layer of the system during each step of the coating process. This is important so that we can predict where the stresses might exceed the limits of the material and where spallation can potentially occur. An additional feature which I added to the model is the presence of various vertical cracks along the length of the upper coating layer. The growth of the crack and the stress situation in all of the layers can be observed and gives us valuable information about what occurs when cracks form.

All four of us, along with the scientists here at DLR, are satisfied with the work we accomplished this summer.

And now, it’s time to go back home. I can’t stress enough how amazing this experience has been. If you have ever considered participating in an international research program, do it. If you haven’t, then consider it. You won’t regret it. Thank you to all of the scientists at DLR and for IRES for sending us here. I look forward to many more experiences like this and to becoming a better scientist along the way.

Thanks for reading our blog posts. I’m excited to see the experiences that the IRES 2017 team will have.

Auf Wiedersehen

Wilson Perez

July 22^nd, 2016

Hallo!

Our summer work effort in Germany is coming to a close. This week and next we have been making preparations for our return and performing final experiments which we will bring back with us. I’m looking forward to (but still a little anxious about) our final presentation/meeting with all of our collaborators here to present and discuss our completed work and continued efforts. I am particularly excited for next week since Dr. Ravi and I will create thermally cycled samples using the temperature gradient rig in the main lab. These samples will be developed with the hopes of determining a link between thermal cycles, and the resulting phase transformation of the TBC, and the stress state that leads to spallation.

On a personal note, Wilson and I traveled to the Saxon Switzerland region of Germany (South east of Dresden) this past weekend. The hiking trip was incredibly beautiful with expansive forest skylines and rugged mountain pe image2 (1) aks (nothing like you would find in Florida). Each and every one of these little weekend excursions has been a reminder of the wonderful things you can find and people you can meet by being a little adventurous. This weekend in particular, Wilson and I made a few hiking friends that definitely added to the splendor of our trip. We even cooked a hodge-podge of a dinner and had a few drinks together in a little garden just outside the hostel. It was definitely a weekend we will all remember.

Seeing as this is my final blog post, I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in this opportunity to seriously consider it. This has been an amazing experience both professionally and personally. Collaborating with DLR has definitely made a serious impact on my knowledge and experience, just as being surrounded by a new environment has led me to reflect and grow on my own back home. This has been an amazing opportunity that I am blessed to have been a part of.

Thank you all for reading and take care.

Zachary Crain

July 15, 2016

Hi all,

It’s safe to say it’s almost time to leave Germany (next week is our last week here).

Without a doubt, these past two months have been a wonderful learning experience in every which way. Not only have I learned a good bit of German, but my research & technical skills have grown considerably. I have also learned to collaborate with scientists from a different background, and have learned to adapt very quickly to any situation (an ability that is a bit difficult to develop unless you’ve plunged into head in into another culture in another country).

Since my mind can’t help but itemize (like a to-do list) some of the most important happenings over the past two months, I’ll just list them sequentially: Research: The first two weeks of my stay at DLR were focused on polishing a draft for submission into an AIAA conference, learning the ropes at DLR, and learning how to prepare samples for microstructural analysis (mounting, grinding, polishing, etc.).

From then on, I have been focused on developing a simulation of the selective laser melting process using Abaqus and FORTRAN. This has been a challenge to say the least. First and foremost because of my inexperience with both Abaqus and FORTRAN, as well as the many components that go into simulating a complicated manufacturing process with multiphysical aspects. Despite the occasional headache caused by programming errors, taking on the challenge of trying to produce a reliable simulation that can be used to predict residual stress formation in SLM fabricated parts has pushed me to further my engineering knowledge in topics that were inaccessible to me as an undergraduate: plasticity modeling and the theory behind the finite element method. Tackling these subjects in order to understand each and every aspect of my simulation has been a great exercise for what’s to come in graduate school, where self-teaching and solving those problems where there are no previous answers is commonplace.

Germany: I truly appreciate the opportunity to have spent time within Germany and with the people here. Germany is truly a great place to study, work, travel and live overall. Also, the food here (along with the rest of Europe) is very good. If you are considering an international research, work or study experience (even if it’s not IRES), I recommend you consider Germany. Not only will you be able to learn a new language, but you’ll be making many experiences to carry with you for a long time.

With that said, I can close out this last blog post in good conscience.

Thank you DLR, Germany and of course IRES for a wonderful experience.

Happy weekend to all!

July 8, 2016

Have a nice day my friends!

So much has happened in the last few weeks that I haven’t any idea where to begin. Every day the investigations into the respective materials we are studying get more interesting. Some days I feel like I have it all figured out and then the next day I do some sort of analysis and realize that I know very little. I’ve learned this is kind of the gist of research, though, and I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of it. A big thing I’m learning here is the necessity of precision and understanding the science of whatever it is that I observe. This idea may seem obvious, but little details are easy to overlook and before if I didn’t understand something I kind of just chalked it up to inexperience (thinking: I don’t know why that happens now, but one day I will). The difference now is that I am extremely careful to think of everything, and if there is something I don’t understand I do not continue until it has been clarified. Once I put this into practice, the quality of my work immensely improved and I am learning a lot more than I did before. I’m getting to use all the material analysis resources here too, which is an amazing opportunity. Although the TEM and FIB slicing machines are down, I’ve been getting to use the sample prep lab very regularly, along with the SEM/EDS and XRF machines. Simply messing around with the optical microscope is great too, especially when looking at surface roughness of the SLM materials (you can see the powder and scan patterns really clearly).

Best wishes!

Brooke

July 1^st, 2016

Hello!

Before our time here in Germany started, I was feeling a bit nervous and didn’t really know what to expect. I was going to spend two months in a place with a different language, culture, and many other differences. It took some time to get used to the German lifestyle and there are still a few things I’m struggling to get used to. For example, writing this blog post has been a challenge since even the German keyboard is different! But there is not a single thing I regret about this experience. I have learned so much and I know that I will continue to learn as we all work through our second and last month here.

The work that I have been doing here at DLR consists of creating a finite element model to predict the residual stresses present in the bond coat layer of a ceramic matrix composite (CMC) sample coated with an environmental barrier coating (EBC). Currently, the model is able to display results for the entire system of layers. It was setup to allow easy modifications to the layer thicknesses as well as working temperatures. As I continue my work here at DLR, the model will continue to be improved and will include more intricate components such as vertical cracks present in the coating layers. I am looking forward to seeing the final result and contributing to the research being conducted at DLR.

Along with having great learning experiences at work, we have also had amazing experiences visiting new places around Germany and other European countries. One of the greatest days I’ve had here in Germany so far was the day that we took a trip to the Nürburgring. Zach and I are both huge car fans and having an opportunity to not only visit the track but ride in a Jaguar F-Type on the track was absolutely phenomenal. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, we continued by taking an “easy hike” through a path very near and dear to our friend Janine Wischek. Turns out the bridge taking us along the “easy hike” was broken and this hike quickly turned into a quite intense journey. But we survived and it was completely worth it. And now we know that if someone invites us on an “easy hike,” we better be prepared.

As you can all see, this experience is amazing in every way. We work hard and we play hard. Stay tuned for more updates next week!

Bye for now!

Wilson Perez

June, 24th, 2016

Hello everyone!

Time has sure passed by since the last time I posted something – it’s a been a month and about a week since I’ve been in Germany now!

This past month has had its challenges: adapting to a new culture and daily rhythm, and of course, learning German!

Despite the difficulties, it’s been a great journey so far. I’ve learned loads in the month I’ve been here, and I’m confident I will have gained much more by the time the program is done. The following paragraphs are just some recaps as to what’s been going on both inside and outside my research agenda during the past month.

DLR & Research Related Activities:

Things have picked up pace after several meetings with our (Brooke & I’s) supervisor, Dr. Bartsch. We have been able to progress on phase identification in our additively manufactured IN718 samples, as well as prepare microstructural samples for SEM (scanning-electron-microscope) analysis. I am certain by the time this summer is over, we will have enough data to make for a great publication.

Outside activities:

The IRES group has visited a couple of cities in Germany outside of Cologne during the past month: Stuttgart & Berlin.

In Berlin, the team was able to see some of the most famous (and touristy) parts of the city, as well as visit KZ-Sachsenhausen, an important part of German and European history. While in Berlin, the team was also able to visit the Siemens turbine manufacturing facility, which was an incredible experience. We were able to see from start to finish the design process for land-based power generation turbines and see metallic samples being created in SLM (selective laser melting) machines being created!

The team also visited Stuttgart, where we met with several of the scientists at DLR-Stuttgart to find out about some of the work they do there. While at Stuttgart, we gained first-hand insight into the laminate composite production process for DLR-aerospace applications which was truly amazing.

Time is flying swiftly and unfortunately, this summer will be over before we know it! Stay tuned for more updates as the IRES team continues throughout this summer at DLR. I am certain we will all have made great progress on our work by the time August rolls around.

Bye!

Jose

June 17th, 2016

Hello!

Our work with our respective DLR personnel has come to its full stride. Thus far I’ve worked with Dr. Ravi and one of his Master’s students Raghu Pubbysetty to create over 20

Man-made caves used for mining the porous stone in the mountain

Map of the trail

different experimental samples for analysis at DLR and UCF (we are still working on the mailing process to send the UCF samples). Each one of the samples being sent to UCF has a counterpart at DLR with a fully documented history and XRD analysis results. Speaking of XRD, it was a special treat to be able to assist Alexander Franke with running the analysis and being able to see the machines in person.

On a non-work-related note, we went on THE MOST AMAZING hiking trip thanks to Janine Wischek. We went from rolling hills to man-made caves to a mountain-top forest and back. You can see a few pictures to the right:

After this we had a wonderful BBQ at Janine’s house and played some volleyball. I never knew my forearms could get as red as they were by the end of the night, but it was a blast regardless.

Truthfully, this first month has been a dream come true and it only seems as if it will continue to get better.

Bis spatter,

Zach

June 9th, 2016

Work makes life sweet.

First I will talk about dealing with deadlines when collaborating across time zones, since this is probably one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned. Last week, our lab was working preparing a conference abstract for submission. Challenges lie not only in ensuring you have a draft completed in time to have a proper review period for all of your co-authors, but also in managing to coordinate with people who are more than 5 hours behind you. Needless to say, it did not go as smoothly as one would hope. But, thanks to the hard work of our support team in the lab at home, in the end the submission got in.

Working at DLR is sehr toll. The building we work in is full of so many incredible scientists, just thinking about the amount of knowledge contained in those walls makes my head spin. If I have a question on anything I’m working on, I can ask almost anyone and they will have insight that will almost surely lead me to that coveted “a-ha” moment. I’ve had a lot of those so far, and we have not even been there two weeks! Learning is non-stop at DLR and I already feel like I know so much more than just a week ago. I cannot imagine where I’ll be by the end of these 8 weeks.

Day to day life is becoming pretty natural. I never use google maps to find my way around anymore, and I have the necessary train/tram/underground/bus schedules locked up. My roommate is nice, the view from my window is nice, and the food here ist lecker. Like Wilson said, Cologne is definitely going to be a second home to us by the end of all this. Language learning is my second passion and by the end of this I will be speaking German. Every day I know more words and use more phrases and it is very exciting.

Dr. Bartsch and Christian Dresbach explain their work creating models from TBC coating experiments conducted during a DLR-UCF collaboration

ne 3rd, 2016

Hello everyone!

As Zach mentioned in the last blog post, we were in Berlin last weekend and it was truly amazing. There is so much to see in that city and I wish we could have stayed longer! We had the privilege of taking a tour of the Siemens facility in Berlin. After taking thermodynamics I and II, heat transfer, and conducting research in the field of thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) and environmental barrier coatings (EBCs), seeing the application of all of these topics through the work being done on gas turbines was incredible. Along with touring Siemens, we took a self-guided tour around the city.

These are just a few of the places we saw. Oh, and I can’t forget about buddy bear! These bears are scattered around the city of Berlin so make sure you keep an eye out for them if you’re ever in the city!

Siemens AG Energy Sector One of many Buddy Bears in Berlin BerlinCathedral IRES 2016 - Berlin, Germany

And now we’re back here. Home sweet home. It’s only been two weeks and I’m already starting to feel like Cologne is my second home. I’m looking forward to contributing to the research conducted at DLR and the rest of the adventures we will have here in Germany.

Until next time!

Wilson Perez

ay 31^st, 2016

Hello!

Our second week in Deutschland has been just as amazing as the first.

We began with our final days and return from Stuttgart. It was humbling and inspiring to meet Prof. Gaul, let alone have the opportunity to share an umbrella and be shown the campus of the University of Stuttgart. Furthermore, we walked to the DLR institute only 500m away from the university where we toured through the facility with Dr. Koch and Dr. Hald. Discussing their work on CMCs and with the SHEFEX experiments was endlessly interesting. I cannot thank them enough for taking time to talk with us.

After Stuttgart we traveled back to Köln and then to the Julich Institute where we met Dr. Vaßen, Dr. Mauer, and Dr. Mack. We had the opportunity to talk with them and see their plasma spray and CMAS facilities. Having my background as aerodynamics and getting to see a C-D nozzle, used in their cold spray facility, was amazing. Wilson and I were both intrigued by the CMAS facilities they had and learned quite a lot from talking with Dr. Mack.

And now I write to you all from Berlin. This beautiful capital city hosts plenty of history and making plenty more. I look forward to visiting the Siemens facility and sharing those experiences with you all.

Up to next time,

Zach

IRES Germany 2016 at DLR Stuttgart
Pictured from left to right: Jose Cotelo, Dr. Hald, Dr. Koch, Dr. Raghavan, Dr. Gaul, Brooke Sarley, Zachary Crain, and Wilson Perez

IRES Germany 2016 at Julich
Pictured from left to right: Dr. Vaßen, Dr. Raghavan, Zachary Crain, Wilson Perez, Brooke Sarley, Dr. Mauer, and Dr. Mack

May 21^st, 2016

Hello all!

Brooke and I switched a bit our blog-posting schedules last week due to some traveling I was doing before heading to Germany – I was in the Spanish region of Catalunya, home to Barcelona.

However, as you might have already guessed, wir sind hier, in beautiful Köln (Cologne)!

Brooke, Zach, and Wilson arrived on Thursday, flew straight in from Orlando (almost 22 hours of travel!). Fortunately, my flight was a quick 2 hours on RyanAir (great lowcost airline to travel with once in Europe). Since arriving, we’ve had the opportunity to see a bit of the city, as well as travel to DLR to meet some of the esteemed scientists we’ll be working with.

A bit about Cologne:

So far, what we have seen of Cologne is beautiful! Particularly it’s landmark cathedral which serves as a kind of locator if you’re ever lost somewhere in the city. Really, just look for the cathedral and it will take you right back to the main train station. There are plenty of restaurants all around the center, and several spots throughout the city to enjoy good weather like there was today.

The Rhine is the river which slices through the heart of the city, which locals seem to love gathering around just to hang out, drink a Pils, or take in the sun.

A bit about DLR:

Yesterday, the IRES team visited the DLR for the first time with Dr. Raghavan. We were greeted by Dr. Marion Bartsch, who then introduced us to some of the other scientists we’ll be collaborating with. We had a successful first meeting, and were able to get a good idea of what our working day tasks would be when we finally begin.

Till then, we will be making some visits to other sites like the DLR in Stuttgart, and the Siemens turbine factory in Berlin! The team will be sure to keep you all posted with pictures. For now, here is a snapshot of us in front of the Cathedral. 123

May 6, 2016

We're done!!

As my fellow researchers stated before me, these past few weeks have been a real test as we applied ourselves to our exams and duties within the lab. I agree with Wilson that this time can be especially challenging but always rewarding. With the semester done, we're in full preperation mode- both logistically and scientifically. This past wednesday we purchased our tickets for our internal travel and the first two weeks of our visit, and currently we are working on our team and individual research plans. For additive, we are awaiting feedback on a submitted paper draft and will soon begin planning for future experiments.

This entry has been a little short, so to stretch it out I'll give a quick preview of the next couple of weeks in case Jose doesn't get to make a post next week (he's in Barcelona). We (Zach, Wilson, and I) will fly out of Orlando International on May 18th and arrive in Stuttgart on May 19th. From there, we will take a train to Cologne where we will check into a hotel for the first two weeks (we're staying in a hotel before we start our student housing leases in June). We have set up a few visits in the area and in Berlin for this beginning two week period before we start our "Studentwerk" at DLR. The details of which are soon to come!

Until later

Brooke

April 29, 2016

Hello everyone!

These last few weeks have been extremely challenging but also extremely rewarding. The semester is quickly coming to an end and there has been so much that has needed to get done. As Jose mentioned, senior design has definitely kept Jose and I busy and along with that, final exams are now approaching. It’s been difficult to stay caught up with everything but we’ve worked hard and we’ve managed to survive (barely). Zach and I have spent many hours reviewing literature and preparing ourselves for our trip to Germany. It’s satisfying to see how far we’ve come and it’s exciting to know that we will still be learning so much more once we reach our destination in Cologne.

As an update on our CMAS analysis, Zach and I have mastered the use of PL and we have acquired very smooth data curves with minimal noise. When creating surface maps of the samples, we were seeing a substantial amount of noise in the data which made many of the collected points unusable. Now that we have found a way to smooth out the data, we should be able to obtain a detailed surface map which will then allow us to obtain accurate stress data. This is exciting because we will know exactly how to set up the system to obtain usable data when we get to Germany.

Make sure to come back and see what updates we have for all of you next week!

Bye for now!

April 22, 2016

Hallo, ich hoffe alles ist gut. Seeing as this is my last blog post while in the US (what a crazy thought that is!) I feel as if it’s only fitting to that a minute to reflect on how far we have come as individuals and as a team. Looking back, it’s staggering how much I have learned over these past few months. The support and guidance of the Raghavan Research Group as a whole has been vital in this growth. I believe it’s fair to say that at the beginning of this semester I was not equipped to properly represent this research group in Germany. Nevertheless, as of now I am confident in saying that is no longer the case (even though there is still plenty to learn). Moving forward, both teams are preparing for our trip. Wilson and I have acquired a partially CMAS ingressed sample (Thank you Dr. Ravi) that we have begun analysis on. We are using this sample to refine our analysis process and to generate results that we may present to our collaborators at DLR. Thus far, the most challenging part has been developing and formatting the presentation of our results. As Jose mentioned last week, this section of the research process is critical.

As a final remark, good luck to Wilson and Jose on their senior design projects and other housekeeping required to graduate. I have no doubt Brooke and I, to a certain degree, look forward to being where you are now.

Until next time,

Zach

April 15, 2016

Hello you two!

With the end of the semester nearer each day, I am more than excited (as are my fellow IRES participants, I’m sure) to head to Europe and to graduate!

A couple of updates since the past month: Brooke and I have made great progress in tying up the experiments done last year at Argonne National Lab with our knowledge of IN718 to move forward on a publication. This is great news for us and the rest of the IRES group, as it gives us more credibility upon arrival to the DLR.

The challenges with the publication are several, as Brooke mentioned. Amongst them have been catching up with all the work that has been done prior, acquiring a toolbox of new skills (technical and knowledge based), and finding the best ways to present results. One thing I’ve learned as a researcher is that presenting results is truly the most critical aspect of research. After all, if you can’t present your work effectively, then it’s no good!

Aside from our weekly duties as IRES students, the graduating scholars (Wilson and I) are really trying to push hard these last couple of weeks, specially with our senior design projects. For those of you that might not be engineering majors, senior design is a final year course in which students are expected to form groups and work cohesively towards a successful project.

The non-graduating IRES students, Zach and Brooke, are also working hard to make sure they give a final push as we close out the semester.

I look forward to sharing with you all some more success stories for my next posting. For those of you graduating this semester, congratulations! For those who are not quite there yet, keep going!

Bye!

April 8, 2016

I write that something comes from something.

It's been almost two months since we began preparing for the trip and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we've learned more so far than we could have anticipated learning over the course of the entire program. As Wilson pointed out before me, the CMAS team did not even know what PL was and now they are running the PL system in our aerostructures lab like clockwork. Next is Raman Spectroscopy and stress calculation-- I'm sure we'll hear an update on that in the next couple of weeks. On the additive side our challenges are varied. All phasers are set to stun as we work towards publication, and the clock is ticking. Jose and I are writing section by section while we simultaneously attempt to obtain volume fraction values from transmitted intensity XRD results. The latter has been very tedious and has tested the limits of my patience. We have gone from Matlab to Python as we head the advice of scientists in the field. I'm not as familiar with Python, but Jose is and I am sure to learn a lot from him.

Research by definition requires the investigator to learn something. But this research experience especially has highlighted the importance of meta-learning (I just made that up). It's not just about learning how to find volume from XRD intensity measurements, or finding stress values from Raman spectroscopy--- it's about learning to be patient, dilligent, and confident in the work we do.

on behalf

Brooke

April 1, 2016

Greetings!

These last few weeks have been intense for both groups (CMAS team and additive manufacturing team) but the hard work is definitely paying off. From the posts written by Jose and Brooke, it is obvious that they are making excellent progress in their area of study. Both teams have acquired sufficient knowledge to present our thoughts and findings to experts in the fields of CMAS infiltration and additive manufacturing. When I look back at the first few weeks of the IRES program, I’m shocked at how much we have actually learned!

As stated by Zach, we received excellent feedback from DLR and we used these suggestions to improve our experimental approach. We were able to obtain a much cleaner surface map of the CMAS samples and we are now able to see precisely where spallation has occurred. The best part is that we ran the experiments completely on our own. A few weeks ago, we had no idea how to use PL. I barely even knew what PL was! The IRES program has already proven to be very rewarding and I’m excited to continue learning. Our next steps are to reduce the noise found in the acquired data and learn how to use Raman spectroscopy to further analyze the affected samples. We are currently waiting on specimens that have been sent from DLR so that we can begin analysis on them. Don’t forget to tune in next week to see the progress we will continue to make.

Farewell!

Wilson

March 25, 2016

Good day!

This week has been very productive for the CMAS team. Wilson and I were able to work with some existing CMAS samples to gather data with the PL instrumentation in the lab. Getting accurate and usable data was troublesome at first, but due to this we became very accustomed with determining the necessary procedure and settings for collecting good data. In the end we were able to analyze the phase shift and surface maps of the CMAS. The results were very promising and we are excited to continue forward with this.

In addition to this we had our first meeting with our partners at DLR. It was a wonderful opportunity to present our research to them and get their feedback. Their feedback and support is crucial in helping us to focus our research goals and accomplish future work. I cannot thank them enough for their help.

All of us on the IRES team look forward to updating all of you on future developments.

Bye,

Zach

March 18, 2016

Hello!

It’s been about a month since my last blog posting and it seems like a million things have happened since then. It’s (preparation for the summer, I mean) has really picked up for my colleagues and I (Brooke, Wilson, and Zach) over the past month, and it seems like it will be no time till we’ll be crossing the pond and heading over to DLR.

As for the additive manufacturing team (Brooke and I), a significant amount of progress has been made since my last post. Brooke mentioned in her post about our presentation to Siemens scientists and our discourse with them on the directions of our project.

Word of advice for any who are looking to make an immediate impact with their research:

GET INDUSTRY FEEDBACK!

This is the surefire way to receive input from people who are putting your research ideas to practical use!

Now, back to updates. Brooke and I are fortunate to be the link between materials scientists and mechanical engineers. Where am I going with this? Well, as mechanical engineers, we often only focus on the, dare I say, “mechanical” side of things. This includes looking at mechanical properties like strength, ductility, and hardness of certain materials and structures. Rarely do we ever get to link what’s going on atomistically, or chemically, in a material to its macroscopic performance (how long will a component last, for example).

As the additive manufacturing team, we have the opportunity to reveal how microstructural (materials-science properties) characteristics, affect and can ultimately be exploited to achieve favorable properties in engineering components (turbine blades, for example)! Incidentally, our meeting with Allister James (Siemen’s) shed some new light on the direction of our research, which will truly allow us to link the materials aspect of selective-laser-melting (SLM) with practical engineering applications.

Stay tuned for more updates as I continue to learn German and work to push our research agenda forward with the rest of our IRES team.

Bye for now!

Jose

March 4, 2016

The week was great.

Greetings friends, colleagues, prospective collaborators-

This is my first blog post so I will start out by introducing myself. My name is Brooke and I'm a Mechanical Engineer with a focusing on material science engineering. I am the only member of the IRES team that is a regular member of the Raghavan Research group. Within the research group I focus on additive manufacturing and so this is also my role in the IRES group. Specifically, I investigate the microstructural and high temperature properties of SLM Inconel 718. In my spare time I enjoy language learning, swimming, and reading books. Aside from the excitement of data analysis, I'm having a really great time learning German, so I may pepper a few phrases into my blogs posts every now and then.

Since this project started about a month ago, time has seemed to be flying by. You have not heard from the other half of the additive team (Jose) since we started these blogs 3 weeks ago, but there has been a lot going on. Most recently, we met with Siemens scientists Dr. Allister James and Dr. Wintau Fu (among others) to discuss possible directions for our research this Sommer. This meeting with them was very helpful for understanding the challenges currently facing the industry that is looking to employ the technology we research. Their suggestions were subsequently turned into real ideas for experiments that we presented to the rest of the IRES group today. Our task now is to refine our experiment goals. Once we have a specific goal in place we will work out the specifics with a robust literature search. We have a meeting with DLR towards the end of March/ beginning of April so we intend to have an experiment plan ready for discussion by then.

The hardest part for me is focusing in on what we really want to investigate. Sometimes it seems like there are a million avenues to go down right now with AM research and the challenge is deciding which to choose. Stay tuned for developments!

Tschüss

Brooke

February 26th, 2016

My name is Wilson and I’m a graduating senior in mechanical and aerospace engineering. Jose and Zach gave an excellent introduction to the IRES program here at UCF. As they both mentioned, we will be working diligently throughout the next few months reviewing literature, learning how to use equipment, and preparing for our trip to DLR. Since they already gave the overview of what we will be doing up until our date of departure, I’ll go ahead and fill everyone in on what we’ve done so far.

In order to diversify the research being conducted by the IRES team, the four participating students have been split into two teams: Zach and I are responsible for the study of CMAS infiltration while Jose and Brooke will be investigating additive manufacturing. Extensive literature reviews have been done by both groups and our findings will be presented in front of other scientists and engineers at Siemens next week! The CMAS group has met with other researchers in the lab to learn how to use the PL instrumentation and we are working on devising a method to fully analyze the area of the specimens affected by CMAS.

We still have plenty to learn but we’re making progress. Stay tuned because things are really going to start picking up in the next few weeks.

Until next time!

Wilson

February 18th, 2016

Embracing New Experiences

First and foremost I would like to applaud Jose for his excellent introduction to the program and our weekly blog.

Now to begin, my name is Zach and I’m a junior studying aerospace engineering at UCF. My past experiences as an AIAA@UCF officer and a CWEP at Lockheed Martin have helped teach me to be willing and able to embrace new experiences and learning opportunities, which is a topic I would like to focus on for a minute.

My fellow IRES participants and I have spent these past few weeks getting to know each other and the subject matter that we are to study. Wilson, Jose, and I, being new to the Raghavan Research Group, have been learning about the available equipment, specifically the PL instrumentation. In a few months we will all be traveling several thousand miles away to research additive manufacturing and CMAS with some of the world’s leading researchers at DLR. All of these are daunting experiences. Nevertheless, this is a once in a lifetime experience that my fellow participants and I are more than excited to be a part of.

I look forward to all of the experience I will gain and memories I will share with my fellow participants, our supporting research group, and all of you reading this blog. Thank you for your time.

Nice day,

Zachary Crain

February 11^th, 2016

Greetings fellow researchers, students, and Deutsche-enthusiasts. First and foremost, I must confess something to the interested reader:

I have never written a blog before.

Thus, this blog will serve as a testbed for two things: demonstrating my slightly stilted prose when talking about non-technical matters (a common trait amongst engineers), and trying to give you a general idea about who I am, why I’m going to Germany, my experiences before and during the program, and why you should (hopefully) one day pursue an international research experience.

For the sake of brevity, let me also define the following:

IRES – International Research Experience

DLR – German Aerospace Center

UCF - University of Central Florida

Now, who am I? My name is Jose - I’m a graduating senior in mechanical engineering at UCF. As an undergrad, I’ve been fortunate to be involved in several research projects that ultimately led me to pursue this opportunity. What opportunity am I referring to specifically? Well, the opportunity to take a summer before starting grad school to work with cutting edge facilities, leading scientists, and to fully immerse myself in a foreign culture. These three components mark the crux of an IRES initiative.

This upcoming summer, I’ll be one of four students participating in a collaboration between UCF and the DLR; the work I’ll be undertaking falls under the umbrella description of “mechanics of aerospace materials in extreme environments.” In particular, I’ll be working with additively manufactured components that are used in turbine engines.

Though it is still relatively early in the semester and project details are still developing, there are several things our team members (which will introduce themselves in due time) have been doing in order to get the most out of our time at the DLR:

-Literature reviews

-Learning how to use equipment

-Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration

As the weeks continue to roll, more updates should be available on the scope and specifics of each team members project (or project component), as well as a more ‘personal’ accounting of every members journey as we progress through this research experience.

Goodbye!